Lanier survives challenge from Brack, heads toward first-place showdown

With a District 27-5A first-place showdown with Jefferson (12-3, 7-0) looming Jan. 5, 20th year Lanier coach Laura Negrete-Fernandez welcomed the closer outcomes.

“They got tested,” Negrete-Fernandez said of the Highlands win, the 301st of her career. “We had a lot of craziness. Jakerria (Mayberry) didn’t score many points. I told them at halftime, ‘Jakerria’s not scoring today, so everybody else needs to step up’ — and they did a good job.”

Afterward, Negrete-Fernandez reflected on surpassing the 300-win mark, which came as a surprise.

“It has been a lot of years and it is a lot of wins,” she said. “But I’ve had great kids along the way, who bought into my program.

“I worked hard, but they’re the ones that put in all the physical work. It’s a big testament to them.”

Young Brackenridge, which led 28-25 at halftime, has proved to be a tough district opponent. The Eagles lost 51-50 to surging Kennedy Jan. 2.

Building confidence is an important project for the Eagles after a pair of area-round seasons.

“I knew it was, like, a rebuilding year,” Brackenridge coach Tamiko Matthews said. “But with COVID(-19), it’s just crazy.

“They really are thriving, though. Every game we do something we hadn’t done before.”

The last eight games have been an exciting ride, but Lanier senior Kayla Guzman said the Voks were prepared for a new level of success. While most of 27-5A suffered a lot of graduation attrition, Lanier and Jefferson retained the bulk of their squads.

“I’ve been on varsity three years,” Guzman said. “Now it’s our senior year and we want to give it all we’ve got. We know we’re going to win.”

Brackenridge made Lanier step up its intensity.

Mayberry (18 points) scored six points as Lanier took an 8-6 lead, but the Eagles responded with a 13-5 run that stretched into the second quarter.

Baskets from Alasia Brown and Nevea Rollins (8 points) made it 20-13 less than two minutes into the second period. That proved to be the Eagles’ biggest lead.

A 15-foot jumper by Lanier’s Valissa Alegria and a layup by Mayberry closed the gap to 26-24 with 1:39 until halftime, but Brack held on.

“It’s all about confidence and not being intimidated,” Matthews said. “I’m just trying to build up that resiliency.”

Lanier fired up its transition game in the second half and outscored Brack 21-4 in the third quarter. A fast break layup by Malaya Muniz with five seconds left in the quarter gave the Voks a 46-32 lead.

However, Brackenridge had two six-point spurts in the final quarter. The Eagles were within 52-45 with 1:25 left after Emily Ayala (11 points) scored four unanswered points and Teran sank a one-and-one.

With 35.4 seconds on the clock, Guzman (9 points) produced a steal that she turned into a clinching three-point play.

“What I like about this team is we’re 100 percent hustle,” Guzman said. “We pick each other up.”