By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
Karla Reyes has endured a lot of ups and downs in her time at Harlingen South.
When she joined the Lady Hawks program as a freshman, Reyes immediately impressed her coaches and teammates and earned the starting point guard role. After a summer of hitting the weights and getting stronger, she felt her best heading into her sophomore season.
Reyes was averaging 13.2 points per game through 21 contests, but then she tore her ACL. Even though she missed the final 15 games, she was South’s leading scorer at the end of the season. She came back strong in her junior season to once again win the team’s scoring title by averaging 10.1 points her game.
But before her senior season began, Reyes faced her biggest challenge in the death of her nephew, Juan “John” Garcia Jr.
“When that happened, I had a different mindset. I told myself I could either quit right now and let things get to me, or I could keep going and do it for him. That changed everything,” Reyes said. “Every day that I came out I felt like it was for him, and I had to do good and give it my all and make him proud. It meant a lot (for my family, too). They knew that it hurt a lot. But thank God that we got through it.”
Reyes didn’t just get through it. She grew from it. For the fourth consecutive year, Reyes led the Lady Hawks in scoring as she dropped 313 points with 56 3-pointers and a free-throw percentage of 64. Her strong season earned her the Valley Morning Star’s 2019-2020 All-STAR Girls Basketball Offensive Player of the Year title.
“It’s truly a blessing, just to finish off my career with this award. I thank my teammates and my coaches, and everyone who helped in getting me to this point,” Reyes said. “It was really hard. There were days when I wanted to give up. At one point (after the injury) I felt like I did all this work for nothing. But I told myself not to think negative because God does everything for a reason, so it’s a blessing to finally be able to say it was all worth it and all the work paid off in the end.”
Working out in the weight room is a big focus for Reyes, and her dedication to getting stronger helped her transition into a post player this season. Playing down low was something Reyes told South coach Kelly Garrett she wanted to do for years, but South needed the ball in her hands.
This season Alexes Rocha took over the ball handling, which allowed Reyes to make the position change. She was a force in the paint, using her point guard skills to dish out 41 assists and open up the floor for the Lady Hawks. She also recorded a team-high 29 blocks and 148 rebounds.
“Her IQ for basketball is just heads above everybody. This year she didn’t have to be the main scorer, she was more of a playmaker, but she continued to lead our offense and be the catalyst,” Garrett said. “It’s been a blessing (to coach Karla), not everyone gets a player like her. It’s been great for the girls around her to see her mentality.”
Garrett said Reyes was as good a leader as she was a player. She’s not very vocal, but she used her plethora of varsity experience to teach her younger teammates and build their confidence.
“Karla’s that girl that you can lean on at all times. Her attitude is really what sticks out,” teammate Julia Celis said. “If she ever saw a teammate down, she’d be the one to go lift them up and say some positive words to them. She’s so unselfish and so talented, it’s amazing.”
Reyes plans to take her assets to the Army after graduation. After four years as the heart of the Lady Hawks program, she hopes her tenacity is the biggest impact she left behind.
“I hope that I showed (the younger girls) to never give up … just to keep going no matter what comes your way. I tell the girls to make sure they’re working out during the summer and gaining muscle because it’s so important. Whatever work you put in is what you’re going to get back,” Reyes said.