BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
ELSA — Edinburg North had a week to prepare for its final game before district play, against Edcouch-Elsa on Friday night. A large part of the team’s preparation was spent on its pressure defense.
“Defense has always been our strong point,” Edinburg North coach Jenny Garcia said. “We worked on trapping them a lot.”
The Cougars’ trap bound the Yellow Jackets offense from any chance to spread its wings in a 53-30 road win at Edcouch-Elsa.
“Our coach really enforces us to trapping, getting to the ball and being real aggressive,” Edinburg North senior guard Tilly Villarreal said. “That’s what we’re known for. We’ll have one day where we’ll go straight defense the entire day of practice. Our preparation really showed against Edcouch.”
Edinburg North held Edcouch-Elsa to one point in the first quarter and didn’t allow the Yellow Jackets (5-13) to score their first basket until the 2:52 mark in the second quarter.
“The pressure really got to us,” Edcouch-Elsa coach Daniel Richardson said. “Right now, I have two starters out, and one of them (sophomore guard Haley Villalpondo) is a primary ballhandler. It’s a little difficult for them to break a press and feel comfortable with that kind of pressure.”
“They have really good outside shooters,” Garcia added. “By trapping them, our defense created our offense while also keeping the ball out of the hands of their shooters.”
The Cougars (12-10) were led by sophomore Leslie Martinez’s 13 points, while Villarreal, a senior, was right behind her, scoring seven of her 11 points in the first half.
“It was important for us to finish up non-district on a good note,” Villarreal said. “I think we all have great chemistry together, even though the team is really young. We’re well-adjusted to one another even though it’s early on in the season.”
“We’re a young team, but we have great leadership,” Garcia said. “They bring the kids together, which is why we have great unity, as well.”
Edinburg North will enjoy the luxury of an open date again Tuesday before starting the district season against last year’s co-District 31-6A champion, Edinburg Vela, next Friday night.
“This road win goes a long way to preparing for district play next week,” Garcia said. “It’s all going to come down to district play. We’re trying to improve, get better every game and see where we’re at. Of course we want to be at or near the top, so we’re going to work for that.”