Basketball Game Preview: Harlingen South Hawks vs. Vela Sabercats

Two dominant guards in Jiselle Montemayor and Gg Betancourt are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Harlingen South Hawks will challenge the Vela Sabercats at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Vela will be up against a hot Harlingen South team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. Harlingen South blew past Donna North, posting a 62-20 win. Given the Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 369th, while the Chiefs are ranked 1431st), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Serena Cano

Rebounds (Career)

02/04/25 @ Donna North	8
01/31/25 vs Porter	6
12/03/24 @ Rivera	6
11/26/24 vs Harlingen	6
11/09/24 vs Jefferson	6

Serena Cano and Fernanda Martinez were among the main playmakers for Harlingen South as the former posted 15 points along with eight boards and seven steals and the latter dropped a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The dominant performance gave Cano a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Aryanna Renteria, who had nine points.

Harlingen South was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Donna North only posted six assists.

Meanwhile, Vela blew past Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Southwest, posting an 82-15 victory.

Harlingen South better focus on containing Gabby Jaramillo and Aurora Guzman as the pair were huge in Vela's win. Jaramillo dropped a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards, while Guzman put up 13 points in addition to eight rebounds and five steals. Another player making a difference was Renee Cruz, who went 5 of 9 en route to 11 points.

Harlingen South's win was their 21st straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 27-6. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.0 points over those games. As for Vela, their record now sits at 24-10.

Harlingen South couldn't quite finish off Vela in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 and fell 28-26. Can Harlingen South avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.