By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Briana Cortez lets her game speak volumes, and the accolades continue to pile up.
For the second year in a row, Cortez was named to the first-team all-district list for 32-6A and continues to be one of the top players for the Lady Chargers and in the Metro area. The junior led the team by scoring 10.3 points per game, and had 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals for the district runner-up that increased the overall and district win totals from a season ago.
Cortez was the All-Metro newcomer during her freshman season, was on the All-Metro first-team last year and now adds a new title to the list. The Lady Chargers’ guard has been named The Brownsville Herald’s 2015 All-Metro MVP.
“I feel incredibly honored because I know there is a lot of talented players in the Metro area,” Cortez said. “So I’m very honored.”
All season, Cortez was incredibly consistent. Whether it was hitting a big shot, helping the team go on a run or making a steal down the stretch when the defense needed a stop, the junior guard always seemed to be the catalyst for the Lady Chargers.
“I call Briana our silent assassin,” Brownsville Veterans coach Valentin Paz said of her quiet demeanor on the court. “She hit a lot of big shots for us this year. She prepares well and loves to play, and has been a cornerstone of what we are trying to do here.”
Cortez prefers to let her game speak for her. She is humble almost to a fault; initially she refused to believe her coach when he told her she received the recognition.
“You’re not kidding me?” Cortez asked her coach. Paz told her it was true.
“I told her, ‘Your hard work pays off. So I’m happy for you,’” he said. “I’m very happy for Briana to be recognized for her success.”
But Cortez still feels she has many improvements to make in the offseason. She expressed the desire to work on her ball-handling to help out point guard Jordan Rudd, who often felt the pressure of an opponent’s press this season. Rudd often dribbled through traffic, but the Lady Chargers were caught turning the ball over too many times in crucial moments down the stretch.
The senior to be wants more than that, though.
“As a team, I hope we can go past the second round (in the playoffs) and win district because we haven’t won,” Cortez said. “I really want to win and to go even further than we did these last two years. As one of the team captains, going into my senior year I really want to get the girls pumped up, so we can accomplish these goals and go further.”
Cortez has held the title of captain for each of her years playing in high school. She is willing to put the work in to be successful.
“I assigned her as a captain because of her work ethic,” Paz said. “She’s the first one on the court, and the last one to leave. She does it by playing, she doesn’t talk. She lets her game speak for itself.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.
The Brownsville Herald’s 2014-15
All-Metro Girls Basketball Team
Superlatives
Most Valuable Player
Briana Cortez, jr., Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Defensive Player of the Year
Alex Martinez, jr., Port Isabel
Newcomer of the Year
Hannah Meyers, fr., Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Coach of the Year
Valentin Paz, Brownsville Veterans Memorial
First Team
Kelcie Swink, sr., Port Isabel
Taylor Cano, sr., Hanna
Jordan Rudd, so., Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Kelsi McDonough, jr., Los Fresnos
Valeria Tapia, so., St. Joseph Academy
Second Team
Sabrina Garcia, sr., Porter
Susana Guevara, sr., Pace
Imelda Garcia, jr., Lopez
Diana Garcia, so., St. Joseph Academy
April Gonzalez, sr., Rivera