Photos: Dezerae De La Garza's game-winning 3-pointer keeps Laredo United South unbeaten in district

LAREDO, Texas - After trailing the majority of the second half, the state-ranked Laredo United South girls basketball team mounted a comeback in the final seconds to beat Laredo Alexander 46-44 in a key District 30-6A game Wednesday night.

Senior Dezerae De La Garza drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to keep Laredo United South at the top of District 30-6A with a perfect 7-0 record heading into the final stretch of the season.

Before Wednesday night, the Lady Panthers were taking down all of their opponents by 20-plus points. Laredo Alexander (17-11, 5-3) turned up their defense and held Laredo United South to six points in the second quarter and nine points in third quarter. It's the first time a district opponent has been able to hold down Laredo United South’s high scoring offense.

De La Garza almost did not finish the game after sitting out a good portion of the second and third quarters after having trouble with an earring. Game officials ruled that she could not be on the court with an earring that had tape over it.

When the earring was finally cut off, De La Garza returned to the court and made the biggest basket of the night in the final seconds. She finished with seven points.

Laredo Alexander also had to deal with adversity before the game even started as starting guard senior Jaci Rendon rolled her ankle in warm-ups and and did not play a single minute. Freshman Emily Buitron was thrust into the starting role and she held her own, draining a big three-pointer in the final two minutes to push Laredo Alexander ahead.

Laredo United South (27-4, 7-0) turned to junior Bridgette Tello who helped the Lady Panthers take a 14-11 opening quarter edge. The second and third quarters belonged to Laredo Alexander senior Kayla Herrera who took over on offense and helped the Lady Bulldogs build a 34-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Herrera finished with 21 points.

Laredo United South senior Angelina Lopez was a steady force all game and opened the fourth quarter with a triple before both teams turned to the free throw line. The next seven points of the game came from the charity stripe, and it was Laredo United South who benefited immensely.

Herrera iced a pair of free throws before Tello returned the favor on the ensuing play. Junior Rebecca Hernandez hit her second free throw and De La Garza knotted up the game at 36-36 on a free throw with 3:45 remaining on the clock.

Laredo United South took their first lead of the second half on an offensive rebound put-back by Hernandez at the 2:34 mark. The Lady Bulldogs then went on a 5-0 run on a basket by Herrera and a long three-pointer by Buitron to give Laredo Alexander a 41-38 lead with 1:29 left on the clock.

Both teams traded layups before Lopez was fouled as the ball sailed through the basket. She was able to complete the three-point play to tie the game at 43-43 with 21.2 seconds on the clock.

Herrera made a free throw to give Laredo Alexander a 44-43 lead with 15.5 seconds left before Lopez came down the court and found De La Garza who did not hesitate to pull the trigger from the three-point line to lift Laredo United South to the victory.

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