BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — Weslaco High met Edinburg High met in a district contest for the first time since the 2015-16 basketball season. The Panthers spent the past two seasons in District 32-6A before last February’s UIL realignment put Weslaco High in District 31-6A once again, a district it won in 2015-16.
The Bobcats and Panthers each entered their matchup at 3-0 in district play and in a two-way tie for first place atop 31-6A. Thanks to tough defense and balanced scoring, Weslaco never trailed in a 56-41 win over Edinburg (21-8, 3-1) on Friday afternoon.
“What I just told the girls in the locker room was how proud I was to see them play with a lot of pride,” Weslaco coach Griselda Fino said. “At the end of quarters and during timeouts, the kids came to our bench and kept telling each other to keep the intensity up and don’t let them back into the game. That helped us through four quarters, especially defensively.”
Edinburg’s two-headed scoring monster of senior guard Jenessah Santa Maria (19.8 points per game entering Friday) and sophomore wing Daysha Tijerina (14.2 points per game entering Friday) were neutralized by the Panthers. Santa Maria and Tijerina combined for a paltry 10 points on 4-of-20 field goal attempts.
“Before the game, coach (Fino) told us that good defense was going to determine who won this game, so we had to step that up,” Weslaco High senior guard La Kysha Saldivar said. “We know we did a pretty good job because Jenessah (Santa Maria) was held to six points and Daysha (Tijerina) was held to four.”
In the only other meeting this season, Tijerina scored 29 points during a preseason tournament game against Weslaco on Nov. 16. Santa Maria has scored nine points in two games versus the Panthers this season.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well this afternoon. We took good shots, but they just didn’t fall,” Edinburg High coach J.D. Salinas said. “Jenessah’s our catalyst. She knows her role leading this team and she’s had a heck of a year for us so far. One game doesn’t change our beliefs and our thoughts about what Jenessah can do on the court. We’ve still got a lot of basketball left in district play. We need to bounce back Tuesday night against (Edinburg) Vela.”
Weslaco (19-6, 4-0) was led offensively by junior guard Kirsten Padilla and Saldivar. Padilla scored a game-high 20 points through the first three quarters while Saldivar poured in 19 points with some slick outside shooting.
A week ago, the Panthers lost at home by 12 to Harlingen High. Saldivar wasn’t much of a factor scoring against the Cardinals.
“For that entire game, she (Saldivar) went 2-of-3 from the field. That can’t happen,” Fino said. “I know she’s so much better than three shots, so we’ve given her the green light to shoot and to drive. If she touched the ball, and she’s open, she better let it fly.”
Saldivar connected on 5-of-10 3-pointers against the Bobcats.
“The Harlingen game was a wake-up call,” Saldivar said. “Once we warmed up today, I was zoned in. And (assistant) coach (David) Medina told me, ‘Once you release the ball, you need to be confident within your shot.’ When I released the ball today, I knew it was going in.”