BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
PHARR — Friday may have been 2018’s first No. 1-versus-No. 2 matchup in the RGVSports.com Top 10 poll, but the game meant a lot more to Edinburg High’s Jayla Santa Maria.
Santa Maria began the night nine points shy of 2,000 for her Bobcats career. She cleared the 2,000-point hurdle on a layup early in the second quarter, but she didn’t stop there. The senior finished with 36 in Edinburg High’s emphatic 82-53 win at PSJA North.
“It was a great feeling,” Santa Maria said. “This was something I accomplished myself, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my teammates. It’s an accomplishment for the team, the program and my coaches, as well.”
“It’s a big day for Jayla,” Edinburg High coach J.D. Salinas said. “She’ll go down as one of Edinburg’s great basketball players, and you could see how all her teammates were excited for her. We’ve ridden Jayla’s shoulders since she was a freshman, and I couldn’t ask for more. She played a heck of a game, but she can’t do it without her teammates. She’ll be the first one to say that.”
Santa Maria scored the game’s first six points, but she wasn’t the only Bobcat who caught fire early on. Freshman A’nnika Saenz nailed three of her five 3-pointers in the opening quarter, allowing Edinburg High to open up a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter.
“We came out on a mission tonight,” Salinas said. “We lost a game here in the second round (of district play) last season that forced us to share a district title instead of winning it outright. That was more of our motivation, as far as getting ourselves ready to play, than Jayla getting her points.”
PSJA North (24-4, 6-1) was dominated on the boards and struggled with Edinburg High’s athleticism.
“I thought we prepared well, but they showed a lot of poise, and we didn’t play up to them,” PSJA North coach Randy Bocanegra said. “We were able to see a little bit of them earlier in the year, but they shot the ball extremely well. Normally, we’re the ones who shoot it well from the outside. They showed more composure than we did and played up for the moment. It felt like we were observing it, for a while there.”
Frustration began to boil over for the Raiders in the third quarter, as Angel Lozano and Alexia Neal were assessed technical fouls on separate plays.
“Those were out of character,” Bocanegra said. “I spoke to the girls about maintaining their composure and their character. Maybe the girls felt they should have played better, but we just didn’t.”
The Bobcats (23-8, 7-0) made 12 3-pointers against the Raiders, with Santa Maria accounting for five of them. She was called to the bench with 43 seconds remaining in the game and shared an embrace with Salinas.
“All my kids know that I love them,” Salinas said. “Our staff treats them like our own children. Jayla’s a special one. They’re all special.”
“He told me, ‘I’m so proud of you, mija,’” Santa Maria said. “Congratulations.”