Gonzales opens district with win

GONZALES — Needing a good start to the district season, the Gonzales Lady Apaches were able to dominate Austin Eastside Memorial 70-35 to open District 27-4A play with a key win early on in the season.

The Lady Apaches started off slow, allowing Austin Eastside to get to a 6-1 before scoring their first field goal of the night. Due to the district being five teams, any wins early on bodes well for a postseason run, so Gonzales needed to turn things around quick.

“It’s the pressure, it’s a big game,” Gonzales head coach Valerie Akpan said. “First district game, it’s a mental thing. We kind of had to kick start but once we woke up we were ready to go.”

The Lady Apaches had to play catch up but eventually got the lead with 1:22 left in the first on a basket from Sheridan Tate, assisted by Haley Garza. The Lady Apaches would keep the lead for the remainder of the game.

When asked about what “woke up” the Lady Apaches, Akpan said “I told them to wake up!”

“To wake up, we’re playing, it’s time to go,” she laughed.

Gonzales finished the first quarter up 17-12. Then in the second quarter, the team went on a defensive run.

“Our defense is one of our biggest strengths,” Akpan said. “Our defense produces our offense.”

The Lady Apaches would go on a 17-0 run before the Lady Panthers finally scored their first basket of the quarter. Austin Eastside would be limited to just three points in that quarter.

The biggest difference in that quarter was Gonzales’ size, not only through height but roster size as well.

This season, the Lady Apaches have used somewhat of a five-in, five-out method of substitution. Akpan claims her team’s depth is going to make a difference this year, saying her bench players are as skilled as her starters.

“We are 13 deep,” she touted. “I have 13 girls that can all play and it’s to our advantage that we are so deep. We don’t drop off. In practice our second five beats our first five a lot. It happens. The whole bench is skilled.”

Of the 13 she referenced, 12 players scored points in Friday’s win over Austin Eastside. The leading scorers were Alex James with 15 points and Hailey Riojas with 13. Garza added eight to the board while Devon Williams and Jisaela Longoria both had six points each.

“I have eight seniors, three freshmen and two juniors,” Akpan noted.

The Lady Apaches did not let up in the second half. Up 54-24 with less than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, freshmen guard Longoria dove for a ball headed out of bounds. Akpan acknowledged the effort, saying the team has been focused on playing every minute of every game.

“It’s important for us to work on things that we need to improve no matter the score,” she said. “Even though we’re winning, we still have things we need to fix. And that’s what I was telling them, to tweak the little things, block out, move without the ball, those sort of things. We still have seven games, so we still have to improve.”

The Lady Apaches finished the fourth quarter outscoring their opponents 16-9 in the 35-point win.

Gonzales is on the road tonight, taking on Navarro (1-0) with tipoff scheduled at 6:30 p.m.