Lyford hands Rio Hondo first district loss, creates tie for first

RIO HONDO — With a district title on the line, Lyford put in on an absolutely gutsy performance on the road against Rio Hondo, forcing a tie with their District 32-3A rivals atop the standings with a 46-40 victory Friday night.

It was not pretty, bodies were flying all over the place. The fourth quarter took almost a half an hour because of stoppages. It was almost like a powderpuff game — they probably should have worn pads with the amount of times a body clanked off the floor.

It was an awesome game.

And that’s how Lyford head coach Teresa Gutierrez hoped it would go after mulling a first round defeat for nearly a month. Gutierrez said they did not match Rio Hondo’s intensity late in the third quarter of that first game.

“Yesterday I threw my whole JV on the floor, and we had to press break against all 15 of them, I told them if you can get across the floor with 15 kids — you can do it against five tomorrow,” Gutierrez said. “We did a lot of different crazy stuff to try and bring out intensity in practice and match their intensity for today’s game.”

Rio Hondo’s Carlie Rodriguez takes an elbow to the sternum Friday night in a District 32-3A game against Lyford in Rio Hondo. (Andrew Cordero/Special to RGVSports)

The Bulldogs did have some troubles against that press late as the Bobcats did their best to claw their way back in the game after going down 40-33 quickly to begin the fourth quarter.

Rio Hondo freshman Carlie Rodriguez hit a nice 3-pointer to make it 42-40, but that was as close as the Bobcats would get despite having some chances after.
“We were very fortunate that they missed free throws,” Gutierrez said. “We did put them on the line. We were fortunate they missed.”

Both teams found themselves on the line throughout the game and both missed chances from the stripe, adding to the drama of the game. Lyford hit them at the end when it mattered.

“It was very intense,” Lyford junior guard Brianna Garcia said. “But, we pulled through.”

Lyford’s Brianna Garcia fights her way past Rio Hondo’s Abby Atkinson Friday night in a District 32-3A game in Rio Hondo. (Andrew Cordero/Special to RGVSports)

Garcia had a team-high 15 points. The junior said it was important that they attacked Rio Hondo, force them into foul trouble and take care of the ball.

Rodriguez did foul out late for Rio Hondo. A tough loss at the end of the game when they needed a basket. Rodriguez had a game-high 22 points. Fellow freshman Evan Ayala scored 13 points.

Lyford’s Brooklynn Burns put up 9 points and was eager to put her body on the line to get calls down low. Bulldogs freshman Jazmine Garcia hit a clutch 3-pointer in the third and finished with 6 points.

Gutierrez praised her role players for their performances, especially defensively.

Both teams came into the game ranked in the top 25 of the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association poll with Rio Hondo at No. 6 and Lyford at No. 24.

The top two teams in District 32-3A have dominated other teams in district, but will look to close out the remainder of the season strong with playoffs around the corner.

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