Raiders clinch district championship with win over Rattlers

PHARR — “AYYY! AYYY! AYYY!” the student section roared in rhythm like a hook to a hip-hop song as their PSJA North Raiders took on the Sharyland Rattlers last Tuesday here in a packed gym.

The prize for the game? The district championship for District 31-5A. Raiders took the win, 43-32, in what was a game that had all the ingredients for a playoff atmosphere — both sides yelling, whistles screeching through the loud, and everyone complaining at the refs.

The home squad looked pretty solid in the first half as they got off to a strong first quarter start as Anaissa Bautista hit a buzzer-beating shot to make it 12-5 going into the second.

In the second, the Rattlers showed a bit of a spark as Alisela Rangel stole the ball and hit a fast-break layup to mend the deficit. Defensively, they had defenders inch up close to North’s guards — making it difficult for the home team to cross the court.

However, North’s Isabella Gonzalez had herself a game as she carried a 5-0 run herself, which then made it a 7-0 run with junior guard Madison Stanfield’s layup. Gonzalez had 12 on the night, which was the second most for her team. The run was ended by Sharyland’s Ebonie Chatman. Chatman had 12 on the night.

At the half, it was 27-15, Raiders leading.

The second half though, showed a bit of life from the Rattlers as they brought it within 7 at one point. From the fast-break layups by Rangel, to the drawing of fouls by Jayleen Berlanga on top of Chatman’s strong play down low — Sharyland looked to take back the lead.

However, in the fourth, Raiders returned the favor on defense and cranked it up three-folds. One of the deciding factors was a three by Stanfield which erupted the crowd and brought the lead to 41-32 with three minutes left in the fourth. Stanfield had 11 points.

Stanfield after the win said that her team did a good job at keeping composure during the hectic moments during the game.

“It feels unreal, all this work that we put in has finally paid off,” the junior guard said.

Head Coach Daniela Azubell echoed that sentiment, and said she was proud of her team.

“Our kids stayed, they put in work, and they earned it the right way,” Azubell said. “And it feels better than anything in the world.”

From the start of the season until now, the former high school standout said that the team has grown in many avenues.

“We were young and we had a lot of good returners, and we just needed to mesh. We needed time; good things take times, good things take work,” she said. “They’re all different. They’re like a puzzle. You put all the pieces to the puzzle together, you can make magic happen.”

The Raiders cap off the regular season 29-7 overall, with a 14-2 record in district play. They will face Brownsville Rivera in the first round of the playoffs.

Sharyland’s postseason The Rattlers despite not coming out on top this game have proved to be one of the better teams in the Rio GrandeValley.

Coach Monica Meza took the reins of the basketball squad, which garnered 30 wins on the season. A feat that not a lot of teams are capable of doing. They finish the regular season at 30-6, with a 13-3 district record.

Meza said that the team learned a lot from the tough game against PSJA North.

“This was a playoff atmosphere environment. I think, you know, we learned from it, we grew from it, we move on to our next playoff game, because this is what it’s going to be like from here on out,” she said. “... (Being) mentally strong, hard work, habits, you know, that’s what this postseason is gonna be about.”

Sharyland’s first foe is Brownsville Pace in the playoffs. They play this week.