Lady Longhorns flash their dominant defense against Nixon

It is no secret the United girls’ basketball team can score in a hurry and excel from the 3-point line. The Lady Longhorns are one of the best 3-point shooting team in South Texas, but it is their defense that ignites their offense.

After Nixon opened with a triple by Abby Esparza on Tuesday, the United defense went to work and never let up as the Lady Longhorns cruised to an 83-48 victory over the Lady Mustangs.

“Our defense, we get some steals, and we are pretty quick,” United head coach Frank Gonzalez said. “That is something that we practice and turn the ball over. We lack height, and getting some of those steals becomes the key for us. Everything starts with our defense, and it gets the kids motivated.”

United turned up its defense to create many opportunities as it went on a 13-3 run to start pulling away from Nixon. The game started to turn in United’s favor after the Lady Longhorns unleashed their signature full-court press and caused havoc. Nixon visibly had a hard time moving the ball against the press.

“We like to change up the press a little bit and make it difficult,” Gonzalez said. “We like to give them different looks. They are prepared for one and not for the other one, so we switch it up to make it more difficult.”

The Lady Longhorns were able to cause an array of turnovers that led to a bunch of points and allowed them to grow their lead.

United players like Jesslynn Jalomo and Cristian Rodriguez benefitted immensely, dropping double figures. Jalomo finished with a game-high 30 points and Rodriguez added 10.

Jalomo and Rodriguez picked up an array of steals on the press to come down and score.

United will have three days to display its signature suffocating defense as it will participate in the Border Olympics Hoopfest that unfolds at United South main campus and the ninth grade campus starting on Thursday. A total of 22 teams will be battling it out to play in three different brackets until Saturday.