By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial senior Lizzie Garza is no stranger to the spotlight.
A four-year varsity letterwinner, Garza was especially motivated to go out on top as a District 32-5A champion. She did so for the third time in her career after the Lady Chargers came up short of their goal, and also secured her fourth straight playoff berth.
“We played a lot more as a team,” Garza said. “We had our individual roles. … We didn’t get the district (championship) last year, but we just had to go out and play like we did in the years before in order to accomplish our goal this year.”
For her integral role in Brownsville Veterans’ success, Garza is The Brownsville Herald’s 2019-2020 All-Metro Girls Basketball Most Valuable Player.
She scored 12.9 points per game in her final season, averaging 13.4 points per game in district play. Garza also tallied 6.3 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists per game and 2.4 steals per game during the 14-game span that was the Lady Chargers’ undefeated run to another 32-5A title.
“This year was probably one of my best years,” Garza said. “We just played hard every game, and it showed on the court. We would just go out there and have fun.”
Brownsville Veterans coach Arnold Torres did his best to instill a more team-centric approach in his first season in charge of the program, and ensuring Garza and the returning seniors were on board was a top priority for him and assistant coach Anthony Alvarez.
“Having the seniors and returning letterwinners buy into what Coach Alvarez and myself were trying to do was a big step in the right direction,” Torres said. “Knowing that if they would buy in, then the younger ones would buy in as well.”
Garza said the team also spent more time working on conditioning and strength training in the weight room, which bolstered her endurance.
Another welcome change cited by Garza and her teammates that was a factor in their improved rapport on the floor was the frequent team dinners held the night before games. The players would speak freely about how they would approach the next game and spend time bonding over non-basketball related topics.
“Everyone contributed (to the discussion),” Garza said. “Whether they were on the bench or on the court.”
It wasn’t just talk for the Lady Chargers, which is why Torres often brought up the fact that his team could rely on different leading scorers on many different occasions.
“Offensively, we had plays meant for everyone,” Garza said. “If there was a defender on one shooter, they would kick it out, and the other person would shoot if they had the open shot, and from there we would rebound and set up the offense again. … We all developed greatly (in the new system).”
Herald All-Metro Girls Basketball Team 2020
Most Valuable Player
Lizzie Garza, Sr., Brownsville Veterans
Offensive Player of the Year
Ari Gallardo, Sr., Los Fresnos
Defensive Player of the Year
Alexandra Parchmont, Sr., Brownsville Veterans
Newcomer of the Year
Alexa Torres, Fr., Brownsville Veterans
Coach of the Year
Arnold Torres, Brownsville Veterans Memorial
First Team
Byranna Biutereria, So., Brownsville Veterans
Caitlin Esquivel, So., Brownsville Veterans
Olivia Parra, Fr., Los Fresnos
Sarahi Jones, So., Los Fresnos
Sofia Espinoza, Sr., Pace
Second Team
Brenda Savariego, Jr., Lopez
Juju Alvarez, Jr., Brownsville Veterans
Mariana Espinosa, Fr., Brownsville Jubilee
Odalys Gonzalez, Sr., Hanna
Priscilla Garcia, Sr., Pace