San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Hawks avenge loss to Warriors
Layla Conley scored 31 points to lead Harlan to a 70-37 victory against Warren on Saturday afternoon at Northside ISD Gym, avenging a previous loss to the Warriors in early December.
“Warren’s a great team; we have a lot of respect for them,” Harlan assistant coach Kylie Nabors said. “Obviously, they got us that first time. I thought our girls just did a great job of coming in today, they were extremely focused on what they had to do and we just got off to a great start. Played great team basketball, but really the key was we dug down on defense.”
Harlan (16-7, 7-2 District 29-6A) opened the game with energy on defense. The half-court trap set by the Hawks caused problems for the Warriors early, and with Conley leading the fast break, Harlan stormed to a 23-6 lead in the first quarter.
“We talked about just trying to outwork them,” Nabors said. “And we knew that’s what they were going to bring. That’s what they brought against us last game. They dig down and play great defense, and we knew that we had to come out and match that. Our girls just did a great job of it.”
Emma Flores went 3 of 3 from deep in the first period, and Conley converted on a couple of 3-pointers.
Flores entered the game averaging 7.9 points per game, which she eclipsed in the first quarter on her way to a 16-point outing.
“She was just knocking down open shots,” Nabors said. “When we get paint touches and we’re able to drive and kick and she has a wide open look, more often than not she’s gonna step
up and knock it down.”
The Hawks continued to pour it on in the second quarter, with Conley grabbing an offensive rebound and finishing through contact for her third and-one of the afternoon that forced a
Warren timeout. The junior guard finished with seven rebounds and added a handful of assists as she directed the offense with poise.
“She was very aggressive, which is what we need
from her,” Nabors said. “She was just making great reads. She was finding the open person like she typically does, setting up her teammates for great looks. But she was also able to finish herself, so just great balance
from her.”
Warren junior forward Future Asevedo was the sole bright spot for the Warriors (9-13, 7-3), tallying 19 points with a pair of threes.
But the Harlan defense limited Warren’s leading scorer to just five points and converted turnovers to fastbreak points with consistency.
“They were scrambling around, flying around, getting traps, reading the passing lanes,” Nabors said. “That’s really what got us going offensively.”
Despite leading 40-20 at halftime, Harlan opened the third quarter with a 16-3 run, highlighted by a hesitation dribble from Conley and a graceful one-handed finish off the glass to force another timeout.
“We had a great first half, but that was only a first half,” Nabors said. “We just talked about coming out and finishing the job. I thought the kids did a great job of staying focused and getting it done.”
With the victory, Harlan has won seven of its last eight dating back to the 4846 loss to Warren on Dec. 8. The Hawks are firmly in the playoff hunt but still are a ways from catching undefeated Brennan for the district crown.
Nabors said the team is focused on tightening up its defense heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
“We need to keep coming out and working hard,” she said. “We need to keep working on our defensive rotations. I think that’s what was key for us. It’s what we didn’t have the first time against them.
“We’ve made some adjustments since then, and we just have to keep focusing on the defensive end because that gets us easy offense.”