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3A, 31-3A, 16-2A, 16-1ADISTRICTS 29-5A, 30-5A, 31-5A,32-4A, 32-

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F E A T U R E S6 IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GAME WITH TOUCHDOWN DAVE

7 RGV BASKETBALL PREVIEW WHO WILL BE NO.1?

9 TOP GIRLS TEAM GET READY FOR SEASON

19 TOP BOYS TEAM GETTING READY FOR DISTRICT

38 STATE BASKETBALL FINALS RESULTS

March Madness! The UIL State Basketball Champi-onships will be played at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas March 1st-3rd for Girls and March 8th-10th for Boys.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2011

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6

Commentary with Tddave

It’s All AboutThe Game

2011 State Boys Basketball PlayoffsClass 5A-Boys Regional Semifinals

Harlingen 61 SA MacArthur 77SA Taft 62 Edinburg 52Regional QuarterfinalsHarlingen 64 Weslaco 59

Edinburg 67 Laredo United 64Area Championships

Weslaco 53 Laredo Alexander 50Harlingen 52 Nikki Rowe 51

Edinburg 69 Laredo United So 43Laredo United 53 Bro Hanna 48

Bi-District ChampionshipsWeslaco 55 Edinburg North 34

Alexander 68 McAllen 66Nikki Rowe 64 Laredo LBJ 52

Harlingen 67 Rivera 57Edinburg 80 Porter 49

McA Memorial 50 Laredo United So 54Laredo United 56 Sharyland 52Hanna 57 Harlingen South 49

Class 4A-Boys Area ChampionshipsRoma 49 SA Edison 58

Bi-District ChampionshipsRoma 60 Alice 40

Mission Veterans 50 CC Ray 52CC Tulso-Midway 45 Hidalgo 40

Mercedes 60 CC Calallen 64

Class 3A-Boys Bi-District ChampionshipsRio Hondo-bye

CC Miller 74 La Feria 52CC West Oso-Bye

Zapata 49 Orange Grove 53Area Championships

Sweeney 54 Orange Grove 53CC West Oso 55 Mathis 37

CC Miller 75 Aransas Pass 44Needville 62 Rio Hondo 58

Regional QuarterfinalsCC West Oso 70 Sweeney 54

CC Miller 64 Needville 50Regional Semifinals

CC West Oso 75 SA Sam Houston 70CC Miller 76 Hondo 63

Regional FinalsCC West Oso 77 CC Miller 70

State 3A Semifinals CC West Oso 80 Dallas Smith 60

State 3A ChampionshipsCC West Oso 61 Burkburnett 57

Class 2A Regional SemifinalsHalletsville 71 Santa Rosa 47

Regional QuarterfinalsSanta Rosa 56 Poth 45Area Championships

Santa Rosa 56 SA Randolph 50 OT

Class 1A Division 2Area Championships

San Perilta 69 Fayetteville 45San Isidro 45 Calvert 59Regional Quarterfinals

Waelder 57 San Perlita 45

Class 1A Division IArea Championships

Stacey 49 La Villa 47 OTMason 52 Santa Maria 34

Bi-District ChampionshipsSanta Maria 51 Pettus 44

The Rio Grande Valley finally had one of its districts win a state championship basketball title in 2011. Really. It happened. Don’t remember? Well, let’s back track. The Rio Grande Valley features District 32-5A, 31-5A, 30-5A, 32-4A, 32-3A, 31-3A, 32-2A, and 32-1A Division I & II. Still don’t remember which one of these districts went all the way to the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas and won the state basketball title? This team also won their district title too. Ray-mondville, Lyford, Corpus Christi Miller, Orange Grove, Robstown, and yes, Corpus Christi West Oso. The 31-3A West Oso Bears (35-3) started its state title run with a bye and then defeated Mathis (54-52) in the area championships and went on to top Sweeney (70-54) in the Class 3A Regional Quarterfinals. At the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, the Bears escaped with a victory against San Antonio Sam Houston, winning 75-70 in the regional semifi-nals. In the regional tournament, they played 31-3A foes, Corpus Christi Miller, yes, two teams from the same District 31-3A, which also includes Raymondville and Lyford. The Bears won 77-70 to advance to the state tournament in Austin.

Proud Moment! The 2011 State 3A Basketball Champi-ons, West Oso from District 31-3A.(HSSMImages/Special)

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE December 2011


In Austin, the Bears defeat-ed Dallas Smith 80-60 in the State 3A Semifinals before knocking off Burkburnett 61-57 in the finals. The Bears outscored Burkburnett 17-12 in the final period. Does it matter if this team was from Corpus Christi? Nope. It’s still the same district that Valley teams played in either way. With the NEW realign-ments coming up in Febru-ary, both Harlingen schools could end up playing with CC Carroll and CC King in District 28-5A? Stay tuned.

BASKETBALL

PREVIEWBASKETBALL

PREVIEW

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINEDecember 2011 7

HSSM TOP 15 POLLSGIRLS1. HIDALGO2. HARLINGEN3. NIKKI ROWE4. SHARYLAND5. MISSION VETERANS6. PSJA NORTH7. WESLACO EAST8. MCALLEN9. BRO HANNA10. PSJA11. SAN BENITO12. WESLACO13. EDINBURG NORTH14. LA FERIA 15. DONNA

BOYS1. HARLINGEN 2. EDINBURG3. SHARYLAND4. HARLINGEN SOUTH5. BRO PORTER6. NIKKI ROWE7. HIDALGO8. WESLACO9. SANTA ROSA10. MCALLEN MEMORIAL11. SAN BENITO12. LOS FRESNOS13. CC MILLER14. ECONOMEDES15. LA VILLA

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW

RIO GRANDE VALLEY H.S.RIO GRANDE VALLEY H.S.

(Harlingen, Texas)-It’s the 2011-12 High School Sports Magazine’s Basketball Preview Edition and this year, the Rio Grande Valley could experience another state champion. In the boys division, the Corpus Christi West Oso Bears won the University Inters-cholastic League’s Class 3A boys title while in Class 5A, the Edinburg Bobcats and Harlingen Cardinals both advanced to the State 5A Regional tournament. In Class 2A, Santa Rosa did the same under head coach Johnny Cipriano. The Warriors also went perfect in District 32-2A with a 14-0 re-cord. Teams defending their district titles will be the 32-5A champions, Weslaco Panthers (31-8, 14-0); 31-5A champions, Edinburg (33-3, 14-0); 30-5A champions, McAllen Nikki Rowe (29-4, 13-1); 32-4A champions, Roma Gladiators (24-10, 16-2); 32-3A champions, Rio Hondo (25-9, 12-0); 31-3A

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2011

Pete Robles will leadhis Harlingen Cardinals in District 31-5A. (HSSMImages/ Mike De La Cruz)

2011-12

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champions and state champions, Corpus Christi West Oso (35-3, 10-0); 32-1A La Villa (21-8, 8-0) and the 32-1A Division II champions, San Perlita Trojans (28-8, 9-1). In the girl’s division, the No.1 Hidalgo Early College Lady Pirates and the No.2 Harlin-gen Lady Cardinals will be the teams to watch from South Texas. The (TABC state-ranked No.19) Lady Pirates won the 32-4A title under then-head coach, Jim Post who led his team to the Class 4A Regional tournament before losing to state-finalist, Austin LBJ 62-35. With the season already underway, District 32-3A will add PSJA Southwest to make up a district with eight teams while District 32-2A welcomes Brownsville IDEA Frontier College Prep to its district now featuring eight teams too. In District 32-A Division II, welcomes Corpus Christi College Prep to its district made up of Lasara, Bruni, San Perlita, San Isidro, and Tilden McMullen County. Here’s a preview of teams in 2011-12.

Senior Nelly Flores will leadher Hidalgo Early College Lady Pirates in District 32-4A. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

9

How They’ll FinishGIRLSDISTRICT 32-5A1. LOS FRESNOS2. WESLACO3. SAN BENITO4. BRO HANNA5. BRO PACE6. BRO RIVERA7. BRO PORTER8. BRO LOPEZ

DISTRICT 31-5A1. HARLINGEN2. PSJA NORTH3. PSJA4. HARLINGEN SOUTH5. EDINBURG NORTH6. EDINBURG7. ED ECONOMEDES8. PSJA MEMORIAL

DISTRICT 30-5A1. SHARYLAND2. MCALLEN ROWE3. MCALLEN4. DONNA5. LA JOYA 6. MCALLEN MEMORIAL7. LA JOYA PALMVIEW8. MISSION

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINEDecember 2011

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2011Girls Preview5A

Senior Lisa Mancillas hopes to lead the PSJA Lady Bears to the State 5A playoffs in 2012. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

(McAllen, Texas)-The PSJA Lady Bears will be looking to make the playoffs after missing the postseason in 2011 and head coach Iris Garza knows that her team will be much improved with senior post, Lisa Mancillas (5’10). The Lady Bears will be favored to make the playoffs in District 31-5A along with district favorite Harlingen, with PSJA North and Harlingen South looking to fill playoff spots. In District 30-5A, Sharyland gets the nod as the team to beat and they will be challenged by McAllen Nikki Rowe, McAllen, and the Donna Lady Redskins. The Lady Rattlers return point guard Clar-issa Suarez (5’4”), Savannah Pritchard (5’3), Claira Briseno (6’0), and Laura Eberly (5’8). Head coach Dale Whitaker led his team to a 12-2 district record and watched the Lady Rattlers beat Laredo Nixon in the bi-district championships before losing to Harlingen South 61-38 in the area playoffs. In District 32-5A, the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons helped head coach Kim Edquist get her 400th career win earlier this season and they will be favored to win the title in 2012. After watching the San Benito Lady Greyhounds clinch their first-ever school district title under new head coach Clarissa Arredondo in 2011, this district will be balanced with Weslaco, San Benito, and Brownsville Hanna challenging for playoff spots.

Los Fresnos, Harlingen, Sharyland Teams to beat in 2011

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10 HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE December 2011

www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.netDISTRICT 32-5APREVIEW

Pictured are the 2011-12 Weslaco High School girls varsity basketball team mem-bers are l-r front Haley Hernandez, Carina Boughton, Summer Smith, Angela Villar-real, and Jaz Garza. Back row includes Denisse Vasquez, Jackie Alonzo, Laura Van Tilburg, and Kylee Garza. (HSSMIMages/David Amador)

Vanessa TrevinoBrownsville Lopez

Ashley Torres-Brownsville Porter

Trish CavazosBrownsville Pace

(San Benito, Tx)-The San Benito Lady Greyhounds brought home its first-ever 32-5A basketball title under first-year head coach, Clarrise Arredondo. Can they do it again in 2012? Returning to the line-up will be seniors Christina Rodriguez, Kassandra Sanchez, Alex Cerda, Vanessa Flores, and Sarah Garcia. The Lady Greyhounds have struggled with losses with early non-district losses to Cedar Park (60-17), La Joya (67-62), PSJA North (45-37), Ed-inburg (59-51), McAllen Nikki Rowe (53-46), and Mercedes (40-31). The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons will be the team to beat with head coach Kim Edquist as they have notched 13 wins this season. The Lady Falcons are led by An-gela Rodriguez (5’2), Ivanna Mendoza (5’11), and Vanessa Benacourt (5’5). If the Lady Falcons can hold on, then the Wesla-co Lady Panthers will have their hands full as head coach Griselda Fino will lead a team that went 10-4 in dis-trict 32-5A. They will feature Laura Van Til-burg, who at 6’1, stands tall as a sophomore. The Lady Panthers return Jasmine Garza and An-gela Johnson. But, don’t tell head coach Willie Brown that his Brownsville Hanna Lady Eagles will be a push over. The Lady Eagles finished 7-7 in district play in 2011 and return seniors Sarah Or-

11HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINEDecember 2011

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2011PREVIEW32-5A

The San Benito Lady Greyhounds will defend their District 32-5A title. The Lady Greyhounds won their first-ever district title and also won the State 5A Bi-District Championship crown in 2011 before losing to Laredo Alexander in the area playoffs. (HSSMIMages/Alec Amador)

Pictured are the 2011-12 Brownsville Hanna High School girls varsity basketball team members are l-r front Yessenia Rodriguez, Jacque-line Robles, Guiana Hinojosa, Crystal Perez, and head coach Willie Brown. Back row, Sarah Ortiz, Gabrielle Uhles, Mkiranda Gonzalez, Ivette Sanchez, Tiera Sellers, Karla Cantu, and Vania Garcia. (HSSMIMages/Mike De La Cruz)

Monica Salazar will lead her Brownsville Rivera Lady Raiders in District 32-5A. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

tiz, Ivette Sanchez, Ashley Lopez, Vania Garcia, and Miranda Gonzalez. The Lady Eagles finished fourth overall in 2011. Brownsville Lopez, Pace, Porter, and Rivera will be much improved. The Lady Raiders return Claudia Rodriguez, Monica Salazar, and Sam Diaz. Returning for the Lady Cowgirls are last year’s all-district perform-ers Amanda De Leon, Pola Montes, Sophia Flores, and Kassandra Flores. The Lady Lobos, coached by Minne Tarbet made the 2011 playoffs and they will return seniors Vanessa Trevino, Margarita Gar-cia, and junior Perla Guzman. The Pace Viqueens return seniors Nikki Padilla, Trish Cavazos, and Blanca Espinoza. In 2011, District 32-5A had Los Fresnos, Browns-ville Lopez, Weslaco, and San Benito all make the playoffs with only the Lady Greyhounds winning a bi-district title. HSSM picks Hanna to join Weslaco, Los Fresnos, and San Benito in the State 5A playoffs in 2012 with the Lady Falcons winning the title.



The 2011-12 Harlingen Lady Cardinals basketball team pic-tured front l-r Bianka Martinez and Demmee Rodriguez. Second row l-r are Kayla Perez, Jessica Sanchez, Kelsey Leibert, It-zayana Sanchez, Hazel Quilantan, and Iris Cerrillo. Back row l-r are Tatiana Trevino, Natalie Rojo, Alexis Martinez, Ruby Garcia, and Angela Magana. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

The defending 31-5A champs, Harlingen South Lady Hawks basketball team pictured Brittany Wyche, Ruayda Boules, Shel-by Cano, Taylor Herring, Mariah Guevara, Melissa Quintanilla, Alexis Puente, Jackie Martinez, Dezarae Hernandez, Mari Varg-ara, and Junior Robles. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

Ready for the season are the 2011-12 PSJA North Lady Raid-ers basketball team pictured Cassie Aleman, Amanda Cortez, Bry Cuellar, Selina Medina, Yahaira Suarez, Amy Dominguez, Brenda Borrego, Ileen Torres, Kristen Sifuentes, and Jaime Parrao. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

(Harlingen, Tx)-In District 31-5A, we could see another district champion besides the Edinburg Lady Bobcats who once dominated this district under head coach Rachel Car-mona. Last season, the Edinburg Lady Bobcats (30-8)fin-ished District 31-5A as the second place team, tied with Harlingen (29-6). In the playoffs, the Lady Bobcats ad-vanced to the State 5A Regional Semifinals, before losing to Corpus Christi King 74-40. Like Edinburg, the Harlingen South Lady Hawks did the same after winning the 31-5A title under head coach Dawn Engleman with a 13-1 record. The Lady Hawks lost to San Antonio Wagner 66-51 in the semifinals too. Things will be different in 2011-12 as HSSM picks the Harlingen Lady Cardinals to win it all in District 31-5A. Coached by Nora Zamarripa, the Lady Cardinals return all-district performer Bianka Martinez (13.6 ppg), and new-comer of the year, Itzyana Sanchez. After a 11-3 district finish in 2011, the Lady Cardinals already have 14 wins this season with winners over Los Fresnos, Laredo United, McAllen, Corpus Christi King, McAllen Nikki Rowe, and Weslaco. King advanced to the Class 5A regional finals last season. HSSM picks the PSJA Lady Raiders to make a move up the district standings and don’t be surprised if the Lady Raiders finish second overall under head coach Randy Bocanegra. The Lady Raiders have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time after finishing with an overall 18-16 record in 2011. With already 12 wins this season, the Lady Raiders are led by returning lettermen, Cassie Aleman, Kirstin Sifuentes, Brenda Borrego, Jamie Parrao, and Bry Cuellar. The Lady Raiders have posted wins over Mercedes, Laredo United, Weslaco East, San Benito, and McAllen Nikki Rowe. Both San Benito and Weslaco East advanced to the playoffs in 2011. If the Harlingen South Lady Hawks expect to repeat as 31-5A District Champs, they will have to play better de-fense. The Lady Hawks have given up 1,000 points this season with blowout losses to McAllen (61-38), Los Fres-nos (55-37), Seguin (76-21), Gregory Portland (67-27), and Austin Lake Travis (62-42). In the Lady Hawks district with Harlingen, the Lady Cards showed why they will be the district favorite by knocking off the Lady Hawks in an-other blowout, 70-29. Returning for the Lady Hawks are Mariah Guevara, Dezarae Hernandez, Gabby Cavazos, and Jaclyn Robles. The Lady Hawks lost five all-district per-formers to graduation. Don’t be surprised if the PSJA Lady Bears surprises teams like Edinburg, South, or even Harlingen this season. The Lady Bears are coached by Iris Garza and she is ex-cited with senior Lisa Mancillas (5’11) returning to lead the team. The Lady Bears have already posted wins over defending 32-5A champions, San Benito along with pow-erhouse La Feria (43-31) and then opened their district play with a win over Edinburg Economedes. “We are excited about this season,” says Garza. Other returning lettermen are Cecilia Garza, Nikki Vela, and Serena Olivarez. This


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The PSJA Lady Bears will be looking for a playoff spot in Dis-trict 31-5A after missing the State 5A playoffs in 2011 under head coach Iris Garza. Meet the 2011-12 PSJA Lady Bears basketball team pictured l-r Tania Garcia, Serena Olivarez, Tiffany Flores, Valerie Mancha, Lisa Mancillas, Nikki Vela, Cecilia Garza, Sam Maravilla, and Mireya Dorado. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

Meet the 2011-12 Edinburg Economedes Lady Jaguars bas-ketball team pictured front l-r Jazmine Guerrero, Blanca Bar-rientos, Emily Suarez, Yvette Garza, and Pamela Juarez. Back l-r are Rachel Rodriguez, Kenia Gonzalez, Leazhane Rayford, Stephanie Escobedo, Natalie Villarreal, Monica Gonzalez, Ad-reean Gonzalez, Salisheaun Garcia. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

leaves Edinburg trying to figure out on how to get past the top picks in 2011-12. Head coach Rachel Carmona will somehow try to find a way to sneak in and probably make the playoffs too. She is competitive and raises expectations every season for her Lady Bobcats. Her 442 wins coming into this season speaks for itself too. However, a district loss to PSJA North should already have Carmona scratch-

ing her head along with Edinburg Economedes and PSJA Memorial. At Edinburg North, the Lady Cougars could make a run for the playoffs after losing to San Benito 45-44 in the State 5A Bi-District Championships. Head coach Jenny Rae Gaytan-Garcia still remembers that devestating loss that ended their state playoff run. Returning are Vicky Pena, Annie Badillo, Larissa Arriola, and Mariah Garcia.

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2011-12 Sharyland Lady Rattlers Basketball team will be favored to win the 30-5A District title. The Lady Rattlers defeated finished the 2011 season as runner-ups and defeated Laredo Nixon in the Class 5A Bi-District Champion-ships in 2011. The team is coached by Dale Whitaker. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

2011-12 La Joya Palmview Lady Lobos Basketball team will be ready for the 30-5A season. They are coached by Juan Reyna. Left photo, Jayme Zamora of McAllen Nikki Rowe will be expected to lead her team in the 2011-12 season. The Nikki Rowe Lady Warriors are picked to finish second overall under head coach Raul Vega. The State 5A Championships will be played at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas at Austin. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

(Donna, Tx)-Can the Donna Lady Redskins make some noise in 2011-12? Can the Lady Redskins make it to the state playoffs again? Head coach Chris Kromer thinks that his team will be watched. “We are much experienced and bring back returning lettermen,” adds Kromer. In his first year at Donna, Kromer guided Donna to the play-offs after finishing fourth in 30-5A. The Lady Redskins lost in the first round to Del Rio 54-23. “We are playing aggressive defense,” adds Kromer. Returning are Jaime Pena, Gabby Cruz, Muriah Perez, Yvette Perez, and De-nise Zuniga. Sharyland head coach Dale Whitaker is excited about the 30-5A season and he would like to see his Lady Rat-tlers come together and win an outright district title too. Early season wins over Harlingen South, PSJA North, Edinburg, and their district openning win against a tal-


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Shantay GarciaMcAllen H.S.

Yucsili RaudaMcAllen H.S.

ented La Joya Lady Coyote team is giving Whitaker a reason to believe that his team can win the title. Players to watch are Clarissa Suarez, Claira Briseno (6’1), and Laura Eberly (5’7) all returning, the McAl-len Memorial Lady Mustangs will need to be much improved if they expect to defend their co-title. The McAllen Memorial Lady Mustangs are showing signs of early struggles under second-year head coach Jina Johnson. The Lady Mus-tangs were ousted from the 5A playoffs in the first round by Laredo United South (55-45). Players to watch are juniors Alexxis Zuniga, Madeline Kaufmann, Monica Andrade, and Ashley Sanchez. Also expected to lead the team will be seniors Jessica Salazar and Nicole Garza. The McAllen Lady Bulldogs coached by Roy Gonzalez made the playoffs after finishing third. The Lady Bulldogs lost to Laredo Alex-ander (42-29) in the first round but expect the Lady Bulldogs to bring

more experience on the court. Players to watch are seniors Yucsili Rauda, Anitria Flores, Arie Guerra, and Sarah Christiansen. This is the second season in a row that the Lady Bulldogs have made the playoffs. Showing signs of a possible district championship will be the McAl-len Nikki Rowe Lady Warriors under head coach Raul Vega. The Lady Warriors finished the 2011 season with a disappointing 2-12 district record and Vega knows his Lady Warriors will contend for a playoff spot. Players to watch are Christina Navarro, Ashley Watson, Ciaira Briseno, Laura Gomez, Daniella Perez, and Ashley Watson. The remaining teams, La Joya, La Joya Palmview, and Mission will be competitive with the Lady Coyotes playingthe role of spoilers in district play. They return Elva Hinojosa, Karla Trevino, and Leyla Pla-tas. All three players will play key roles and average a combined 40 points. Head coach Daniel Morales led this team to a 7-7 finish in Dis-trict 30-5A and he knows they can make the playoffs in 2012.

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DISTRICT 32-4A1. HIDALGO2. MISSION VETERANS3. ROMA4. MERCEDES5. WESLACO EAST6. EDCOUCH-ELSA7. RIO GRANDE CITY8. LJ JUAREZ-LINCOLN9. BRO VETERANS10. VALLEY VIEW HS

How They’ll Finish

2011-12 Hidalgo Early College Basketball team will be favored to win the 32-4A District title. The Lady Pirates advanced to the State 4A Regional semifinals last season before losing to state finalist, Austin LBJ. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

(Hidalgo, Tx)-Every team knows in the Rio Grande Val-ley, the Hidalgo Early College Lady Pirates are a team to be reckon with in District 32-4A. The Lady Pirates won the 32-4A title in their first season as a 4A team and then went three rounds deep, before losing to Austin LBJ in the State 4A Regional Semifinals last sea-son. The Lady Pirates will be led by MVP Nelly Flores (6’0) who averages 19.0 points per game and has since matured. Players to watch are Janice Castillo, Jade Jones, Lexi Wil-liams, and Alexis Frias. Challenging the Lady Pirates will be the MissionVeterans Memorial Lady Patriots who

went 14-4 in 2011. The Lady Pats will be led by Briana Ca-sas, a multi-talented forward and post. She’s an all-around player that can make things happen. Kassy Lopez, Jackie Diaz, Savannah Carrier, and Kaitlyn Garza should make this Patriot team alot more ag-gressive in 2012. The Mercedes Lady Tigers are making waves around the Rio Grande Valley under head coach Marisa Gutierrez. The Lady Tigers are led by Alyza Alaniz, Deidra Barroso, Re-becca Trevino, Anissa Reyes, Summer Vento, Keisha Rodri-guez, and Ashley Rodriguez. Already at 2-2 in District 32-4A, the Lady Tigers are much

improved under head coach Marissa Gutierrez. Probably the most under-rat-ed team this season will be the Roma Lady Gladiators who are off to a 4-0 start in district play with wins over Valley View, Mission Veterans, and Mercedes. In non-district, the Lady Gladiators also defeated Carrizo Springs (37-34), San Antonio Cole (54-34), Pear-shall (52-27), and San Antonio Jefferson. Look for the Lady Gladiators to make the play-offs in 2012. If the Weslaco East Lady Wildcats can regroup from last season’s playoff run and their 16-2 finish in district, the will have to do it with new faces. Players to watch will be Kayla Rodriguez (5’10), Caro-

line Cuellar (5’10), Julianna Benitez (5’11), and Patricia Ochoa (5’8). They have plenty of height but have struggled in the preseason with losses to PSJA North, Port-Lavaca Calhoun, Austin Lake Travis, and Harlingen South. Playing top teams from other leagues could help the Lady Wildcats late in the season. The Lady Wildcats will be tested when they play Roma on December 28th. Edcouch-Elsa head coach Imelda Rubio would like to improve from her 10-8 season and with returning lettermen Laura Ruiz, Gabby Capello, Katrina Capello, and Kendra Garcia, they could make a run in the district standings. Early losses to Edinburg, San Beni-to, Edinburg North, and McAl-len Nikki Rowe could help the Lady Jackets with games throughout the season. The Lady Jackets lost to Mission Veterans in a district match up with Garcia scoring 11 points but they still struggled on of-fense by scoring only 33 points throughout the game.



Kassy LopezMission Veterans H.S.

Lily RochaMission Veterans H.S.

Kaitlyn GarzaMission Veterans H.S.

Christina AnguianoMission Veterans H.S.

2011-12 Rio Grande City Lady Rattlers Basketball team will compete in District 32-4A under head coach Simon Garza. The Lady Rattlers finished 3-15 in 2011 and look to improve in 2012. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

2011-12 La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Lady Huskies Basketball team pictured are Arai Millan, Maritza Bernal, Kim Bercanga, Bernice Salinas, Abby Cuellar, Ashley Bell, Dayana Torres, Alice Quintana, and Maria Alejandro. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

The La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Lady Huskies surprised the district by making the playoffs as the fourth place team finish-ing 11-7 overall. In the play-offs, the Lady Huskies lost to Corpus Christi Ray 63-30 in the bi-district championships. Head coach Anisa Reyna will look to seniors Maria De Ale-jandro and Gracie Lopez to lead the Lady Huskies. At far west, the Rio Grande

City Lady Rattlers finished its season in 2011 with a 3-15 re-cord. Head coach Simon Gar-za knows that his program is still rebuilding but they will be much improved in 2012. The Valley View Lady Tigers coached by Ozzy Hernandez experienced what every coach would hate to see, and that is 0-22 season. Players to watch are Dorana Valdez, Alma Ro-driguez, Dalia Mata, and Kim-

berly Hernandez. Already showing signs of improvement in dis-trict play, the Lady Tigers defeated Mercedes 39-36 and then lost to Roma 49-32. The Lady Tigers also posted a non-district win over Santa Rosa. At Brownsville Veterans Memorial, head coach Lottie Zarate took over a new program in 2011 and won three games in district play. She came from Santa Rosa where Zarate won numerous of district titles.



DISTRICT 32-3A1. LA FERIA2. RIO HONDO3. ZAPATA4. PORT ISABEL5. RGC GRULLA6. PROGRESO7. PSJA SOUTHWEST

DISTRICT 31-3A1. WEST OSO2. ORANGE GROVE3. RAYMONDVILLE4. ROBSTOWN5. LYFORD6. CC MILLER

DISTRICT 32-2A1. SANTA ROSA2. RIVIERA KAUFER3. KINGSVILLE ACADEMY4. EDINBURG IDEA QUEST5. BRO FRONTIER PREP6. FALFURRIAS7. PREMONT

DISTRICT 32-1A DIV II1. LASARA2. TILDEN MCMULLEN3. SAN PERLITA4. SAN ISIDRO5. BRUNI6. CC COLLEGE PREP

DISTRICT 32-1-DIV I1. SANTA MARIA2. BEN BOLT3. BENAVIDES4. AGUA DULCE5. LA VILLA

3A,2A,1APREVIEW How They’ll Finish

Progreso Lady Red Ants will be a team to watch in District 32-3A. The Lady Red Ants are coached by Patrick Self. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

Amanda Soria will lead her Raymondville team in 2011-12. (HSSMImages/David Amador)

(Progreso, Tx)-The Lady Red Ants ended their season with a 13-16 record and also went 4-8 in 32-3A district play. If the Lady Red Ants expect to win a district title, they will have to find ways to beat La Feria, Rio Hondo, Zapata, and Port isabel. Players to watch for the Lady Red Ants are Indira Garza (5’7), Rebeca Ochoa (5’10), Brianna Puente (5’7), and Dulce Velez (5’2). District favorites are the Rio Hondo Lady Bearkats and La Feria Lady Lionettes. Both teams return experienced play-ers. The Lady Bobcats went 25-5 in 2011 and won the dis-trict title but lost to Needville in the area playoffs. Players to watch are Ashley Canas, Belinda Orozco, Vanessa Her-

nandez, and Natalie Jaramillo. At La Feria, the Lady Lio-nettes are coached by Angel Martinez. After a 7-5 finish in district 32-3A and missing the playoffs, they will be set to return. Early wins against Brownsville Lopez, Pace, Raymondville, and Mercedes should give this team confi-dence going into district play. In District 31-3A, the Corpus Christi West Oso Lady Bears missed the playoffs in 2011 but they will be much improved in 2012. Already, the Lady Bears have wins over Flour Bluff, Banquete, Devine, and Stock-dale. Also showing signs of im-provement are the Orange Grove Lady Bulldogs coached by Lee Ann Barker. Led by Ashley King and Brandi Her-

scap, the Lady Bulldogs will be tough to beat in 2012. If the Raymonville Lady Bearkats can figure out a way to win some games in 2011-12, they could put themselves in the hunt for a playoff spot. In District 32-2A, Santa Rosa will be the team to beat and Lasara could win the title in District 32-1A-Div II.


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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2011Boys Preview5A(McAllen, Texas)-In District 30-5A, the McAl-len Memorial Mustangs coached by Sam Cortez would like to finish strong in every game they play. “We let too many games slip away,” says Cortez. “We are contending for district titles ev-ery season but we just need to finish games.” Last season the Mustangs went 12-2 in district play. At the City of Palms Tournament, the Mus-tangs lost to 31-3A Corpus Christi Miller 49-46 in the championship game in another game that got away from them late in the game. Miller ad-vanced to the State 3A Regional finals before losing to CC West Oso. Players to watch are point guard 5-6 Junior. Juan “Papito” Gonzalez; Michael Hinojosa, Elias Villarreal, Josh Da-vies, Otto Sunday, and Carmine Caporusso. The Mustangs were dealt with a huge blow when center Pablo Adame (6’3) was injured during football season. He hopes to make a comeback late in th season. Memorial advanced to bi-district against Laredo United South. Mustangs return three starters and hope to compete for the district title. In 2011-12 non-district action, the Mustangs have won 11 games with key wins over Los Fresnos, San Benito, Brownsville Pace, Rio Hondo, Brownsville Porter, San Antonio Clem-ens, Edinburg North, and Pflugerville Connally.

DISTRICT 30-5A1. MCALLEN NIKKI ROWE2. SHARYLAND3. MCALLEN MEMORIAL4. LA JOYA H.S.5. MCALLEN6. LA JOYA PALMVIEW7. DONNA8. MISSION


Reaching for Newer Heights! The McAllen Me-morial Mustangs will be favored to contend for the District 30-5A title. Pictured is Michael Hino-josa of the Mustangs blocking a shot. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)


www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.netDISTRICT 30-5APREVIEW(McAllen, Texas)-If there is one team that would love to win back-to-back district titles, that team is the McAllen Rowe Warriors. HeadcoachJose Yerba had a successful year in 2010-11 going 29-4 overall and 13-1 in District 30-5A. The Warriors advanced to the State 5A Bi-District championships and defeated Laredo LBJ 64-52 and then lost a nail-biter to Harlingen 52-51 in the area playoffs. Yerba is probably still thinking about that game too. “We missed too many opportunities against Harlingen,” said Yerba. Players to watch this season are Azarias Avalos, Rodrigo Trevino, Rudy Campos, Avi Fernandez, and Christopher Gatling. The Warriors picked up a huge win against Harlingen 91-77 at the Brownsville Invitational Basketball Tournament. Fernandez scored 25 points intheir win with Avalos adding 22 points and Campos 17 points. Head coach David Keith of the Sharyland Rattlers probably heads the best basketball team in the Valley but early set backs has the Rattlers wondering if they will win a 30-5A title. The Rattlers feature plenty of talent despite finishing 8-6 overall and barely making the playoffs as the fourth place team. They would lose to Laredo United in overtime 54-50. “We need to play four quarters of basektball and not give up too many turnovers. we need to control the ball,” adds Keith. Players to watch are 6’3 Sr. Quino Pistokache; 6’4 Sr. John Madrigal; John Horner 6’6; Matthew Cardenas 6’2; Jesse Pistokache 6’3; Patrick de la Torre 6’5; and Eduardo Garcia 6’3. In tournament play, the Rattlers beat Pasadena Memorial at the McDonald’s Invitational Tournament 47-42 and South Houston 61-56. They Rattlers also notched a win over Edinburg North 42-39 with Jesse Pistokache leading the team with 16 points.

2011-12 McAllen Nikki Rowe Basketball team will be favored to win the 30-5A District title. Pictured front l-r are Rodrigo Trevino, Jordan Romero, Avi Fernandez, and Javi Villarreal. Back row l-r are Azarias Avalos, Daniel Constante, Deion James, Christopher Gatling, Rudy Campos, and Gabe Garcia. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

McAllen Bulldogs headcoach Homer Garr hopes to lead his team to the State 5A playoffs in 2012. The Bulldogs made three straight Class 5A Region IV appearances from 2008-2010. (HSSMImages/David Amador)


PREVIEW HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW 201130-5A

The La Joya Coyotes will be the team to watch in District 30-5A under headcoach Richard Cantu, Jr. The Coyotes finished 17-15 overall and 6-8 in district play. They Coyotes will feature 5’4 Jr Johnny Hinojosa; 6’3 Sr. Alex Alaniz; 6’3 Sr. Mario Ta-mez; and 6’2 Sr. Ricky Salinas. So far the Coyotes have shown that they will be the team to contend with as they have posted wins over PSJA North 56-55, Los Fresnos 69-64, and Zapata 67-30. But, can the Coyotes overcome early losses to San Benito, Edinburg, Edinburg Economedes, Laredo United South, and St. Joe? Other players to watch are Victor Contreras, Jose Olgin, Emmanuel Lucio, and Pablo Tovar. After making three-straight Class 5A Region IV Tournament appearances from 2008-2010, the McAllen Bulldogs entered a new era in 2011 with new headcoach, Homer Garr of Roma. Garr almost pulled off a great year by finishing 11-3 overall in district. In 2012, this season will be competitive with teams like La Joya, Nikki Rowe, McAllen Memorial, and Sharyland all vy-

ing for playoff spots. Players to watch are 5’8 Sr. Eric Silva; 6’3 Sr. James Kittleman; 5’5 Jr. Andre Saldana; 5’10 Sr. Elijah Her-nandez; and 6’1 Sr. Robert Valdez. The Bulldogs graduated eight seniors so this will be Garr’s first rebuilding season. His success as the Roma Gladiators head coach will help him contend for another playoff spot in 2012. The Mission Eagles, La Joya Palmview Lobos, Donna Red-skins, will give teams from District 30-5A plenty of fits and they will upset teams too, once district begins. Eagles headcoach Toro Martinez went 2-12 in district, while the La Joya Palmview Lobos and headcoach Andy Saenz did the same with an over-all district record of 2-12. If new Donna Redskins headcoach, Zeke Rodriguez can make a difference in 2012, his Redskins will be much improved in 30-5A. HSSM picks the Nikki Rowe Warriors, Sharyland, McAllen Memorial, McAllen, and La Joya Coyotes as the teams to beat in 2012. This district could go down to the last week of the season to determine the champion.

30-5A District title in 2011-12? The Sharyland Rattlers Basketball team pictured front l-r Andres Cantu, Ron Ramos, Prospero Fernandez, Matthew Townsend, Eduardo Garcia, and Iain Guy. Back row l-r are Jesse Pistokache, John Madrigal, John Horner, Joaquin Pistokache, Matthew Cardenas, and Patrick de la Torre. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)


www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.netDISTRICT 31-5APREVIEW(Edinburg, Tx)-The four-time 31-5A District champions, Edinburg Bobcats have made it habit to win the districttitle and four the past four seasons under head coach Zeke Cuel-lar, the Bobcats are 55-1 in district. Last year, Cuellar led them back to the State 5A Re-gional tournament after beat-ing Brownsville Porter, Lar-edo United South, and Laredo United in the playoffs. The Bobcats lost in a close battle to San antonio Taft 62-52 in the Class 5A regioanl semifinals. Can they repeat again with most of their lineup graduating in 2011? “We lost a lot of point guards and hopefully, we can make a difference this season,”

Daniel RamirezHarlingen H.S.

David PryorHarlingen H.S.

Daniel YbarraHarlingen H.S.

2011-12 Edinburg Bobcats Basketball team will be looking to win its fifth straight district title under head coach Zeke Cuellar. The Bobcats advanced to the State 5A Regional Tournament in 2011 with wins over Brownsville Porter, Laredo United South, and Laredo United. The Bobcats are 55-1 in district play for the past four seasons. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

DISTRICT 31-5A1. HARLINGEN2. EDINBURG3. HARLINGEN SOUTH4. ECONOMEDES5. EDINBURG NORTH6. PSJA NORTH7. PSJA 8. PSJA MEMORIAL


adds Cuellar. Players to watch are Raul Palma, Nick Mi-callef, Noe Espericueta, Ga-briel Rivas, Emilio Trejo, and Matthew Garza. The Bobcats won the Diamondback Basket-ball Classic by defeating San Benito 55-47 in the finals. “We committed too many turnovers (15) in that game and we need to just hang on to the ball with more control,” added Cuellar. The Harlingen Cardinals, picked by HSSM to win the 31-5A title are off to a 15-2 record in non-district after making a trip to the State 5A

Region IV Tournament under headcoach Greg Yates. The Cardinals finished second to Edinburg (12-2) in 2011 and but like Edinburg, defeated Brownsville Rivera, McAl-len Nikki Rowe, and Weslaco before losing to San Antonio MacArthur 77-61 in the semi-finals. Players to watch are 5’11 Sr. Daniel Ybarra; 5’6 Jr. Gilbert Reza; 6’0 Sr. Pete Robles; 6’2 Sr. Charlie Pow-ers; and 5’9 Jr. Omar Hunter. Ybarra was named as the dis-trict newcomer of the year while Robles, Hunter, Reza and Powers were all honorable mention selections. The Edinburg North Cougars

could be the team that could surprise the district with mak-ing a run at a possible district title. Headcoach Rudy B. Gar-cia finished fourth with a 9-5 record and lost to Weslaco in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. Players to watch are 5’11 Sr. Sam Cavazos; 5’7 Sr. Mando Peralta, 4.5 ppg., 2.4 rpg., 3 apg.; 6’0 Sr. Brandon Davila, 9 ppg., 6.7 rpg.; 6’0 Sr. Aaron Beltran, 6.7 ppg., 3.1 rpg.; and 5’8 Soph. Brian Bel-tran, 4.8 ppg., 2.5 rpg. Edinburg North advanced to the school’s first playoff appearance in 13 years. and will have a lot of experience, quickness, speed and overall



ability. Cavazos was named second team all-district while Da-vila, Peralta, Aaron Beltran and Brian Beltran were all honorable mention picks. The Harlingen South Hawks under headcoach Brian Molina led his team to a 10-4 and third place finish. Molina is optimistic about this season and likes his chances of winning a district title. They have the height and experience to possiblity, win it all in 2012. Players to watch are 5’9 Sr. Mark Villegas, 14.1 ppg., 4.2 apg., 4.1 spg.; 6’0 Soph, Nick Garcia 12.4 ppg; 6’2 Sr. Johnny Sauceda; 6’3 Sr. Lorenzo Monjaras, 4.1 ppg., 3.2 rpg and 5’10 Sr. Jaelen Molina, 3 ppg. The Harlingen South Hawks advanced to bi-district against Brownsville Hanna. Hawks return two starters and 10 lettermen

Marcellus WashingtonHarlingen South H.S.

Johnny SaucedaHarlingen South H.S.

Ethan PerezHarlingen South H.S.

Nick GarciaHarlingenSouth H.S.

2011-12 Edinburg North Basketball team pictured front l-r are Lico Beltran, Jose Rosillo, Danyel Ayala, Christian Granado, and Joel Cuellar. Back row l-r are Mando Peralta, Brian Beltran, Aaron Beltran, Brandon Davila, Kerry Williams, Alex Garza, Sam Cavazos, Anthony Villarreal, and Robert Perez. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

led by ultra-quick point guard second team all-district Vellegas and honorable mention all district Garcia. Sauceda and Monjaras were also on the all honorable mentions. If last weekend’s victory over district favorite, Harlingen was any indication of what to expect in 31-5A, just ask head coach Lalo Rios of the Edinburg Economedes Jaguars. After a 4-10 fin-ish in 2011, the Jags beat Harlingen 88-87 in the championship game of the C.E. Vail Boys Basketball Tournament in La Feria. It was the victory that could lauch this Economedes program to newer heights. Most importantly, plenty of confidence enter dis-trict play next week. Players to watch are 6’2 Sr. John Barrien-tos, 13.9 ppg. 7.9 rpg; 5’11 Sr. J.J. Velazquez, 12-1 ppg. 2.7 spg.; 6’0 Sr. Jesus Gonzalez, 7 ppg., 4.5 rpg.; 6’2 Sr. Ricky Cantu,



Porfirio RodriguezPSJA Memorial

Juan RosalesPSJA Memorial

Arnold RoblesPSJA Memorial

John BarrientosEdinburg Economedes

J.J. VelazquezEdinburg Economedes

Ricky CantuEdinburg Economedes

Playoff Hopefuls! Leeon Badillo is set to lead the PSJA North Raiders in 2012. Head coach is Jaime Gongora. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

9.7 ppg., 7.3 rpg; and senior Christian Zuniga, who averages 4.4 ppg. and 2.3. rebounds per game. Jaguars expect to battle for a district title with all starters coming back. Team experience, size and speed will be focal points in the team’s overall success. Barrientos was first team all-district while Velazquez was on the second team and Gonzales, Cantu and Zuniga were all honorable mention. At Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North, the Raiders headcoach Jaime Gongora, likes his chances of making the post season despite going 4-10 in 2011. “We have been building this program from the middle schools on up. We host many basketball camps and now I’m beginning to see these younger players maturing from grade school,” says Gongora. Players to watch are Leeon Badillo, Ray-mond Leal, Steve Solis, J.J. Salazar, Adan Enriquez, Arte Cuellar, and Mark Ramirez. The Raiders expect to be improved with the return of honorable men-tion all-district performers Salazar and Solis. Already, the Raiders are showing signs of improvements with eleven wins thus far, over Rio Grande City, McAl-len, Mission, La Joya, Brownsville Pace, Raymondville, and Mercedes. “That game against Mercedes was a big win for our program. They were a playoff team last season,” says Gongora. “We are improving every week.” The last time the Raiders made the playoffs was back in 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006. The 2006 Raiders advanced to the State 5A Region IV semifinals with wins over Laredo Alexander, Sharyland, Brownsville Porter. The Raiders lost to San Anto-nio Reagan 63-39. North would advance in 2005 before losing to Laredo Nixon in the regional quarterfinals. They also won the 31-5A titles in 2005 and 2004 and also advanced to the regional quarterfinals in 2004 losing to Corpus Christi Ray 55-48. They would also win the district title in 2003. Maybe the PSJA Wolverines should just play basketball in the month of

December after winning three straight non-district games against Laredo LBJ, Lyford, and Grulla-RGC. They will open district play against Harlingen South on January 6th and if the Wol-verines expect to make some noise, a win over the Hawks could be the game to do in too. Headcoach Robert Silva watched his team go 3-11 in district play last season and they return Juan Rosales, Christian Ramirez, Aaron Flores, Gilbert Pena, Jaime Borrego, and Portfirio Rodri-guez. Game: Coach Silva re-turns seven players who at one point in the season were in the starting lineup. The Wolver-ines would love to make 2012 the year of making the State 5A playoffs for the first time in school history. The Pharr San Juan-Alamo Bears basketball program will be tested once district play comes around in 2012. Head-coach Roy Garcia II would love to see his Bears improve from its one-game win in dis-trict play from 2010. Returning are Luis Mancil-las, James Rodriguez, Jesse Castillo, Justin Gonzales, Justin Gonzalez, Thomas Vil-larreal, Cameron McDonald, Oscar Castillo, and Humberto Alaniz.



(Weslaco, Tx)-In Distict 32-5A, the Weslaco Panthers head coach Gabe Valdez would like to see his team repeat as de-fending champions after going 31-8 overall and 14-0 in dis-trict. “It will be tough because we lost quite of few players from last year’s team. We will be rebuilding this season,” says Valdez. Weslaco advanced to the re-gional quarterfinals against Harlingen. The Panthers grad-uated the two district co-MVPs Raul Garcia and Garrison Lackey. Players to watch in 2012 will be Tommy Chavez, Nick Villegas, Andrew Car-doza, Joey Torres, Brandon Lopez, Eric Pemelton, and Gabriel Valdez Jr. The Brownsville Hanna Eagles, now coached by Todd Barckholtz should be much improved from last season’s team that went 25-9 and 12-2 in district. Since Don Denson retired last season, the Eagles are struggling early on with non-district losses to Edinburg North and Harlingen. Players to watch are Sr. Victor Agui-lar, 9.4 ppg., 3.5 apg.; 6’1; and Jr. Lorenzo Garza, 10.7 ppg., 5.5 rpg. Hanna advanced to the area round against Laredo United . This will be a dif-ferent-feeling season with the absence of retired long-time coach Don Denson. Look for a young and inexperienced team on the floor that will still

How They’ll FinishBOYSDISTRICT 32-5A1. LOS FRESNOS2. BRO PORTER3. BRO RIVERA4. WESLACO5. BRO HANNA6. SAN BENITO7. BRO LOPEZ8. BRO PACE

Defending Champs! Carlos Madrigal of Weslaco will lead his Panthers in District 32-5A to a possible title. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

work hard to be competitive in district. Aguilar was newcom-er of the year while Garza was second team all-district. The team to watch will be the Los Fresnos Falcons-picked by HSSM as the team to beat in District 32-5A. Head coach Shawn Jones watched his team struggle to an overall 8-25 record and finished 2-12. Players to watch are 5’11 Jr.

Akeem Simien; 5’8 Jr. Erasto Renteria; 5’9 Sr. Kevin Cle; 5’8 Jr. Reno Martinez; 5’11 Jr. Eli Villarreal; and 6’4 Sr. Christian Rodriguez. Al-ready, the Falcons are flying high with wins over Hidalgo (53-46), Rio Hondo (56-33), and state-ranked Santa Rosa (45-39). Watch for honorable mention selections Renteria, Simien and Cole to lead the

Falcons in what is expect to be a return to the post season after a two year absence. Brownsville Porter Cowboys head coach Luis Garza led this team to an overall 17-16 re-cord and finished 7-7. Last season, Porter advanced to bi-district against Edinburg and should again be in the playoff chase. Players to watch will be Carlos Mauruto, Eric


www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.netDISTRICT 32-5APREVIEWMartinez, Hugo Salazar, Gio Bentacourt, Brian Science, and Jordan Morales. The Brownsville Rivera Raiders always find themselves in contention for a district title. Headcoach Saul Villarreal. led his team to an overall 18-10 re-cord and 9-5 in district. Play-ers to watch are 5’7 Sr. David Soto; 6’1 Sr. Juan Ortiz; 6’4 Sr. Ricky Gonzalez; 6’3 Sr. Hector Orozco; and 5’10 Sr. Dominque Whitaker. Rivera advanced to bi-district against Harlingen and will once again be in post-season contention. Soto was district defensive player of the year while Ortiz and Whitaker were honorable mention all-district. Can the Brownsville Pace Vikings continue its winning tradition in 2011? After the football team won it’s first bi-district title since 1990, this win could impact on how the basketball team reacts. Head-coach Jose Luis Ramirez would like to improve from his

overall 11-18 and improve their 6-8 finish. Early non-district losses to Harlingen (81-36), Harlingen South (58-48), PSJA North (59-34), and McAllen Memorial (58-49), could see the Vikings struggle or improve once district begins. One that has improved in 2011 are the Brownville Lopez Lobos with eleven wins

2011-12 Brownsville Porter Basketball team pictured front l-r Josue Leal, Eleasar Casarez, Gio Bentacourt, and Brian Science. Back l-r are Carlos Mauruto, Martin Del Los Santos, Hugo Sala-zar, Carlos Mauruto, Moises Hernandez, and Jonah Kavanaugh. (HSSMImages/David Amador)



2011-12 Los Fresnos Basketball team will be favored to win the 32-5A District title. Pictured front l-r are Kevin Cole, Akeen Simiem, MacKenzie Oswald, Danny Arreola, and Erasto Rente-ria. Back l-r are Eli Villarreal, Alex Oswald, David Garza, Shelby Galazar and Trevor Sommer.(HSSMImages/David Amador)

this season to date. Players to watch are Sr. Rodolfo Aguirre: Sr. Lorenzo Rangel; Sr. Mateo Gutierrez; Jr Gilbert Vasquez; Jr. EfrenTorres; Sr. Chris Perez; Sr. Jesus Jimenez; and Sr. JJ Her-nandez. San Benito head coach Eddie Abrego knows that his team is headed in the right direction come 2012. Despite early losses to Sharyland (57-42), Harlingen South (52-47), McAllen Memorial (51-48), and Harlingen (74-68) these Greyhounds could be run-ning all the way to the state playoffs in 2012. Players to watch are Grant Preciado, Daniel Molina, Jason Lopez, David Herrera, Manny Sanchez, Rey Perez, and aaron Serna. Teams that advanced to the State 5A playoffs in 2011 from District 32-5A were Brownsville Porter, Brownsville Hanna, Brownsville Rivera, and Weslaco High School. Both Weslaco and Hanna won Bi-District titles.

2011-12 San Benito Basketball team members pictured top right are Manny Sanchez (50) and David Herrrera (42). Bottom photo are Cruz Guzman (35) and Jason Lopez (34). (HSSMImages/David Amador)


www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.netDISTRICT 32-4APREVIEW(Hidalgo, Texas)-Which team will emerge as the District 32-4A title holders? It will be a close toss up. The Hidalgo Early College Pirates, coach by longtime headcoach Gus Sanchez, who already has 223 wins and advanced to bi-district against Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway in 2011 should get the edge of winning the title in 2012. Despite being ousted in the first round, the Pirates will be fa-vored. At the Diamondback Basketball Classic, the Pirates Andrew Espinoza hurt his achilles heel after scoring 24 points in the semifinals against San Benito and this could hurt the Pirate’s chances of winning the title in 2012. Johnathon

DISTRICT 32-4A1. HIDALGO2. ROMA3. MERCEDES4. EDCOUCH-ELSA5. WESLACO EAST6. MISSION VETS7. RIO GRANDE CITY8. LJ JUAREZ-LINCOLN9. BRO VETERANS10. VALLEY VIEW HS


Cantu will have to step up and lead the Pirates on offense. Challenging the Pirates will defend-ing champions, the Roma Gladiators-Coached by Abelardo Escobar who led the Gladiators to an emotional 24-10 and finish and won the title with a 16-2 record in his first season. Roma advanced to the area round against San Antonio Edison. The team will play with a heavy heart in mourning the death of Robert Garza, who would have been a senior but died while play-ing at an AAU tournament in Austin in March. The Gladiators must replace graduated district MVP Carlos Gon-zalez. Two points kept the Mission Veter-ans Memorial Patriots from advancing past the Class 4A Bi-District round af-ter losing to Corpus Christi Ray Tex-ans 52-50 last February. Headcoach Romeo De La Garza, Jr. (264-124). ended their season with an overall 22-13 record and 12-6 in district. The Patriots return plenty of let-termenwith 5’9 Jr. Joshua Villarreal, ppg., 6.1 apg., 3.2 spg.; 6’2 Sr. Hec-tor Gandaria, 7 ppg., 7.1 rpg.; 5’10 Sr. Ricky Moreno, 3 ppg., 2.1 apg.; 5’9 Jr. A.J. Martinez; and 5’10 Soph JoJo Martinez. De la Garza is excited about this group of players. The Patriots will play at Edcouch-Elsa on January 13th in a key district game. Villarreal was

Edcouch-Elsa Yellowjackets will be ready in 2012? Pictured is Adam Lopez of the Yellowjackets with hopes of return-ing to the State 4A playoffs. (HSSMImages/AlecAmador)

PREVIEW


HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW 201132-4A

first team all-district while Gandaria was honorable mention all-district. The almost factor almost won a dis-trict title for the Mercedes Tigers in 2011. Headcoach Eric Steinbrunner knows it too. The Tigers ended their season with an impressive 28-6 overall record and runner-ups in district with a 14-4 record. Former Brownsville Pace head coach Larry Gibson moved over to Brownsville Veterans Memorial Char-ger last year and picked up nine wins overall and two wins in district. Re-turning for the Chargers are 6’3 Soph. Eduardo Hernandez; 5’8 Jr. Marco Munoz; 5’8 Jr. Emilio Sosa; and 6’1 Jr. Andy Alvarado. Making the first team all-district selection were Hernandez and Munoz and honorable mention went to Sosa and Alvarado. Other Players to watch are Jorge Lerma, Alan Ramirez, Isaiah Torres, Roger Mata, and Marco Munoz. The Weslaco East Wildcats have been silent in 2011. Headcoach Art Castillo led his team to a 9-9 finish last season and to date, the Wildcats have struggled. Losses to Corpus Chris-ti Moody, Brownsville Porter, and Los Fresnos have kept this team off-balanced. Something Castillo is not used to seeing in non-district action. Weslaco East missed the playoffs after advancing the previous year and must replace some talented graduates in-cluding Juan Jasso. The Wildcats ex-perienced nine straight losses in non-district and Castillo hopes that in 2012 will be much better. “We are young and inexperienced,”says Castillo. The Rio Grande City Rattlers coachged by Ricardo Contreras could be the team to watch inDistrict 32-4A. After ending the season strong, with an overall record of 16-15 and 11-7 in district play, this could be the year that the Rattlers make the playoffs. They edge out fourth place in a playoff tie-breaker game with Hidalgo. “We are more experienced and playing with confidence,” says Contreras. The winningest hispanic head bas-ketball coach in the nation, Robert Capello was brought back out of re-tirement to revive the once, dominat

2011-12 Rio Grande City Rattlers Basketball team will be much improved from 2011 after finishing 11-7 in 32-4A. The head coach is Ricardo Contreras.(HSSMImages/MIke De La Cruz)

2011-12 Mission Veterans Memorial team will be looking to make the State 4A play-offs again in 2012 after losing to Corpus Christi Ray in the Bi-District playoffs in 2011. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

2011-12 Hidalgo Early College High School Basketball team will be favored to win the 32-4A District title. The Pirates advanced to the Bi-District championships in Class 4A in 2011 and hope to return again in 2012. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)



Season Gets Underway in 2012! The La Joya-Juarez-LincolnHuskies will be looking to improve in 2012 while the Mercedes Tigers could contend for the District 32-4A title. The Tigers lost to Corpus Christi Calallen in the Class 4A Bi-District Champion-ships 64-60. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jack-ets. After ending the season at 8-13 overall, and 7-11 in district , players to watch are 5’7 Sr. J.J. Salinas; 6’4 Sr. Zack Griffen; and Jr. Aaron Salinas. At C.E. Vail Tour-nament, the Yellowjackets lost to Harlingen 108-61 in the semifinals but showed lots of promise. “It’s great to be back on courtside again,” said Capello. In August of 2010, Capello was replaced by Steven Mendoza and af-ter one season, Capello was back. Capello was honored last season by coaching the All-Valley Basketball Showcase presented by the RGV Vi-pers and the RGV Basket-ball Officials Chapter. His 45-year career has given him an overall record of 966 wins and 436 losses. He ranks third overall, nation-

ally with 966 wins amongst active coaches in high school basketball. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Huskies headcoach, Eric Montalvo will try improve the Huskies overall 10-10 record and strong 8-10 district record from 2011. Montalvo, who starred at La Joya High School as a top basketball player hopes that Juarez-Lincoln will come through and improve each week in 32-4A. Other teams looking to make a difference in 2012 are the Pharr Valley View Tigers under headcoach, Anthony Pinal. The Tigers went 1-23 overall and win-less in district at 0-18. HSSM picks the Hidalgo Early College, Roma, Mer-cedes, and Mission Veterans Memorial teams to beat in District 32-4A.



DISTRICT 31-3A1. WEST OSO2. ORANGE GROVE3. CC MILLER4. RAYMODNVILLE5. LYFORD6. ROBSTOWN


(Corpus Christi, Tx)-What a year District 31-3A experi-enced in 2011. The Corpus Christi West Oso Bears won the district title and went all the way to win the State 3A Championships at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Can the Bears repeat in 2012? Headcoach Arnold Flores led his team to an im-pressive 35-3 overall record and 10-0 in district. Players to watch are LaDaniel Marshall, 6’2; Will Enriquez; 6’2 and Jerome Blandenship, to lead a young Oso team. Marshall was district defensive MVP while Enriquez was second team all district. Challenging the Oso Bears will be a talented Orange Grove Bulldogs team coached by Jeff Huber. They will have plenty of height and talent from a team that went 4-6 in

district play in 2011. They Bulldogs also won the Class 3A Bi-District title with a win over Zapata but lost to Sweeny 54-53 in the area playoffs. Re-turning are 6’4 Jr. Joseph Wl-liams, 10 ppg., 8 rpg.; 6’3 Sr. Miles Kocurek, 14 ppg.; 6’2 Sr. Zach Arnold, 7 ppg.; 5’7 Jr. Ruben Lopez, 4 apg.; and 6’2 Sr. Michael Stehle, 4.4 ppg. Four starters return and offer plenty of height and ex-perience. Kocurek nailed 122 three pointers last year while Lopez was co-newcomer of the year. Can the Corpus Christi Miller Bucs surprise the field by winning the district title in 2012? Head coach Maurice Bastian led his team to a 22-16 finishe and 8-2 in district. The Bucs also advanced to the State 3A Regional finals and met CC West Oso from the

same district too. The Bucs would fall to the Bears 77-70. So close, yet so far. Players to watch are Billy Guzman, Dale Perryman, David Riojas, and Julia Firo. Perryman was named co-offensive player of the year as a sophomore and Guzman was named second team all-district. Riojas and Firo were honorable mention. The Raymondville Bearkats will be much improved from its overall 13-16 record and expect to see their 2-8 district record finish atleast at .500. The Bearkats return 5’10 Sr. Frank Ledesma 5’9, Sr. Josh Cantu, 5’9, Sr. D.J. Quiroga, and 5’10 Jr. Omar Pena. The final spots for district could end up with either the Robstown Cotton Pickers fin-ishing fifth and the Lyford Bulldogs in last. Or they could swap positions. The Cot-

Looking to Improve in 2012! Pictured is Josh Cantu of Raymondville who will lead the Bearkats in 2011-12. Photo on right is Ly-ford’s Matt Vasquez dribbling into a new season with the Bulldogs.(HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

tonpickers coached by Bert Ybarra went 13-13 in 2011 and return. Names junior Raul Salinas and senior Matt Lara. Both were honorable mention all district performers. And finally, the Lyford Bull-dogs coached by Douglas Ames will be much improved from its 4-6 district record. Players to watch are Danny Es-pinoza, Jacob Lerma, Gilberto Rodriguez, Mathew Vasquez, Lucas Salina, and Johnathan Nino.


DISTRICT 32-3APREVIEW


DISTRICT 32-3A1. RIO HONDO2. LA FERIA3. PORT ISABEL4. RGC GRULLA5. ZAPATA6. PROGRESO7. PSJA SOUTHWEST


(Rio Hondo, Tx)-After win-ning the District 32-3A title with a perfect 12-0 record, the Rio Hondo Bobcats, coach: Jose Guzman should enjoy an-other district title with plenty of experience on the court. Seniors Jacob Garza, 6’2 Jorge Bermudez, and 6’2 Shawn O’ Brien, 6’2 Jorge Bermudez; 6’3 Jacob Boen, and 5’11 Sr. Miguel Uresti could make this the best team in the region. Rio Hondo advanced to the area round against Needville. Challenging the Bobcats will be the La Feria Lions coach by Ruben Zambrano. The Lions finished 8-4 in district play and made the State 3A playoffs. With seniors Gilbert Jimenez, Nick Chapa, Jon Alvarado, Steven Salinas and Austin Ol-

District 32-3A Begins! The La Feria Lions will be ready to make the playoffs again after finishing third overall, while the Port Isabel Tarpons will be led by Raul Villarreal. The Tarpons missed the playoffs in 2011. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

ivarez back in the lineup, they will be tough to beat. La Feria advanced to bi-district against Corpus Christi Miller, before losing 74-52. For the third place spot and final playoff spot, it’s a toss up between Port Isabel and La Grulla. Tarpons head coach Al Senteno led his team to a 6-6 in district. Players returning are 6’0 Sr. Alan Barrera, 10 ppg., 4 rpg; 6’2 Jr. Zach Reeves; and 6’2 Soph. Jimmy Puentes. The Tarpons will be a young team that finished one game out of the playoffs last year. Barrera was second team all-district while Reeves and Puentes were honorable mention. The Rio Grande City Grulla Gators are making a name for themselves as they did in foot-

ball this past season. In only their second year as a school, the Gators could surprise the field with upsets. Headcoach Jose Ramos led his team to an impressive 5-7 district finish playing with underclassmen. Returning are Sr. Rollie Zamo-ra; Jr. Daniel Gutierrez; Soph. German Garcia; Sr. Rosvel Ramirez; Jr. Juan Hernandez; Jr. David Mendiola. The Zapata Hawks went 10-2 in district and also advanced to the bi-district championships in 2011. In 2012, the Hawks will have to fill empty spots on the roster, if not the entire roster. Only one player returns from the 15 players listed last season. Andres Gonzalez will be the leader this season. What will it take for the Pro-greso Red Ants to win a game? Headcoach Jose Mena man-aged to win one game the en-

tire season but lost 12 games in district. Players to watch are Sr. Armando Lopez; Jr. Gua-dalupe Rosales; Jr. Domingo Garza. Honorable mention all-district picks were Lopez, Ro-sales and Garza. Also looking to make some noise in district are the Donna Idea Academy Titans coached by David Wagner and new-comer, Pharr San Juan Alamo Southwest Javelinas coached by Jesus Reyes. The Javelinas are playing their first season.


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DISTRICT 32-2A1. SANTA ROSA2. RIVIERA KAUFER3. KINGSVILLE ACADEMY4. EDINBURG IDEA QUEST5. BRO FRONTIER PREP6. FALFURRIAS7. PREMONT


Defending 32-2A Champions, Santa Rosa Warriors Basketball team! Pictured front l-r are Rudy Zamarripa, Estevan Martinez, Tony Mariscal, Michael Garza, and Arnold Galvan. Back row l-r are Eddie Perez, Omar Palomaves, Tyler Dual, Aaron Ramirez, Issac Flores, Davian Alvarado, and Marc Hernandez. The Warriors advanced to the Class 2A Regional Semifinals.(HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

In District 32-2A, Santa Rosa High School head coach John-ny Cipirano will tell you that he just loves coaching in this tiny community of less than 500. The Warriors went 27-9 and 14-0, to win several titles in 2011. The Warriors won the district championship, bi-district title, area title, regional quarterfinal final title, before losing to Hal-letsville in the regional semifi-nals 71-47. This year will not be any dif-ferent. The Warriors could end up in the State 2A Tournament

again in 2012. The last time the Warriors advanced to the State Seemifinals was back in 2008. Players to watch are 6-4 Sr. Aaron Ramirez; Sr. Rudy Za-marripa; Jr. Michael Garza; Sr. Estevan Martinez; Jr. Tony Mariscal; Sr. Eddie Perez; and Sr. Isaac Flores. This Warriors are a heavy favorite in district with the re-turn of district MVP Ramirez, first team all-district Garza and second team, Zamarripa. Other teams to watch will be the Falfurrias Fighting Jerseys

and Kingsville Santa Gertudis Academy Pride. The Jerseys went 14-16 and 8-6 in district. They return Trey Jasso, Chris Castillo, Roger Bueno, Adrian Gonzalez, and Lorenzo Vela. The Kingsville Santa Gertru-dis Academy Pride coached by Mathew Gonzlaes likes his chances of making the play-offs again and who knows, they could also win the district title too. After 9-5 district fin-ish, Randy will be expected to lead his team. Premont, Hebbronvillle, Riviera Kaufer Seahawks,

Brownsville Idea Frontier College Prep Chargers, could surprise the district. Edinburg Idea Quest College Prep Trail-blazers made its first appear-ance in 2011 and went 2-12 in district.



District 32-1APREVIEW

DISTRICT 32-1ADIVISION II

1. SAN ISIDRO2. SAN PERLITA3. TILDEN MCMULLEN4. CC COLLEGE PREP5. LASARA6. BRUNI

DISTRICT 32-1ADIVISION I

1. BENAVIDES2. BEN BOLT3. LA VILLA4. AGUA DULCE5. SANTA MARIA


(La Villa, Tx)-In District 32-A-I, the La Villa Cardinals head coach RicardoCantu would like to take his team one more step further in the state playoffs. After winning the district title (21-8, 8-0), the Cardinals lost to Stacey 49-47 in overtime in the area championships. Returning this season are Brandon Urena, 6’2 Sr. Armando Garza; 5’10 Sr. Ricky Cantu; 5’10 Soph. Robert Serna; and 5-5 Sr. Kevin Ramirez. Urena was a solid pick as district co-newcomer of the year on a team headed by Coach of the Year Ricardo Cantu. Also returning are offensive MVP Gar-za, co-defensive MVP Cantu, along with first team all-district Ramirez and honorable mention Serna. Just south of La Villa, along Military Hwy, near the Rio Grande River, the Santa Maria Cougars surprised the district by making the playoffs and the Cougars also won a Bi-District title by defeating Pettus 51-44 before losing to Mason 52-34 in the area round. Headcoach Raul Rivera expects his team to rebound

as runner-ups with Sr. Eddie Ramos leading the team and Or-lando Gonzalez, Marco Aleman, Jose Carreon contributing. The Ben Bolt Badgers, Benavides, and Agua Dulce will be looking to challenge for playoff spots. The Badgers went 3-5 in 2011 and players to watch are Nicholas Gonzalez; Sr. Gabriel Ramirez; and Soph Alejo Salas. Benavides and Agua Dulce will be much improved this season. Agua Dulce Longhorns head-coach, Jeff Hilliard won only one game last year and they return 5-11 Jr. Chris Charles, Dacota Deaver, Trey Mann and Ben Mar-tinez. In District 32-A-II, the ever popular San Isidro Tigers, coached by Rolando Garza went 30-3 and 8-2 in 2011. San Isidro won an-other bi-district title by defeating Comstock 64-55 but watched their season come short, losing to Clavert 59-45. District rivals, San Perlita Trojans won the district champion-ships with an 9-1 record. Returning are seniors Andres Watson, Ruben Flores, 6’4 Ethan Rabenaldt, Oscar Pena, and Alejandro Orozco. The Trojans advanced to the regional quarterfinals and expect the Trojans to win their second district title.

Looking to improve in dis-trict are Bruni Badgers, Tilden McMullen County Cowboys, Lasara Lions, and Corpus Christi College Prep Hurri-canes. The Cowboys lost in the first round of the playoffs.

District 32-1A teams ready to make another Class 1A playoff run. Pictured are (left) Eddie Ramos of Santa Maria and La Villa’s Kevin Ramirez both looking to lead their teams back to the playoffs.The La Villa Cardinals are the defending 32-1A Division I Champions.(HSSMImages/Alec Amador)


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2011 Donna ISD School BoardAlfredo Lugo-PresidentReynaldo Alegria-VP

Angel Magallanes-SecretaryNick Castillo-Board Member

Efren Ceniceros-Board MemberMichael Flores, M.D.-Board Member

Ernesto Lugo-Board Member

2011 Donna ISD AdministrationSuperintendent of Schools

Roberto F. LoredoDonna HS Principal

Nancy CastilloDirector of Athletics/Consultant

Rafael G. Leal

Good Luck to Our Basketball Teams!District 30-5A

2011-12 Weslaco Panthers

2011-12 Weslaco Pantherettes Head coachGriselda Fino

Head coachGabe Valdez

32-5A DefendingBasketball Champions32-5A Defending

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2010-2011 5A Boys Basketball State Results

Lewisville Marcus (53-41)

Garland Lakeview (87-77)

Lewisville Marcus 40-38State 5A ChampionsGarland Lakeview (36-1)

San Antonio Taft (34-5)

Lewisville Marcus (37-1)

FB Hightower (29-7)

Semifinals Finals UIL State Champion


La Marque (72-61)

Dallas Kimball (50-36)

Dallas Kimball 78-64State 4A ChampionsDallas Kimball (36-3)

Cedar Park (22-16)

FW Arlington Hts (32-3)

La Marque (32-4)


CC West Oso (80-60)

Burkburnett (77-68)

Corpus Christi West Oso(from District 31-3A)State 3A Champions

61-57Burkburnett (32-3)

Mexia (31-5)

CC West Oso (33-3)

Dallas Smith (26-9)


Idalou (75-64)

Tatum (70-57)

Idalou (55-54)State 2A ChampionsMelissa (36-1)

Tatum (31-7)

Idalou (31-1)

Hallettsville (33-4)


Tenaha (72-59)

Clyde Eula (54-51)

Clyde Eula (64-49)State 1A ChampionsClyde Eula (35-2)

Evadale (21-15)

Clarendon (24-6)

Tenaha (27-9)

High School Sports Magazine.net

2011 StateBoy’s

Basketball Results!

Frank Erwin CenterAustin, Texas

2012 State ChampionshipsMarch 8-10th!


HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW

2010-2011 5A Girls Basketball State Results

Irving MacArthur (64-51)

Georgetown (56-51)

Irving MacArthur (74-51)State 5A ChampionsGeorgetown (32-3)

Alief Elsik (31-5)

Irving MacArthur (35-2)

San Antonio Wagner (32-6)

Semifinals Finals UIL State Champion


Canyon (44-39)

Austin Johnson (59-48)

Canyon 44-39State 4A ChampionsDallas Lincoln (29-3)

Austin Johnson (27-4)

Canyon (36-0)

Beaumont Ozen (33-4)


Abilene Wylie (61-38)

Lucas Lovejoy (62-44)

Abilene Wylie 66-58State 3A ChampionsLucas Lovejoy (28-10)

Fairfield (27-10)

Rockport-Fulton (35-3)

Abilene Wylie (24-14)


Brock (37-32)

Winnsboro (59-52)

Brock 47-26State 2A ChampionsPoth (29-5)

Winnsboro (32-6)

Brock (33-5)

San Saba (30-8)


Smyer (56-40)

Martin’s Mill (49-31)

Smyer 52-49State 1A ChampionsMartin’s Mill (38-3)

Falls City (26-3)

Smyer (33-2)

Muenster (32-5)

High School Sports Magazine.net

2011 StateGirl’s

Basketball Results!

Frank Erwin CenterAustin, Texas

2012 State ChampionshipsMarch 1st-3rd!

2011dec

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