Southside cools off Cowboys, forges fourth-place tie in 29-4A

TEAMS INCLUDED: Brackenridge, Burbank, East Central, Edison, Fox Tech, Harlandale, Highlands, Jefferson, McCollum, Sam Houston, Southside, Southwest, Young Women’s Leadership Academy.

Southwest (20-7, 3-1) cleared a bit of the second-place logjam in District 28-5A Tuesday with a 60-52 victory over East Central (9-14, 2-2) at the Stan Bonewitz Center. The Dragons can have second to themselves with a win Friday at Southwest.

The Dragons and East Central entered the game tied with Corpus Christi Carroll, which defeated Corpus Christi King 57-46 Tuesday,  for second place. Southwest will play host to Carroll (22-5, 3-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.

East Central, which fell to fourth place with the loss, led 36-28 at halftime. The Dragons outscored the Hornets 26-12 in the third quarter and hung on through a slowdown fourth quarter.

Senior standout Tiffani Rodriguez led Southwest with 20 points. Junior post Cheyenne Ortiz contributed 11 points.

Freshman Brittany Rodgers scored a team-best 19 points for East Central. Junior Taylor Lewis added 11 points and Miranda Olmos had 10.

Southside 58, McCollum 50

The Cardinals (12-12, 4-4) recorded their second-consecutive high profile win in District 29-4A Tuesday, stopping McCollum’s winning streak at four games.

Southside, which won its third-straight game, moved into a fourth-place tie with the Cowboys (8-14, 4-4) because of the win. The Cardinals also raised both their regular season and district records to .500. They upset third-place Harlandale (16-10, 5-3) last Friday.

McCollum was within three points at halftime. Southside outscored the Cowboys 31-20 in the final 16 minutes at Southside.

Senior point guard Sabrina Guzman erupted for 24 points to lead the Cardinals. Guzman also dealt three assists and made two steals. Mayra Sendejo contributed 17 rebounds and 16 points. Desiree Rodriguez scored 10 points.

Individual scoring information for McCollum was not available.

Harlandale 52, Uvalde 43

The Indians (14-9, 2-0) tuned up for their Friday rivalry game at McCollum with a District 29-3A victory     over Uvalde (8-13, 2-6) at Harlandale.

Coming off a loss to Southside, Harlandale asserted its offense early, outscoring the Coyotes 23-11 in the first quarter. The Indians took a commanding 43-27 lead into the fourth quarter.

Senior post Connie Garza produced an outstanding game for Harlandale, making 10 of 11 field-goal attempts for 20 points. Garza also grabbed 16 rebounds and made two steals.

Indians guard Justyne Perez finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Elizabeth Herrera scored 10 points to go with seven rebounds. Senior Kelly Landin added five rebounds.

Sam Houston 33, Somerset 24

The Hurricanes (5-16, 3-1) won their third-consecutive game in District 28-3A Monday at the Alamo Convocation Center on the strength of their fourth-quarter performance against Somerset (10-11, 1-2).

The teams were tied 21-21 after three quarters. Sam Houston limited the Bulldogs to three points in the last eight minutes.

Junior Monisha Jones led a balanced Hurricanes lineup with nine points. Dionna Camino scored eight.

Highlands 70, Fox Tech 23

The third-place Owls (19-10, 8-3) approached their 20^th victory of the season with a win over Fox Tech (5-19, 2-9) Tuesday at Lanier.

Highlands led 25-5 after a quarter and held the Buffaloes to 10 points in the first half.

Sophomore Aaliyah Prince led the Owls with 15 points. Freshman guard Kiara Pesina had 12 points. Jazmine Jackson contributed 10 points. Emily Pearce chipped in eight points.

Ashwini Bhakta recorded a team-high 15 points for Fox Tech.

Jefferson 50, Burbank 35

The sixth-place Mustangs (9-12, 4-6) recorded a key District 28-4A win over the Bulldogs (5-20, 2-9), who share seventh place with Fox Tech, Tuesday at the Alamo Convocation Center.

Jefferson established a 22-14 halftime lead.

Senior Sasha Barrientos led the Mustangs with 15 points. Angela Hardcastle scored 11. Melanie Ybarra added 10 points and Mary Loera had nine.

Junior Olivia Cardenas finished with a team-high 12 points for Burbank.

Edison 65, YWLA 30

The Golden Bears (11-15, 5-5) remained in fifth place with the District 28-4A victory over Young Women’s Leadership Academy (1-21, 0-11) Tuesday at the Edison.

Sophomore Rachel Campos led Edison with 18 points and seven steals. Marisa Salas also forced seven steals to go with nine points and six assists. Amy Marcos scored nine points and claimed six rebounds.

Senior post Paula Moreno had a team-high 17 rebounds for the Golden Bears. Jody Alatorre added 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Jasmin Chapa made five steals and Jessica Torres distributed three assists.

Junior Clarissa Castro led the Cardinals with eight points. Senior Serina Trevino contributed seven points.