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Saturday, February 24, 2001
Del Valle trips up Alice, 62-55
Lady Coyotes’ Santos impressive in OT loss
By Lee Goddard
Caller-Times
SAN ANTONIO - After her team lost in overtime, Alice's Mari Santos was on the court, in tears, with her teammates. But soon, there was a slight surprise, as a fan from Del Valle High School made a special trip out of the stands to congratulate Santos.
"He said, 'Good game' and that he liked the way I played," Santos said.
The junior post player was that impressive in defeat.
Santos' 24 points and 13 rebounds weren't enough to move the Lady Coyotes on in regional play, as Del Valle emerged victorious in a back-and-forth contest with a 62-55 overtime triumph Friday night in the Class 4A Region IV semifinals at St. Mary's University.
In a game that featured 12 ties and 16 lead changes, the Lady Cardinals (25-8) jumped on Alice early in overtime, with Tamara Thompson, who had a game-high 25 points, drilling a jumper off the overtime jump ball.
What followed was the proverbial dagger, as Del Valle's Gabby Guerrero hit her second shot of the game, a long-range 3-pointer, to give the Lady Cardinals a five-point advantage with three minutes left in the extra quarter.
"You could see that kind of let the steam out of us a little bit," Alice coach Tracy Zamora said. "I told the girls, 'You've still got a lot of time left, play a little harder, a little harder.' "
But the effort was to no avail. Alice (24-9) couldn't close the gap, and Del Valle steadily pulled away, playing stall-ball with a 55-51 lead and nearly three minutes left in the game, and hitting free throws down the stretch.
It was a different story in regulation. Santos, who also tallied three steals and two assists, out dueled Thompson, scoring eight in the first quarter as Alice grabbed 9-4 lead. It would be the largest of the game for the Lady Coyotes.
Alice held a one-point lead at the half, and the game turned into a nip-and-tuck battle throughout the second half, with Santos and teammate Tara Smith, who finished with 15 points, matching Alice point for point with Thompson and her running mate, Angela Tisdale, who had 14 points.
"The last couple of games, they've been picking it up," Zamora said of Santos and Smith. "Mari's our go-to person inside, and Tara can take it inside or out. We may be losing Tara, but Mari will be coming back."
The Lady Cardinals did open up a six-point advantage early in the fourth, but the Lady Coyotes battled back, and, with the game tied at 50 with little more than two seconds remaining in regulation, Alice had the ball and a chance to win it.
Zamora tried to set up a play that would give the Lady Coyotes a chance at a 3-point shot, but the best Alice could manage was a halfcourt heave by Megan Lowman, which came up short, and led to the extra four minutes.
"We played a great game," Zamora said. "I don't think people expected us to be here. And I think people expected us to get killed (Friday). But we didn't."
Del Valle 62, Alice 55 (OT)
Del Valle - Gabby Guerrero 8, Angela Tisdale 14, Alicia Johnson 8, Chanel Jones 5, Tamara Thompson 25, Maryum Mitchell 2.
Alice - Lisa Burkhalter 8, Megan Lowman 4, Tara Smith 15, Mari Santos 24, Akylah Fuller 4.
3-pointers - Del Valle, Guerrero 2; Alice, Smith 1.
Staff writer Lee Goddard can be reached at 886-3613 or by e-mail at goddardl@caller.com
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a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.
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