BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Mariana Espinosa was one of the best players in the Brownsville area on a Chargers basketball team that won 30 games and captured an undefeated District 32-5A championship.
The senior guard is headed to the Roanoke, Virginia, where she will play for Hollins University after signing Wednesday at Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School.
The senior guard averaged 13 points, 3.7 assists and 3.5 steals per game and was awarded co-district MVP for her efforts. Espinosa’s dream was to continue playing basketball after high school.
“I got it,” she said. “Now I just have to continue the hard work and see what I can do out there. Hopefully I can do good.”
Espinosa never lost a District 32-5A game as a Chargers player, playing a big role in 2022’s championship team, and an even bigger role in 2023 as the leading scorer for a Brownsville Veterans team that advanced to the third round of the UIL Class 5A playoffs.
The Chargers won their first area-round game this season.
Espinosa picked Hollins over other programs because of the possibility for playing time, she said, but understands the work needed to earn playing time.
“Mariana is a tremendous player,” Brownsville Veterans head coach Arnold Torres said. “Her knowledge of the game is definitely an asset to any program. I know her going to Hollins, and them taking her in, she is going to make an impact right away.”
The senior plans to study physical therapy at Hollins. Espinosa wants to stay on the sports side of the profession because of her love for sports, she said.
“I am just grateful for the opportunity to showcase my skills and all of the hard work that I have put it,” Espinosa said. “I just want to make my family proud.”
Roanoke is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia. Hollins University is a NCAA Division III school that competes in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.