BY NATE KOTISSO THE MONITOR
MISSION — Rio Grande City senior Jocy Amaya entered Friday as the Valley’s top scorer at 25.4 points per game. Amaya’s 21 points may have fell short of her average, but every point was needed in Rio’s 35-33 win at Sharyland High.
“I told the girls from the get-go, ‘Any time we can win a district game, no matter how we play, even if we win by one point, I’ll be happy,’” Rio Grande City coach Gustavo Valenciana said. “We struggled early on with our foul situation, but the girls kept us close. We could have packed it in, but we didn’t.”
Amaya was in foul trouble early and often, committing three personals in the first quarter. Valenciana decided to sit her for the remainder of the half.
“Sitting down put me in a super stressful position,” Amaya said. “We were up 9-4 after the first quarter, then I sat down, and we were down 13-9 in the second quarter. That put a lot more pressure on me, knowing I’m the one who has to bring us back.”
Amaya returned to the lineup at the start of the second half.
“Getting back into a rhythm was hard, since my adrenaline was going away,” Amaya said. “I just had to pace myself and believe that we could do it.”
Amaya scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half. Her performance turned a four-point Sharyland High lead early in the third quarter into an eight-point Rio Grande City (18-10, 5-2) advantage with under two and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
“Jocy started to take over,” Valenciana said. “I do believe she is the best player in the Valley, but she has to play like it. We can’t just say it because you score a lot of points. You have to show it, especially in games on the road. She came through.”
While Amaya sat on the bench, Sharyland High (10-19, 3-5) began the second quarter on a run. Junior guard Aydee Hinojosa went on a personal 6-0 spurt to give Sharyland High its first lead since a 2-0 edge in the opening quarter.
Late in the second, Hinojosa was fouled and appeared to suffer an injury to her right leg. She couldn’t put any weight on her leg and was carried to the Sharyland High bench. She did not return.
“Right now, we know it’s an ankle sprain,” Sharyland High coach Julie Clinton said. “Aydee getting hurt caused the rest of our girls to step up. We were still strong without her. We still had good energy. The intensity and the passion was still there, but Aydee is our playmaker. She’s our silent leader and is the point guard that leads the show. It would have been a different game if she were healthy for the second half.”