BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
WESLACO — Weslaco High junior power forward Illiyah Cantu had some big shoes to fill entering the season. The Panthers graduated six post players last year, and Cantu is the oldest returner to Weslaco’s front line.
The added responsibilities as Weslaco’s top forward guided her training during the offseason.
“I would go outside with my brother, actually,” Cantu said. “He’s 5 feet, and I’m 5-5, but he’d hold a sandbag in front of him. I’d go into him, just to go up against some contact in order for me to finish and get some and-ones. I also worked with Laura Van Tilburg. Going up against her really helped, too, since she’s 6-3.”
The contact drills proved effective for Cantu, who scored three baskets while drawing fouls in the third quarter of Weslaco High’s 60-50 home win over Edinburg High on Tuesday night. Cantu scored 12 of her 21 points in the quarter.
“The coaches really motivated us at halftime, especially me,” Cantu said. “I didn’t want to let my team down anymore. I felt like I needed to do my part to help the team out.”
“This is what we expect out of Illiyah,” Weslaco High coach Griselda Fino said. “What’s funny is, I was still harping on her in the locker room, because she still left 12 points on the floor, but she’s coming along. We had to make Illiyah understand that her aggressiveness plays a huge role on our team, offensively and defensively. I’m expecting her to play 32 minutes a game, and she’s getting in shape, and you can see it. Now she’s finishing at the rim in the fourth quarter, whereas early in the season, she would go three quarters for us and get tired later on.”
Senior Briana Pena led all scorers with 28 points for Weslaco (18-4). Pena believes her transition from guard to forward is progressing nicely.
“This season is the first time I’ve ever been a forward for this long,” Pena said. “I think I’m adjusting well. I just need to work on my moves and executing them. Sometimes, I get a little antsy, and I travel a little bit. I’ll attract attention if I have the ball down low. Then, I can look opposite and help us move the ball around better.”
“The transition for Briana has gone so well that we can feed the ball to Briana inside or outside,” Fino said. “Now she’s becoming more difficult to stop even though, to be honest, her scoring 28 points amazed me. There were some uncharacteristic things that Briana did, but we got the ‘W.’”
Edinburg (16-6) had the size advantage over Weslaco but couldn’t capitalize when and where it mattered most.
“We had good looks. We attacked the basket hard, but we just didn’t hit those shots,” Edinburg High coach J.D. Salinas said. “Against good teams like Weslaco, you have to take advantage of those easy opportunities.”