She was an All-Valley player at the high school level and an All-Conference player and team MVP at the collegiate level.
Now, the former Harlingen Lady Cardinal and Texas Tech Lady Red Raider will enter the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame as one of nine honorees this Saturday at the Pot Isabel Events Center.
Siebert-Banks has since moved on from basketball and just completed her 20th year teaching atMcAllen Memorial, where she also coached as an assistant on and off for more than 10 years.
Since then, her focus has been on her daughters Demy and Draik Banks, husband Fred Longoria and her students, making the induction both unexpected and humbling.
“It was a big surprise,” Siebert-Banks said of her induction. “I have several kids that I am a mom-type to as a teacher and I have my two girls that I spend a lot of time and energy on to support their athletic and academic endeavors, so it was a strange to refocus on that time of my life. I look back on it with immense pride and satisfaction. I’m very honored.”
Siebert Banks averaged 23.1 points per game in her three-year career with the Lady Cardinals while making the All-District and All-Valley teams and delivering a District 32-5A championship during her senior year in 1986.
She recorded 1,499 points and 843 rebounds in high school.
Her efforts earned her a scholarship to Texas Tech where she would play for four more years.
During that time Siebert Banks was selected to play on the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival team in 1987.
She earned second-team All-Southwest Conference honors in 1989 and 1990, and was on the SWC Classic All-Tournament team both years as well.
In 1989 her teammates voted for her as the team Most Valuable Player.
She finished her career at Tech with 1,315 points, 154 blocked shots, which is ranked fifth all-time, and 10.4 rebounds per game average, which is ranked fourth all-time at Tech. She is also in Tech’s all-time Top 10 in free throws attempted and made. Her career-high rebounding mark came in 1989 when she pulled down 23 boards against Texas A&M.
While Siebert Banks is now only a teacher due to the time coaching calls for, she credits the game of basketball for so much in her life.
“Although I feel teaching was my calling, the only reason I became a teacher was because I was recruited to coach. So in that way, the sport was a very pivotal to my career and the next chapter in my life,” She said
Siebert Banks’ daughters both play basketball, so the sport is still very much in her life, but ultimately she enjoys watching her daughters’ progress in both athletics and academics.
“Both my girls play basketball and in that way, I still find a lot of satisfaction out of watching them grow and succeed,” she explains. “Both are multisport athletes and are successful in the classroom, so I have a lot of pride in that.”
Much like athletics helped her get to where she wanted, Siebert Banks feels athletics can do the same for her children.
“I strongly feel athletics motivates and propels young people into their best selves,” She said. “We are raising our children to be leaders and to use their hard work and discipline to parlay that into opportunities to chase their dreams.”