Nikki Rowe girls basketball grabs district dub against PSJA North

PHARR — The Nikki Rowe Warriors (1-0) are starting off their district run perfect as they traveled to PSJA North (0-1) and took the win, 60-38.

Right from the jump, the Raiders applied pressure defensively against the Warriors, holding them to only 9 points in the first quarter. Camila Garcia for the Raiders helped push the offense before the end of the first as an assist to Madison Stanfield gave them a 14-9 lead. Garcia was also keen on defense as she had a steal in the first.

The start of the second had Nikki Rowe trying to push the speed of the game as traded threes between Raiders' Anaissa Bautista and Rowe's Fernanda Saldivar proved it was difficult for either team to pull away from one another.

Saldivar, with less than 3 minutes to go in the half, provided a bit of a spark for the Warriors as she found Amber Sanchez on a fast break to mend the deficit to 1. After some free throws iced by Kenya Camarena, which was nulled by a lay up by Stanfield, Rowe was up two at the half, 25-23.

In the third quarter, It was all Rowe. The Warriors started the half with a quick 8-4 run that resulted in a timeout by the Raiders. The defensive shift to a full court man to man hampered plans for the Raiders.

Momentum from the third then transitioned to the fourth as the 15-point lead for the Warriors continued to grow — at one point reaching a game high 23-point lead with less than a minute to go.

Nikki Rowe will play McAllen Memorial on Friday, while PSJA North is set to battle PSJA Southwest that same day.