Photos: Laredo Nixon girls basketball picks up huge district win over Laredo LBJ
LAREDO, Texas - With the UIL realignment set to be unveiled on Thursday the Laredo Nixon girls basketball team is on a farewell tour.
Next season the Lady Mustangs will drop from 6A to 5A due to enrollment. And they would love nothing more than to leave 6A with back-to-back playoff appearances.
They came one step closer to that goal Tuesday night with 52-42 victory over Laredo LBJ in a key District 30-6A game.
“It was a huge victory for us today,” Nixon head coach LeaAnn Mendoza said. “I feel like our team has been faced with a lot of adversity and a lot of girls have been coming in and playing big minutes for us. They have been working on team unity and that came in huge for us tonight.”
Both teams were battling for the fourth and final playoff spot heading into the final stretch of season - and Nixon seized control with the win. The Lady Mustangs unleashed a balanced offense with three players burning the nets in double figures.
Laredo Nixon’s Danica Robles has been known to score from the 3-point line but Tuesday night she was slashing her way to the basket and drawing fouls. Robles was instrumental in the Lady Mustangs pulling away from Laredo LBJ in the fourth quarter. She scored five of Laredo Nixon’s final seven points after going 3-for-4 from the free throw line.
Laredo LBJ kept the game close from the inception. Junior Leilani Medina and Nadia Martinez were the Lady Wolves 1-2 punch in the opening quarter as Laredo Nixon led 11-9.
Medina started to find her way in the second quarter after hitting a layup to knot up the game at 11-11. She then turned to the free throw line, going 4-for-5 giving Laredo LBJ a 17-12 advantage with 3:42 left in the quarter.
On the ensuing play Laredo Nixon’s Abby Esparza, who tallied 12 points on the night, connected on a 3-pointer to slash Laredo LBJ’s lead to 17-15 at the 3:30 mark. Martinez drew a foul and iced the first free throw as the Lady Wolves led 18-15.
Esparza let it fly from the 3-point line to knot up the game at 18-18 with 2:25 left. The Lady Mustangs pulled ahead on free throws by Mariana Amaro, but Laredo LBJ was able to finish the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a 22-20 lead at halftime.
The teams traded baskets in the third quarter, then Medina hit a three-pointer to make it a 32-31 game with 1:04 left in the quarter. The Lady Mustangs were able to extend their lead heading into the fourth quarter as Natalie Tristan hit a layup as time expired.
Esparza opened the fourth quarter with her final 3-pointer of the night to finish with 12 points. She was able to ignite a 9-2 run to open Laredo Nixon’s lead to 43-33.
The Laredo LBJ offense was nowhere to be found as they were outscored 18-11 in the final quarter.
Laredo Nixon started to tighten up their defense and did not allow much penetration from Laredo LBJ into the lane. They forced shots and controlled the boards the entire second half as Laredo LBJ was not able to get second or third shots.
“I think after having a rough first half defensively, they came in the second half and controlled the boards and did a lot better, but we also made some key stops on defense,” Mendoza said.
After Robles drew a foul and hit both free throws with 2:14 remaining in the game to give the Lady Mustangs a 47-38 edge, Laredo LBJ put together a 4-0 run to make it a five-point game.
Laredo Nixon protected their five-point lead by stalling and forcing Laredo LBJ to foul and stop the clock. Robles went 1-for-1 and hit the final basket of the game to close out the victory.
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