BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
DONNA — It wasn’t quite a playoff game, but with the postseason tipping off next Monday, Thursday’s seeding game between Edinburg High and Weslaco High was as close as it was going to get.
Edinburg High senior Jenessah Santa Maria wasn’t crazy about the idea of a seeding game right before the playoffs, but she went with the flow.
“I didn’t want to play (the game) at first. Not because I was scared of Weslaco (High) or anything like that. I didn’t want to risk anyone getting hurt. That was my main thing,” Santa Maria said. “After we found out it was happening, I knew I had to take advantage of it because it might be one of my last games. We tried to come out with a ‘W’ and that’s what we did tonight.”
Santa Maria led the Bobcats (30-8) with 20 points in Edinburg High’s 51-39 victory over Weslaco High on Thursday at Donna North. The win allowed the Bobcats to secure the top seed representing District 31-6A. Edinburg High will face Brownsville Hanna, the No. 4 seed from District 32-6A, in the first round of the playoffs but details for the game weren’t hammered out on Thursday night.
On the first possession of the game, Santa Maria curled around the perimeter and buried a 3-pointer to get the scoring started.
“I’ve been off with my outside shot lately,” Santa Maria said. “During warmups, I felt it. I was hitting consecutive threes back-to-back-to-back. When I made the first three, it felt good. It gave me confidence to keep shooting. Of course, my teammates were able to find me when I got open.”
“This is why we wanted to play instead of flipping for it (the No. 1 seed),” Edinburg High coach J.D. Salinas said. “Number one: We’re playing against a good team. It’s a playoff-like atmosphere. It’s exciting and it was the only girls basketball game going on tonight. Win or lose, you’re going to take the energy, the excitement and the pressure that comes with a game like this and take it into next week. All our players played well, including Jenessah. Daysha (Tijerina) hit a big shot. Leslie Martinez hit some clutch free throws. That helped us get the win.”
Edinburg High was up on Weslaco High throughout the majority of the game until the Panthers (26-8) started making 3-pointers of their own. Aleksa Gallegos’ third 3-pointer of the game gave Weslaco High its first lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“I told the kids that they only have a short amount of time to be upset about what just happened because we need to pick our heads up and figure out how to win some basketball games,” Weslaco High coach Griselda Fino said. “This was a great atmosphere. Both Edinburg and Weslaco wanted to do this to prepare for the playoffs, but the seeding was important for us. If I had to do it all over again, knowing the circumstances, I definitely would. I thought my kids showed a lot of resiliency and a lot of heart. It’s something that we can look at and fix for next week.”
Weslaco High will face off with Los Fresnos, the No. 3 seed from District 32-6A, in the first round on Monday night. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. on the La Feria High School campus.