TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Jayla Santa Maria scored 18 points and Mercedes Hernandez added 16 more to propel the Edinburg High Lady Bobcats by the visiting Weslaco Lady Panthers 59-42 on Tuesday night.
Weslaco, playing without its top three scorers, ran its best five out there and competed, but Edinburg was simply too much. The Lady Bobcats offense was crisp, and their 3-point shooting was on target.
Still, with or without Weslaco’s top players, the win was big for Edinburg (16-6), which had not played a home game in about a month.
“This has been one of our biggest rivalries — bigger than Vela, because they (Weslaco) are the team to beat and outstanding program,” said Hernandez, a junior guard, who added that team chemistry helped with the win. “We were talking about it before the game. We know who’s been hitting lately.”
Certainly, Hernandez and Santa Maria have been hitting. And they hit from all over the floor. Drives in the lane, threes and midrange jumpers all fell for the Edinburg duo. Their exploits helped Edinburg slowly but surely build a lead throughout the game.
Perhaps key in the contest was Edinburg’s ability to hold Weslaco to seven points in the second quarter and 21 at half. Meanwhile, the Lady Bobcats scored 17 in each of the first two quarters to build a safe 34-21 halftime cushion.
Weslaco made one min-run at Edinburg, cutting Edinburg’s 19-point third quarter lead down to 13 early in the fourth. However, the Lady Bobcats responded with an 8-2 run to put the game out of reach.
Lady Panthers coach Griselda Fino said she knew the circumstances of playing with a depleted squad and hoped younger players were able to get some experience by getting on the floor against a quality opponent.
“If anybody would have told me before the game that we were going to score 42 points, I would have told you, ‘You are crazy,’” Fino said. “We’ve got 40 points on the bench. That obviously hurt us. The one thing I’m unhappy about is they giving 51 points, because no matter if you are not a scorer, you have to be a defender in this program.”
Out because of injury for Weslaco were starters Briana Pena, Emily Saenz and Lily Rodriguez.