By MARK MOLINA | The Brownsville Herald
In four seasons at Hanna, guard Mia Paz has racked up points, records and accolades, and led the Lady Eagles to a 26-11 season that culminated in the program’s first playoff appearance in 10 years.
Now, with her high school career coming to a close, Paz can add one more thing to her long resume after being named The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Most Valuable Player.
Paz was named the All-Metro Newcomer of the Year as a freshman and Offensive Player of the Year in her sophomore and junior years, making this year’s selection all the more sweet.
“ Every other accolade I’ve earned has been an honor,” the Hanna senior said. “But this one means the most to me because I’ve worked hard for this one and I’ve dreamt about it since my freshmen year. I’m just glad I earned this award my senior year and I can go out with a bang.”
As a senior, Paz averaged 24.4 points, 4.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game en route to being named to the All-District 32-6A first team and the Texas Girls Coaches Association Class 6A all-state team.
Paz ended her career as Brownsville’s all-time scoring leader with 2,968 points, the Rio Grande Valley’s all-time 3-point leader (410) and was named to multiple all-star teams.
Hanna coach Luis Gonzalez said Paz’s numbers and accolades are not surprising, and he believes her work ethic is second to none.
“ I’ve been around basketball as a player, as a fan and as a coach for over 30 years,” he said. “She’s the hardest working player I’ve come in contact with. She may not always be the most talented, but she won’t get outworked by anyone. After games and before games, I’ve seen her shoot the ball. Just her focus and how mature a student her age is speak volumes.”
While Paz spent most of her time at Hanna as the program standout, earning a lot of recognition as an individual, Gonzalez believes that the maturity the star senior possessed helped as she willed her team to the postseason.
“ These awards are special, but her main thing was getting this team to the playoffs,” Gonzalez said. “Her working with the girls is something that comes natural her. She’s a basketball player, and she gets along well with her teammates. This year, her scoring was up there like every other year, but she made some big assists and had trust in her teammates more than in any other year, and I think that’s what got us over the hump. She was the focal point of every team we played. She was able to create those numbers, but she was also able to trust her teammates and make those passes.”
For Paz, sharing the rock was easy with a solid relationship in place among teammates.
“ This year, the girls got along with one another, and the relationships with each other were by far the best that we’ve had,” Paz said. “We knew what was on the line, especially in our last district game. I’m glad we came out, we pulled through and I’m proud of each and every one of them. Overall, it was a good season. I’m sad it’s over, but in the end, I had a blast playing with these girls. I couldn’t be more proud of them. They were here day in and day out, and I’m proud of how hard they worked no matter what the situation was.”
Now at the end of the line, Paz is still somewhat in awe of her list of accomplishments but knows that it is the culmination of all the time and effort she put in to working on her game.
“ If you asked me my freshman year, I probably wouldn’t tell you that I would do all of this,” she said. “I owe it all to my parents because most people don’t know that we made the sacrifice. I spent most of my summers away from my mother, and it was tough at first. I spent my summers in San Antonio and the Dallas area just training to improve my game. I remember my first summer was my eighth-grade year, and that was tough because I missed a lot of family events, holidays, and it was weird not having your family there, but I’m just glad I had the opportunity.”
2019 All-Metro girl’s basketball team
Most Valuable Player
Mia Paz, senior, Hanna
Offensive Player of the Year
Ari Gallardo, junior, Los Fresnos
Defensive player of the Year
Alex Parchmont, junior, Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Newcomer of the Year
CaitlinEsquivel, freshman, Brownsville Veterans Memorial
Coach of the Year
Luis Gonzalez, Hanna
First Team
Lizzie Garza, junior, Brownsville Veterans
Lexy Arce, senior, Pace
Sabrina Garza, senior, Port Isabel
Gisele Spence Sampayo, senior, St. Joseph Academy
Jovanne Adame, senior, Los Fresnos
Second Team
Jacqueline Montes, senior, Rivera
Jacqueline Cavazos, senior, Jubilee Brownsville
Destiny Contreras, junior, Brownsville Veterans
Lucia Gonzalez, freshman, St. Joseph
Sabrina Gonzalez, Port Isabel