EDINBURG — If the girls basketball team at Harvest Christian Academy, a private school in west Edinburg, were having a bad season, it would certainly be understandable.
They have no seniors, three freshmen in the starting lineup and the tallest player stands a towering 5-foot-9. Moreover, there is no freshman or junior varsity team to season players before their varsity debut.
“If you come out for the team, you’re automatically on the varsity,” head coach Jaime Gonzalez said with a smile.
On top of that, the team has played at home only once in 22 games, and the schedule is not a light one. Most of its opponents come from the higher classifications.
Harvest Christian has 69 students — not in the program, mind you, but 69 in the entire school. An enrollment that size would qualify the team to compete in Class A. However, with so few Class A schools nearby, they compete in 2A and routinely schedule teams in 3A on up.
With no sub-varsity teams in the high school grades, injured players cannot be replaced easily or even at all, in some cases. That’s precisely what happened when one of its top point-producers suffered an injury about 10 games ago. It left the Eagles with eight effectives as they head into the playoffs this week.
They are in the state playoffs because, despite these obstacles, the Eagles have won 20 of 22 games including a 4-0 unbeaten run to claim the TAPPS District 6-2A title.
After advancing through bi-district on a forfeit, the Eagles will face Bryan St. Joseph in an area-round playoff game at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Edinburg. It will mark the Eagles’ second home game this season.
Gonzalez, who is also Harvest Christian’s pastor, beefed up the schedule before this season to get his team ready for the rigors of their district and the subsequent state playoffs.
“I knew I was going to have a very young team,” Gonzalez said. “So, I can kind of threw them in the fire early on (with a tough schedule). Honestly … we did better than I expected.”
The maroon and gold Eagles have not only frequently won but have blown teams out of the gym, outscoring opponents by nearly 26 points per game.
“We press and just try to play fast,” Gonzalez said. “If we steal, or … we get a rebound, we’re flying. Our thing is, ‘Don’t let the defense set up. Just go.’”
Gonzalez’s daughter, Ashley Gonzalez, is one of those starting freshmen. She is netting 26.3 points per game and has sank more than 80 3-pointers in 22 games. She loves the camaraderie in her small-school environment.
“The school is very supportive,” she said. “Everyone’s friends with everyone, especially in sports.”
Haylee Vasquez said playing on the road nearly every night against schools with larger programs and massive fan support does not discourage them.
“As soon as we hit the court, it’s game on,” the junior guard said. “At the end of the day, there is always going to be five people on the court. So, it doesn’t matter the number that (opponents) have. As long as we play our game, stay humble, give God the glory in everything we do, numbers don’t matter.”
Against 5A teams, the Eagles have gone 4-2 and are 16-0 versus every other team. Included are 10 wins in 11 tilts against playoff-bound opponents.
“Our goal has always been (about playing) right now, late February and March,” Jaime Gonzalez said. “That’s what we’re looking at. All these games were in preparation for this run that we want to make here. It’s really neat to see these girls, just stay humble, but yet hungry.”
They enter the playoffs ranked No. 2 in Texas among TAPPS 2A schools. Jaime Gonzalez noted they are even on the radar of Lubbock Southcrest Christian School, the TAPPS 2A state champ for the past three seasons.
“I’ve got a great group of girls that work hard,” he said. “They love the sport. They’re committed. I know that all sounds cliché, but that’s the truth.”
Alexis Garcia has played organized basketball since fifth grade but still had to grapple with a steep learning curve as a freshman playing the point guard spot. Her numbers show how well she has adapted, scoring 10.6 points while dishing out 4.1 assists and swiping 1.9 steals each game.
“At first it was scary, but I got used to it in practice and that helped,” she said. “What Coach wants me to do, and I agree with it, is push the ball, as fast as I can, and get it up the court.”
“She doesn’t need a whole lot of help in avoiding traps and turning the ball over,” Jaime Gonzalez said. “That allows a girl like Ashley and others to score a lot of points because they’ve got a point guard that’s going to get them the ball. For being so young, it’s impressive how well a court manager or floor leader she is.”
HCA is a tuition-based Christian school which opened in 1999 and educates about 250 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.