Lady Tarpons Corral Lady ‘Kats, 41-31

By Larry Gage
Special to the PRESS

The Port Isabel Lady Tarpons hoops team got back on the winning track with a 41-31 win over the Lady Bearkats of Raymondville last Friday night at Tarpon Gym.  

With the win the team improves to 3-2 in district play, 5-2 overall.

After a 6-6 tie at the end of a quarter of play the scoring picked up in the second quarter, and the Lady ‘Kats were hitting most of the shots.  They led P.I. 18-10 with two minutes to play till halftime, but the Lady Tarpons scored the last eight points of the quarter, including a three-pointer at the buzzer by Sabrina Gonzalez and, at the half, the score was 18-all. 

“It took the whole team,” Port Isabel head girls basketball coach Kyle DeMoss said afterwards.  “Everybody played their role.  It really helped when we made that late first-half run, five points in about 30 seconds.  That gave us enough momentum and we just saved our best play for the fourth quarter.” 

The score was knotted at six at the close of the first quarter and again at 18 at the break.  A free throw by Samantha Chapa with two seconds to go tied it up at 28 and that’s how the fourth quarter began.  

The Lady Tarpons outscored the visitors 13-3 the rest of the way and that was a final, 41-31.  

“We really stepped up our defense in the second half, and that really helped,” Chapa said after the final buzzer.  “I think, by the second half, we knew what they were going to do, so we were able to predict where the ball was going.” 

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