(Port Isabel JV team secures a 50-33 win against Rio Hondo. Nov. 7, 2026. Picture by PIECHS)
By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past Saturday, Nov. 7, the Port Isabel Lady Tarpons hosted the Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats in a non-district basketball game.
Rio Hondo won the opening tipoff and immediately started shooting threes. However, with their shots failing to find the basket, they settled for a 2-point bucket. Port Isabel responded with a basket of its own by Mia Lopez to take an early 3-2 lead.
Later in the first quarter, Lopez grabbed a rebound and dribbled down the court finding an open Chelsea Hernandez, who knocked down a 2-point shot to give Port Isabel 7-6 advantage with three and a half minutes remaining in the quarter.
Rio Hondo began applying more defensive pressure, which led to five straight turnovers by Port Isabel. The Lady Bobcats capitalized on the miscues, putting together a 10-0 run and forcing PI to call a time out with one minute left in the quarter and the Lady Tarpons trailing 16-7.
Following the timeout, the Lady Tarpons continued to struggle offensively as Rio Hondo extended their lead to 20-7 by the end of the first quarter.
One minute into the second quarter, PI’s Escarlet Urrutia ended the Lady Tarpons scoring drought with a basket, but PI continued to trail 23-9.
With two minutes left in the quarter, Hernandez made the Lady Tarpons first 3-pointer of the night.
However, the Lady Bobcats continued to dominate defensively, making it difficult for PI to find consistent scoring opportunities.
As the halftime buzzer sounded, Rio Hondo headed into the break with a commanding a 49-19 lead over Port Isabel.
Whatever was said during halftime seemed to strike a chord with the Lady Tarpons, as they came out with renewed defensive intensity to start the third quarter. That energy quickly carried over to the offensive end, where Port Isabel put together an 8-0 run, fueled by six points from Urrutia, to trim Rio Hondo’s lead to 49-27 with 5:45 left in the quarter.
Both teams continued to battle throughout the quarter, but Rio Hondo managed to keep Port Isabel at arm’s length, carrying a 59-35 lead into the final stanza quarter.
Rio Hondo continued to wear down Port Isabel in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lady Tarpons 16-4 and ultimately securing a 75-39 victory.
Port Isabel’s leading scorer, Escarlet Urrutia, who had limped off with two minutes left in the third, returned to the court and added two more baskets to finish the night with a team-high 14 points. Meanwhile, Rio
Hondo’s Carlie Rodriguez led all scorers with 31 points.
The (0-2) Lady Tarpons will look to bounce back when they host CC London Lady Pirates on Friday, Nov. 13, at 5:30 p.m.
On another note, the Port Isabel girls JV team defeated Rio Hondo’s JV squad 50-33 earlier in the day.