Week 3 of the 2020-21 girls high school basketball season in the Rio Grande Valley began with a bang Monday evening with a trio of interesting results headlined by a bounce-back win from one of the Valley’s top teams.
The Edinburg High Bobcats, one of the RGV’s top Class 6A squads, rebounded nicely from an opening-season loss to Harlingen High with an 80-40 drubbing of the McAllen High Bulldogs at home Monday.
The Bobcats looked sharp from behind the 3-point line and showed why they’ll be one of the most difficult offenses to contain on the court throughout South Texas this season.
The senior guard trio of A’nnika Saenz, Julissah Santa Maria and Daysha Tijerina should make the team a fearsome competitor in District 31-6A this season, but a trio of freshmen led Edinburg High to its 40-point victory in just their second varsity start.
Freshman guards Kimora Fagan and Madison Martinez each scored 17 points against McHi, while freshman post Janai Coleman added 12 to combine for more than half the Bobcats’ points in the blowout win.
Elsewhere Monday evening, McAllen Rowe rolled to another big victory over a Class 6A foe, this time on the road against Harlingen South. The Warriors have emerged as an early-season frontrunner in District 31-5A after improving to 3-1 to start the week.
The Santa Maria Cougars, however, notched the non-district win over the day. The Class 2A Cougars toppled the Class 5A Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets in a 15-point victory to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
The game of the night Tuesday, though, tipped off in Pharr between Mission High and Valley View.
The Eagles, one of the RGV’s most balanced squads that routinely dominates the rebounding battle, entered coming off a big season-opening victory over the La Joya Palmview Lobos over the weekend.
The Tigers, meanwhile, were one of the first Valley View teams in any sport to make their return to competitive action Monday with hopes of contending for Valley View’s first girls basketball district championship and back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time in more than a decade.
An all-around team effort put the Eagles ahead after three quarters on the road, but Valley View senior Julie Ponce helped the Tigers roar back by scoring seven of 11 fourth-quarter points for her team.
Elsewhere Tuesday night, Rio Grande City topped Class 6A foe La Joya High for a 21-point win. The Rattlers have quickly established themselves as an early-season favorite in District 30-5A after a second-place finish in 31-5A last year.
PSJA High also beat Donna North in non-district play by a sizable margin Tuesday and scored 88 points in the process, marking the highest score of the season thus far for any Valley girls basketball squad.
Bears’ guard Heaven Estrada dropped a season-high 34 points in her team’s run-away victory.
Additionally, Weslaco High topped PSJA North in a battle of two of the Valley’s top 6A teams. The Raiders dropped to 1-1- on the season, while the Panthers improved to 4-0 to keep pace with Harlingen High in District 32-6A.
Valley Girls HS Basketball Scores
Nov. 17, 2020
Monday’s Games
Non-District
Edinburg High 80, McAllen High 40
McAllen Rowe 58, Harlingen South 39
Santa Maria 56, Edcouch-Elsa 41
Tuesday’s Games
Non-District
Brownsville Hanna 84, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 65
Edinburg Economedes 45, Mission Veterans 39
Harlingen High 60, Corpus Christi Veterans 59
Los Fresnos 45, Edinburg North 26
PSJA High 88, Donna North 6
Rio Grande City 65, La Joya High 44
Valley View 36, Mission High 32
Weslaco High 73, PSJA North 68
VALLEY HS GIRLS
BASKETBALL BOX SCORES
Monday’s Game
Non-District
SANTA MARIA 56, EDCOUCH-ELSA 41
Edcouch-Elsa 10 10 5 16 — 41
Santa Maria 18 12 11 15 — 56
SANTA MARIA (56): Yazmin C. 21, Anahi M. 16, Aleila C. 11, Marla C. 3, Kendra C. 3, Natalie G. 2.
EDCOUCH-ELSA (41): Savannah Cantu 14, Anabel Martinez 14, Connie Villanueva 8, Jasmine Mireles 4, Miranda Rodea 1.
RECORDS: Santa Maria 2-0; Edcouch-Elsa 0-2.
Tuesday’s Games
Non-District
PSJA HIGH 88, DONNA NORTH 6
Donna North 2 2 2 0 — 6
PSJA High 19 30 33 6 — 88
PSJA HIGH (88): Heaven Estrada 34, Ileana Martinez 22, Christy Barragan 8, Jackie Molina 8, Lesly Tinoco 8, Giovanni Martinez 2.
DONNA NORTH (6): Alejandra Guevara 2, Julisa Luna 2, Allison Segovia 2.
RECORDS: PSJA High 1-0; Donna North 0-1.
VALLEY VIEW 36, MISSION HIGH 32
Mission High 9 5 14 4 — 32
Valley View 8 8 9 11 — 36
VALLEY VIEW (36): J. Ponce 12, M. Ortegon 8, J.C. Prado 8, J. Munoz 6, A. Garcia 2.
MISSION HIGH (32): Maranda Garcia 7, Jiselle Mendoza 6, Danielle Munoz 6, Sabrina Alaniz 4, Hayley Garza 4, Ana Rivera 2, Ana Roque 1.
RECORDS: Valley View 1-0; Mission High 1-1.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch