EDINBURG — Edinburg High’s senior trio of A’nnika Saenz, Julissah Santa Maria and Daysha Tijerina entered Friday night’s District 31-6A tilt with two streaks to keep intact: a career 7-0 record against crosstown rival Edinburg Vela and a seven-game winning streak in district play.
In the team’s first game in two weeks and just its fourth contest in the past month due to scheduling delays amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bobcats’ three seniors delivered the veteran leadership needed in one of the Rio Grande Valley’s premier basketball rivalries.
Saenz led the way with 9 points and a team-high 10 rebounds while Santa Maria and Tijerina combined for 25 points and 12 rebounds, as the Bobcats survived a late SaberCats rally to earn a 56-49 victory to stay unbeaten in district play and finish their careers with an unblemished record against their biggest rivals at Edinburg Vela High School.
“It feels great ending our senior year like this,” said Saenz, a UTRGV basketball signee. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think we’ve ever lost to Vela while I’ve been here. It feels good to win here especially in SaberCat nation.”
“I think Vela did a great job,” Edinburg High head coach John David Salinas said. “They’ve got some great girls over there and they were really hungry. They played to the end and it gave them a position to be in it and win the game. … I think they did a great job on A’nnika and Daysha, but our other girls did a great job stepping out, holding their own, scoring some baskets, drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line.”
The SaberCats won the opening tip and started off fast, battling back and forth with Edinburg High — which entered the game as the 16th-ranked Class 6A team in the state, according to the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association Top 25 — through the first few minutes of the contest.
But then the Bobcats began firing on all cylinders.
Freshman guard Madison Martinez provided the spark her team needed and helped ignite a 9-2 Edinburg High run that blew the game wide open in the first quarter. Martinez and fellow freshmen Kimora Fagan and Janai Coleman combined for 17 points on the night in a complete team effort that showed why the Bobcats are one of the deepest teams across the RGV this season.
“We wanted everybody to touch the ball and everybody to get a shot,” Saenz said. “We were taking some good shots and everybody got some good shots there in the game. At the end of the first half, you could see that happening when we were up by double digits because we were moving the ball and everybody was moving period.”
Edinburg High carried a 30-21 lead into halftime thanks in large part to advantages from behind the 3-point arc and at the free-throw line.
Tijerina nailed a team-high three 3-pointers on 50% shooting, which matched Vela’s 3-of-15 shooting night from deep as a team.
Tijerina, Saenz and Fagan also attacked the basket relentlessly and drove the lane to initiate contact. That allowed the Bobcats to make the most of their 27 free-throw opportunities and create space for the rest of Edinburg High’s offense to operate in the halfcourt.
“That’s really just how we play,” Saenz said. “They were face-guarding Daysha and I the whole time, so our three girls who weren’t face-guarded were matched man-on-man and beat them every time. It was just about taking that leadership. Kimora took that leadership in going to the basket and so did Madison Martinez. They took that role well.”
The SaberCats, however, never allowed themselves to be shot out of the game.
Vela’s Aneyda Chapa and Fey Vasquez dominated the low post offensively and helped give their team a 43-31 edge in the battle on the boards which generated several second-chance scoring opportunities.
Chapa recorded a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double, while guards Andrea Molina and Lauren Vega combined to add 29 points and 15 rebounds of their own to propel a late surge for the SaberCats.
During the fourth quarter, Chapa, Molina and Vega helped Vela trim Edinburg High’s lead from 12 down to four with less than 2 minutes to play.
That’s where the veteran poise of Saenz, Santa Maria and Tijerina came into play for the Bobcats, as their three senior leaders were able to play lockdown defense and sink their free throws down the stretch to escape with the narrow victory.
“We don’t panic,” Salinas said. “We’re going to let our kids play. We’ve got some really talented kids all across the bench that can step in. We’re just trying to find the mix that’s doing well for us at that given time. Julissah hit two free throws and Daysha hit a free throw at the end when Vela was making its run and they just seemed very poised.”
Edinburg High improves to 12-3 overall and 8-0 in district play with the victory, while Vela drops to 6-5 overall and 5-4 in 31-6A this season.
The Bobcats will be back in action to kick off a stretch of four district games in four days Tuesday when they host the PSJA North Raiders at 7 p.m. in a battle for first place in District 31-6A.
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch