By Brian Argabright
Shooting woes killed any chance for Del Rio to pick up its second district win of the season.
The Queens basketball team scored just three points in the first quarter and was never able to recover, dropping its second District 30-6A game of the season, 45-34, in front of the home fans in Del Rio.
Del Rio won its district opener against Laredo LBJ Dec. 15, but then fell to Laredo United, 72-28, on Friday before returning to action Tuesday afternoon in a rare matinee game.
The Queens are now 5-10 overall and 1-2 in district play.
Down by 10 after the first quarter, the Queens rallied to outscore Nixon in the second quarter, 14-10, to cut the lead to 23-17 by halftime. For the second time this season, Del Rio’s Eliana Rodriguez beat the buzzer as she banked in a 3-pointer to end the half and give the Queens some momentum headed into halftime.
A tight third quarter found the Queens down by eight headed into the fourth quarter, but Nixon was able to pull away thanks to the Lady Mustangs’ efforts at the free-throw line. Nixon was 11-of-12 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.
Annette Betancourt, who missed Del Rio’s district opener, returned to lead Del Rio’s scorers with 11 points before fouling out with 2:35 left to play in the game.
Leyra Alzugaray had six points for Del Rio. Sydney Ballard had five points, Rodriguez and Victoria Menchaca each had four points, and Rene Salas and Mallory Polanco each had two points for the Queens.
Larissa Madrigal led Nixon with 16 points including three 3-pointers. Rosa Cavazos added 12 points for the Lady Mustangs who picked up their second district win.
The Queens won’t return to action until Jan. 5 when they travel to Laredo to face the state-ranked Alexander Lady Bulldogs at 6 p.m.
Del Rio’s next home game will be Friday, Jan. 8, when the Queens host Laredo United South at the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium at 6 p.m.
