BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — The Edinburg High Bobcats were having one of those nights.
They had the kind of night where players were in sync. Every shot attempt felt like a make at the release point and team confidence was at an all-time high.
Edinburg High sophomore Daysha Tijerina had one of the best games of her varsity career, scoring a career-high 31 points while pulling down nine rebounds in the Bobcats’ 84-31 blowout of Harlingen South (5-11) on Tuesday night.
Tijerina made 7 of her 11 3-point attempts.
“I’ve been getting more confidence since I played varsity last year,” Tijerina said. “(Edinburg High senior guard) Jenessah (Santa Maria) really pushes me to shoot the ball because I can get scared sometimes.”
Tijerina’s confidence had been building throughout the early part of this season. She previously set a career-high with 20 points against PSJA North before upping the ante to 23 points against Victoria West. Tijerina’s previous best came when she dropped 29 points versus Weslaco High on Nov. 16.
“Daysha was outstanding. I think this was the best game she’s ever had, shooting-wise,” Santa Maria said. “The majority of the shots she took were in and that really got us going. She hit our first three of the game right off the bat. We kept feeding her the ball and the ball kept going in.”
“The opportunity where Daysha could shoot as many balls just wasn’t there last year,” Edinburg High coach J.D. Salinas said. “Now she’s found her role.”
The Bobcats led the Hawks by 27 at the break. Their large lead didn’t dissuade Salinas from helping Tijerina adjust her defensive approach in Tuesday’s game. She began the fourth quarter with a steal and a fastbreak basket on back-to-back defensive possessions.
“That just came down to reading plays and we talked about it at halftime,” Salinas said. “There were several times when a skip pass would come across and she (Tijerina) wasn’t as active getting to the ball. She was solid, don’t get me wrong, but there were opportunities where she could have used her athletic ability.”
“I needed to play more up because there were short passes,” Tijerina said. “I did what coach said and it started working.”
Tijerina was hardly alone. The Bobcats (14-7) finished with 12 3-pointers as a team, three of which were converted by Santa Maria.
Santa Maria finished with 30 points of her own.
“When you see someone like Daysha shooting the way she was shooting, we wanted to shoot too just to get the team pumped,” Santa Maria said.
Edinburg High spent most of its season on the road or playing in tournaments on neutral courts. Tuesday’s win over the Hawks was the Bobcats’ first win on their own home floor this season.
“It was big to get this win tonight because we lost badly both times we played on our homecourt,” Santa Maria said. “It gives us the confidence to play even better the next time out.”
“We played them (Harlingen South) earlier this year and that game was a lot tougher,” Tijerina said. “But it’s only gotten easier for us. We’re building more chemistry and getting better as a team.”