By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
LOS FRESNOS — As good as Los Fresnos was on the defensive end, the offense wasn’t there against Edinburg High.
The Lady Falcons held the Lady Bobcats to 17 points below their scoring average, but didn’t have enough firepower to take down the District 31-6A champions in a 43-28 loss to Edinburg High in a Class 6A bi-district girls basketball game Monday.
Los Fresnos (27-12) battled the Lady Bobcats for four quarters in a physical, defensive showdown, but the Lady Falcons had their struggles from the field until the final quarter, but it wasn’t enough to match Edinburg High (31-8) in the postseason matchup.
“Our shots just didn’t fall and that was crucial,” Los Fresnos Rebecca Valdez coach said. “Defensively, the effort was there tremendously, but offensively, we couldn’t hit when we needed to hit.”
After Jovanna Adame gave Los Fresnos an early lead in the opening quarter, the Lady Bobcats went on an 8-0 run that included a putback by Brianna Sanchez and a jumper by Jayla Santa Maria. The Lady Falcons’ Ari Gallardo hit a bucket and Britney Ruiz hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 8-6. But Edinburg High got a layup from Santa Maria and a 3-pointer from Mercedes Hernandez and took a 13-8 lead after one.
Dom Clemons started out the second quarter with a layup to get the deficit down to three for Los Fresnos, but the Lady Bobcats got another 3 from Hernandez and a bucket by Jenessah Santa Maria to push the lead to eight. Ruiz hit a jumper to get it back to six, but a three-point play by Jayla Santa Maria got the advantage back to nine and that was difference at the break.
“It was a tough battle with Los Fresnos … District 32-6A is tough,” Edinburg High coach J.D. Salinas said. “We had a tough time scoring and it was physical game on both sides. I give (Los Fresnos) credit; they did a heck of a job.
“This one was a big one for us … it’s not easy to come to this side of the Valley and play on their home court.”
Edinburg High started the third quarter on a 6-0 run fueled by a 3-pointer and a bucket by Jayla Santa Maria. The Lady Falcons got a tough layup from Gallardo, but that’s all they would get as Jayla Santa Maria scored 7 of her teams 8 points in the quarter and the Lady Bobcats took a 15-point edge into the final quarter.
Ruiz got Los Fresnos going with a free throw and bucket as part of a 5-0 run and had seven points in the quarter, but the Lady Falcons started getting in some foul trouble and Edinburg High kept them at bay with accuracy on the free throw line and sealed the game.
“We were struggling offensively and we tried to burn some time off the clock,” Salinas said. “We got in situations where Los Fresnos put us on the line and we did a good job at the free throw line.”
Jayla Santa Maria led the way for the Lady Bobcats with 19 points, including 8 of 11 from the charity stripe, and six rebounds, Hernandez had 10 points and five rebounds and Jenessah Santa Maria added 10 points, four rebounds and four steals.
Salinas was happy to get out of Los Fresnos with a tough win.
“I’m proud of my girls, my coaching staff, everyone that’s part of our success,” he said. “Once you get to the playoffs, everyone is a great team. But we’re going to take this win and move on.”
Ruiz led Los Fresnos with nine points, three rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks, Gallardo finished with six points, two rebounds and a steal and Jessica Fuentes added six points and a pair of rebounds.
It was a tough loss for the Lady Falcons, but Valdez said her senior class set a new standard.
“My senior class was special, they’re a great group of kids,” she said. “We hadn’t made the playoffs in three years. Now there’s nowhere to go but up, we have to continue to get better. We have to work and get better and continue the same heart and effort that the seniors left behind.
“We have a great group coming back, so it’s going to be an exciting year, next year.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.