Lady Diamondbacks on a roll
Natalia Gonzalez, #0 of Pioneer, looks for an open team mate to pass the ball as defenders try to take it away. Progress Times photo by Mario Magallon
Originally scheduled to be played Tuesday evening, the girls/boys basketball doubleheader between Pioneer and McAllen High was moved up to Monday due to the frigid cold that shut down all Sharyland ISD schools and activities on Tuesday. As cold as the Valley has been however, the Lady Diamondbacks have been just as hot.
After losing their District 31-5A opener to Edinburg Vela, who the Lady Diamondbacks shared a district co-championship with last year, coach Nicole Sandoval’s squad has won 12 games in a row; their most recent victim being the McAllen High Lady Bulldogs by a score of 48-24. As a result, the Lady Diamondbacks are sitting pretty atop the 31-5A standings with a 12-1 record. And with only three games remaining on their schedule, another district championship is very much in play for the 2025 Lady Diamondbacks.
As for Monday night’s game against the Lady Bulldogs, it got off to an extremely slow start with the Lady Diamondbacks leading 6-2 at the end of the first quarter and the two teams being tied 11-11 at the end of the first half. Missed shots, turnovers and generally sloppy play were behind such a lethargic first half of play. The fact that Sandoval pulled the Lady Diamondbacks’ top scorer, Ebonie Chatman, out of the game early on, also contributed to the Lady Diamondbacks barely breaking into double digits in scoring through two quarters.
After the game, Chatman explained why she was pulled from the game so quickly. She then shared why she and her teammates more than quadrupled their first half scoring total in the second half.
“I picked up two fouls in the first two minutes of the game, so my coach sat me down so I wouldn’t pick up anymore fouls,” Chatman said. “Our coach got on us at halftime and that really lit a fire under us because we know we shouldn’t be tied with McHi.”
Even though she’s just a sophomore, Chatman has plenty of varsity experience.
“This is my second year on varsity,” Chatman said. “I played last year. We won district (last year) but unfortunately we shared it with Vela. So this year we’re trying to win it just single.”
After a close first half, head coach puts in #23, Ebonie Chatman, who immediately hit multiple 3 pointers in a row to help the Lady Rattlers pull away from the Lady Bulldogs and take the W. Progress Times photo by Mario Magallon
When asked what has made the Lady Diamondbacks so successful this year, Chatman said, “We work really hard in practice. A lot of teams sometimes they don’t have practice on Saturdays but we go in at 7:55 every Saturday. I think that’s what sets us apart from different teams. We really get out and work hard in practice.”
Senior point guard Kassandra “Kassie” Garcia has been averaging 11 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Lady Diamondbacks this season. Her experience and leadership has played a major role in the team’s success.
When asked what she thought led to their 37 point second half against the Lady Bulldogs, Garcia said, “I think it was knowing that we could play better, definitely. We weren’t playing to our full potential. And then our coach also getting after us at halftime lit a fire. And knowing how we didn’t want to lose any more games if we want that district title.”
Last year, the Lady Diamondbacks defeated Brownsville Lopez in the Bi-district round of the UIL state playoffs by a score of 50-40. However, they were eliminated in the Area Round as a result of a 58-32 loss to Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial. That early exit from the playoffs has Garcia and her fellow Lady Diamondbacks wanting more this year.
“Last year we had to share (the championship) with Vela,” Garcia said. “This year we want to have our own district championship and not worry about having to share it with anyone. And last year we only went to the second round of the playoffs. We definitely want to go further this year.”
After leading her Lady Diamondbacks to 13-1, 14-0 and 14-0 district records from 2019 – 2021, and 9-5 and 10-8 records from 2022 – 2023, Sandoval has her team back atop the district standings for the second year in a row. So what is it about this team that has made this return to the top possible?
“They’ve worked hard,” Sandoval said. “They’re definitely hungry for a district championship. They’re a special group. It helps that we’ve got some great leadership in Kassie and in Ani (senior Anika Fleischmann) and even in Ebonie as a sophomore. Our practices are pretty focused and locked-in.”
Heading into tonight’s game at home against the Sharyland Lady Rattlers, the 12-1 Lady Diamondbacks have a comfortable lead in the district standings over 10-3 PSJA North, 8-3 Edinburg Vela, 8-4 McAllen Memorial, 6-5 Sharyland, 3-8 McAllen High, 3-7 Nikki Rowe, 0-8 PSJA Southwest and 0-10 PSJA Memorial.
Next week the Lady Diamondbacks will finish off their regular season at Rowe Tuesday at 6 and at home next Friday at 6 against PSJA SW. As for the Bi-district round of the UIL state playoffs, that will be taking place either Monday, February 10 or Tuesday, February 11.
In the second game of Monday night’s doubleheader, the Pioneer boys’ District 31-5A record dropped to 5-6 as they fell to the Bulldogs by a score of 66-45. This was the Diamondbacks’ third loss in a row.
: Muhamed Shaath, Diamondback’s #2, takes the ball to the net with a lay up. Photo by Mario Magallon
The Diamondbacks hung in with the Bulldogs through the first half as they trailed by only four points (15-19) at the end of the first quarter and by seven points (28-35) at the half. However, in the third quarter, the Bulldogs pulled away from the Diamondbacks by outscoring them 20-6 to take a 55-34 lead. In the fourth quarter, both teams scored 11 points to make the final score 66-45 in favor of the dogs.
With five games remaining on their schedule, the Diamondbacks are one of three teams on the bubble when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs. With the Edinburg Vela Sabercats (9-0) and the Bulldogs (9-1) comfortably atop the district standings, there’s going to be a scramble to claim the district’s final two playoff berths. As of right now, the Diamondbacks, the Rowe Warriors, the McAllen Memorial Mustangs and the PSJA North Raiders are all within striking distance of the district’s third and fourth spots.
Dustin Duty, Diamondback’s #5, dribbles past a McHi defender. Photo by Mario Magallon
When asked what it’s going to take to get his team’s recent fortunes turned around and qualify for the playoffs, Pioneer head coach Fernando Rodriguez said, “Attention to detail. We knew going into the second round (of district play) it was going to be tougher. The second round in district is always tougher. You’re playing a team the second time and there’s times you’ve got to play in other teams’ houses and if we want to make the playoffs, we’ve got to go beat other playoff teams at their house.”
Last year the Diamondbacks not only qualified for the playoffs, but they surprised a lot of people by advancing into the third round. When asked if he sees that happening again this year, Rodriguez said, “Oh, most definitely. District 31-5A is a very, very tough district. We feel that whoever makes it into the playoffs can make just as good of a run. We had three out of the four teams last year go three rounds deep and Vela go into the Elite 8. It’s a very tough district that gets us battle ready for the playoffs. If we are fortunate enough to make it, we believe we can.”
The Diamondbacks have five games remaining on their District 31-5A schedule. Tonight they will be hosting 1-7 Sharyland at 7:30, followed by games against Rowe, PSJA Southwest, Edinburg Vela and PSJA Memorial.