| Brownsville St. Jospeh’s Regina Tovar poses for a photo at Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald) |
Offensive Player of the Year: Regina Tovar, Brownsville St. Joseph
Brownsville St. Joseph’s Regina Tovar is a special offensive talent.
The Brownsville St. Joseph guard is one of the best scorers in the Rio Grande Valley and was the leading scorer on a Brownsville St. Joseph team that made the playoffs in the competitive TAPPS 5A District 4.
Tovar is The Brownsville Herald’s 2022-23 All-Metro Girls Basketball Offensive Player of the Year.
“I think I did good throughout the whole season,” Tovar said before commenting on having layup troubles in the middle of the season. “But at the end of the season I think that I did really good. Especially in the playoffs against the Houston team. I had a really good game and scored most of the points against a really good team.”
Tovar was awarded first-team all-district as well as all-state honorable mention for offensive performances against the tough teams in her district. Tovar praised some of the talented players she faced from the San Antonio area.
“It was a lot tougher, but we still hung with them,” Tovar said. “At the end, we showed that we were meant to be there and can hang with teams from there.”
Tovar said during the season she just wanted to help her team as much as she could.
“I expect to be a lot better,” Tovar said of her expectations for next year. The upcoming senior plans to spend a lot of time in the gym, she said.
| Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Alexa Torres poses for a photo at Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald) |
Defensive Player of the Year: Alexa Torres, Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Defense wins titles, and the Chargers brought home multiple titles with a stout defense.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Alexa Torres was at the front of one of the best defenses in the Rio Grande Valley.
Torres is The Brownsville Herald’s 2022-23 All-Metro Girls Basketball Defensive Player of the Year.
The Valley has plenty of talent in the point guard position, especially girls basketball. Torres picked up three steals a game, guarding some of the best girls on the court this on a defense that was extremely stingy in district play.
“I think communication was key in our success,” Torres said. “I enjoyed the role that I played this year. There were some games were I did not score as much, but there were other areas that I showed up in, passing our defensive communication.”
Torres was usually one of the main defenders stopping transition basket attempts because of being a pass-first point guard. The role she played helped the Chargers to an 18-0 district title and first area-round win.
“I am grateful for the season we had,” Torres said. “I am glad we were able to make it that far, make school history and I am excited to see what they could do next year too.”
| Los Fresnos’ Olivia Parra poses for a photo at Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald) |
Utility Player of the Year: Olivia Parra, Los Fresnos
Los Fresnos Olivia Parra could play any position on the court. Parra helped do it all for the Falcons on a team that won the BISD tournament and made it to the playoffs out of District 32-6A.
The Los Fresnos small forward is The Brownsville Herald’s 2022-23 All-Metro Girls Basketball Utility Player of the Year.
Parra scored, grabbed rebounds and developed a partnership with Aylene Ortega, often finding her teammate while slashing to the bucket. Parra became one of the best slashers in the Valley this season.
Parra averaged 19 points, six rebounds, three steals and three assists a game this season.
Parra’s slashing abilities and partnership with Ortega helped the Falcons win a BISD tourney title in the preseason over a TAPPS state championship team in Harvest Christian. Parra scored 18 points in the win.
“I contributed more to my team this year,” Parra said. “I just really tried to be a play maker for my team.”
Parra said she worked on being more comfortable on the ball this season. Parra looked in control when she had this ball this season and it helped the Falcons win 26 games and her to become one of the best all-around players in the area.
| Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Daniela Sauceda poses for a photo at Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald) |
Newcomer of the Year: Daniela Sauceda, Brownsville Veterans
Brownsville Veterans’ Daniela Sauceda emerged as one of the key players for the Chargers, especially down the stretch, on a Chargers team that won an area-round game
Sauceda scored 10 points a game and grabbed seven rebounds a game in her first varsity season.
Sauceda is The Brownsville Herald’s 2022-23 All-Metro Girls Basketball Newcomer of the Year.
“It was pretty good for my first year,” Sauceda said. “I think it was a whole new experience. I did not want this season to end.”
The junior post player came up big for the Chargers late in the season. As the season progressed, Sauceda grew with confidence and was one of the bright spots against Edinburg Vela in the third round game at Bert Ogden Arena.
Because of teams like Edinburg Vela and other late season opposition, Sauceda’s game grew she said.
“I had to step up for the team,” Sauceda said.
Sauceda is going to be one of the best returning players in the Valley next season as a senior and on a Chargers team that are likely to be challenged for the top spot in District 32-5A by teams returning terrific talent.
“I think we will pretty good,” Sauceda said. “We have some good players coming in and we still have some talented players from this year as well. Hopefully, we can have great results.”
| Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Arnold Torres poses for a photo at Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald) |
Coach of the Year: Arnold Torres: Brownsville Veterans
Arnold Torres’ Brownsville Veterans team continues to be one of the premier girls basketball programs in the area.
Torres led his team to the most successful season in program history. The Chargers won 30 games this season, went 18-0 in District 32-5A and won the program’s first area-round win.
Torres is The Brownsville Herald’s 2022-23 All-Metro Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.
Brownsville Veterans defeated Victoria East 55-50 in the area round, setting up a third-round meeting at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg with Edinburg Vela.
All-Metro First Team
Aylene Ortega, Los Fresnos; Christy Garcia, Brownsville Lopez; Sophia Carrizales, Brownsville Lopez; Emily Burrage, Port Isabel; Layni Mata, Port Isabel
All-Metro Second Team
Shiloh Jones, Los Fresnos; Jocelyn Hernandez, Brownsville Pace; Andrea Jasso, Brownsville St. Joseph; Annie Cisneros, Brownsville Veterans; Caitlin Cardenas, Brownsville Rivera