By ROY HESS
Staff Writer
The Edinburg High Lady Bobcats took a successful first step in the Class 6A bi-district basketball playoffs Monday by defeating the Hanna Lady Golden Eagles 90-48.
The decisive win at the Hanna gym advances District 31-6A co-champion Edinburg High (31-8) to the area round of the playoffs, where the Lady Bobcats will go against Laredo Nixon or PSJA North later this week.
Hanna opened the game by hitting quite a few of its shots and led by as many as 11 points, 13-2, after Mia Paz nailed a 3-pointer from the left side with 4:02 showing in the first quarter.
But the Lady Bobcats soon implemented a three-quarters court press, and the momentum quickly switched to their favor as they got into the rhythm of their up-tempo game.
“At the end of the day, I think our girls have a lot of composure,” Lady Bobcats coach J.D. Salinas said. “We’ve been in situations like this throughout the season (and trailed early). We have the ability to overcome that adversity at times. We’ve been in tough games all season long.
“Our girls just did a fantastic job of staying with the flow of the game to overcome that run that Hanna started off with,” Salinas added. “We have a lot of respect for Hanna and Mia Paz, and what she’s done in all her years for them.
“We shot the ball well, even though we struggled early. We pressed because we wanted to change the tempo of the game. We wanted to play a little faster and be more aggressive (so we went to our press).”
Hanna led 15-12 after one quarter, but thanks to a 25-9 scoring outburst during the second period, the Lady Bobcats were up 37-24 at intermission. Edinburg High exploded for 28 points during the third period compared to 13 for Hanna to take a 65-37 advantage into the final quarter, where the Lady Bobcats closed out the contest by outpointing the Lady Eagles 25-11.
District 32-6A fourth-place Hanna, making its first playoff appearance in 14 seasons, ended the season 26-12.
“I’m so proud of the girls this season for making the playoffs after many years,” Hanna coach Luis Gonzalez said. “They set the foundation for next year’s group.”
Paz, a senior guard, finished the night with 26 points, including three 3-pointers.
Earlier this season, she became the all-time career leading scorer in Brownsville, eclipsing former Hanna star Alex Denson. Paz ended her four-year Hanna career with 2,968 points.
But besides Paz, Hanna had only two other players score against Edinburg High. They were Alexis Alvarez (16 points with four 3-pointers) and Odalys Gonzalez (six points).
Meanwhile, the Lady Bobcats had four players in double figures. They were led by Jenessah Santa Maria’s 31 points, which included one 3-pointer. Other Lady Bobcats scoring in double figures were A’nnika Saenz (17 points with three 3-pointers), and Daysha Tijerina and Brianna Martinez (15 points each with one 3-pointer apiece).
Santa Maria scored 12 of her 31 points during the second period to help the Lady Bobcats pull away and put the game pretty much out of reach by halftime.
Edinburg High’s biggest lead was 42 points twice during the final minute with scores of 88-46 and 90-48.
“I think this may have been a season high (in scoring) for us,” Salinas said. “I feel our press really helped us a lot tonight. We’re going to move on to the next round now and see what happens.”