EDINBURG — The Edinburg High Bobcats — the 13th-ranked Class 6A team in the state according to the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association poll — had their hands full from the opening tip Thursday night against PSJA North.
Facing their third game in three days, the Bobcats battled back and forth for four quarters in the closest game for either squad since the start of 2021.
However, senior guards Daysha Tijerina and A’nnika Saenz saved one of their top performances for their final regular-season home game, combining for 35 points to lift Edinburg High over PSJA North 54-46 and secure the District 31-6A championship.
“We knew coming in that we were the better team after the first time we played them,” said Saenz, a UTRGV basketball signee. “We just carried that mindset throughout the whole game.”
“We just had to keep the energy going until the end of the game,” Tijerina said. “Credit goes to Janai (Coleman), she’s our motor. We just had to keep making shots and keep it going.”
The victory marks the 16th straight win for the Bobcats, their fifth consecutive district title and sixth district championship in the last nine years.
“They showed leadership, especially when times get tough,” Edinburg High head coach John David Salinas said of his seniors. “They speak to the young kids. They know what it’s about and they’re almost like other coaches on the court. It gives us an opportunity to be successful when we have leadership like that.”
The opening quarter began as a scoring bonanza for both sides, as Edinburg’s Saenz and Tijerina traded buckets with PSJA North’s Carolina Sanchez and Emma Lucio seemingly on each trip up the floor.
Sanchez began the game with three straight 3-pointers from the top of the arc to give the Raiders an early edge, but Saenz and Tijerina’s passing in the half court freed up the Bobcats for open jumpers and several slashes to the basket against one of the Rio Grande Valley’s premier interior defenders in PSJA North center Trinity Bane.
“That’s a heck of a team over there. Coach (Randy) Bocanegra is one of my good friends and he does such a good job over there,” Salinas said. “I’m so proud of (our team) for being able to stay the course because they were always right there. Carolina and Lucio, those girls can really shoot the ball and get to the basket, and Trinity Bane is a great basketball player (too).”
The second and third quarters took a decisive turn toward defense, as Bane and Lucio helped wall off the paint and gave PSJA North a decisive edge in the rebounding battle too.
Bane finished the night with an 11-point, 16-rebound double-double while Lucio added a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Sanchez chipped in an additional 14 points and six rebounds from the backcourt.
Ultimately, though, it was the Bobcats mix of veteran seniors and savvy freshmen who turned the tide in the fourth quarter for good.
Saenz and Tijerina both fought their way to the free-throw line in the game’s waning moments to secure the victory and their fourth consecutive district title as teammates.
“It was the fact that we got to the line,” Saenz said. “We were being aggressive and not passive.”
Each grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists, while Saenz dropped a game-high 21 points and Tijerina added 14.
The Bobcats’ freshman trio — guards Kimora Fagan and Madison Martinez and center Janai Coleman — combined for 17 points and 19 rebounds of their own which ultimately pushed Edinburg High past a hard-charging Raiders squad late.
“The freshmen have given us so much,” Tijerina said. “They’re the reason we’re so deep this season.”
“I don’t think we would’ve made it this far without the freshmen,” Saenz said.
Edinburg High’s district title-clinching victory was also their third win in as many days after the Bobcats thoroughly dismantled crosstown rival Edinburg North on Tuesday and Wednesday.
For Salinas and the Bobcats’ veteran stars, though, this district championship carries the most significance, as Edinburg High battled through repeated scheduling changes in a dominant 15-0 run through district play with one more game still to go at 7 p.m. Monday at PSJA High.
But most of all, the Bobcats were appreciative for being granted the chance to play basketball this season amid the COVID-19 pandemic and plan to continue maximizing their opportunities on the court with the postseason on the horizon.
“It’s tough to turn around and prepare when you don’t have practices leading into it,” Salinas said. “It’s not just us; it’s everybody across the state of Texas, and more importantly, here in the Valley. I’m so glad that our school district, administration and board of trustees found a way to give us an opportunity to play basketball. I hope we made them proud.”
“This means a lot since last year I wasn’t able to finish out the season,” said Saenz, who had her sophomore and junior seasons ended prematurely by knee injuries. “We just want to finish strong with the same mentality we came into this season with.”
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch
