By MARK MOLINA | The Brownsville Herald
For Brownsville Veterans Memorial junior guard Alex Parchmont and freshman center Caitlin Esquivel, this season was all about doing their part.
Parchmont drew the tough assignments and helped anchor the team’s defense while Esquivel had a breakout season provided a spark for the Lady Chargers, who finished the season with a 23-16 record and a berth in the Class 5A area playoffs.
Their efforts were key to the team’s success, which is why Parchmont has been named The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year and Esquivel has been tabbed Newcomer of the Year.
In addition to 10.2 points, Parchmont blanketed opponents and racked up 6.1 steals, pulled down 6.1 rebounds and dished 4.2 assists per game on her way to being named the District 32-5A co-defensive player of the year.
For Parchmont, her impact on defense came almost naturally for her, preferring to lock down and do her part for the team above all else.
“ I’ve never had the best shooting percentage, but defense to me has always felt easy,” she said. “I usually guard the best players, and I’m depended on to guard them to the best of my ability. I usually get the job done, and that’s because my teammates are there to help me accomplish what I have to do. Everybody has their part, and I usually get mine done and my teammates are there to help.
“ Winning this award was fun, and even though I know I’m doing something for my team, I earned recognition and it was nice.”
Playing defense has peaks and valleys, something Parchmont has learned in her time with the program, but she said getting beat or missing an assignment makes her mentally stronger as a player.
“ I laugh about it, and I never take it in the wrong way,” she said. “Usually, (people) boo at you and your teammates tell you something about it. But it’s like, ‘You know what, I may have done something wrong, but I’m going to do something to make it better. So I always try to improve on whatever mistake I make.”
Coach Valentin Paz said Parchmont’s no-quit attitude is what stood out, citing a moment late in the team’s playoff loss to Corpus Christi Flour Bluff that showed just how tough she really is.
“ We’re down 18 late and she deflects a pass, and gets to the ball right before it gets out of bounds and throws it,” Paz said. “We got a layup out of that. How many kids are going to be down 18 with less than a minute to go and still do things like that? That’s the kind of plays Alex makes. It’s little things that help your team win, and that’s the kind of player Alex Parchmont is.”
As for Esquivel, the freshman averaged a double-double with 12.5 points and 10.2 boards per game coming off the bench She was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Lizzie Garza (14.5 ppg), earning the District 32-5A newcomer of the year honor.
Esquivel’s integration into the system appeared to be simple, but it wasn’t without the freshman putting pressure on herself to hold her own in what has been a successful program in recent years.
“ I didn’t think about being a freshman as much,” she said. “At the beginning of the season, all I thought about was that I needed to do well for myself and teammates. I tried my hardest all season to not only make it the best game it could’ve been. I went out with the mentality of us being able to win. Since they had a good record of doing well in past years, I didn’t want to taint that; I wanted to make it better.”
Esquivel had all the tools to be successful but knew earning her minutes on the court would be something she’d have to work for.
That meant going hard in practice and in workouts.
“ I tried my hardest not only in practice, but in conditioning or anything we were doing to try my hardest,” Esquivel said. “That way, the coaches can see that I’m dedicated and I knew what I was doing. Earning that playing time was the hardest part of the season, but, overall, my teammates were nice and the feel with the team was good.”
Esquivel gained confidence in herself and earned the confidence of her coach, who said the freshman center had the ability to pull down rebounds at will and was able to change the momentum of games off the bench.
“ She would come in and she’d change the complexion of the game because of the energy she’d give us on the boards and with her length,” Paz said. “She also has a strong mental toughness. Against PSJA Memorial in our playoff win, they have a great post in Victoria Gonzalez. When Caitie (Esquivel) came in, they fed (Gonzalez) the ball and Caitie blocked her shot. That created a gap for us. We brought her off the bench to give us that energy and take us to the next level. She’s a hard worker and a great kid.”