ELSA — The Edinburg Bobcats unleashed a 20-0 run in the second quarter and never looked back as they went on to dismantle the Harlingen Cardinals 54-34 Tuesday night and claimed the regional quarterfinal championship.
Senior Edinburg guard Jenessah Santa Maria scored 15 points to lead a balanced Bobcats attack that scored inside and out and was aggressive on the defensive side of the ball.
Edinburg, 33-8, moves on to the play the San Antonio Clark-Cibolo Steele winner in the regional semifinals. The Lady Cardinals end the season at 31-6.
Santa Maria and teammates Brianna Martinez, Annika Saenz and Brianna Sanchez initiated the second-quarter surge that took a 10-9 Edinburg lead to start the period to a 30-9 advantage five minutes later before Harlingen could finally respond.
Edinburg coach J.D. Salinas said the change to a zone defense, which they haven’t used in weeks, helped ignite the Bobcats fire.
“We adjust and that’s part of basketball,” Salinas said. “The girls did a really good job with what they were asked to do. It (defense) held them to one shot. We able to get defensive rebounds, and we were able to push.”
The 5-foot-3 Santa Maria, the playmaker with dazzling handles, had eight points, two steals and a rebound to spark the devastating run – which saw Edinburg hit four treys and four layups while shooting 9 of 12 from the floor.
On the flip side, Harlingen was flat out cold. The Cards connected on just 2 of 17 field goals in the first half and turned the ball over nine times.
Sanchez, a 6-foot-2-inch post player, was not to be outdone. The junior rejected three shots, altered countless others and posted 10 points and 11 rebounds while playing with foul trouble.
Sanchez, Santa Maria and others worked just as hard on the defensive side of court. The Bobcats closed out quickly on shooters, deflected passes and crashed the defensive glass at every opportunity.
“We played with hustle and fight,” Santa Maria said. “We are going to fight for every loose ball. Find the open lane so they don’t get back into the open lane. Any little stop will get the momentum on our side. It brings the other team down and us up.”
Harlingen hit a few baskets late but was never able to recover. It once got the deficit down to 14 points, but Edinburg quickly doused any fourth-quarter comeback hopes with hoops of its own. The Cardinals were led by Ariel Leal’s 11 points, meanwhile Teagan Dickey added 10.