MISSION — Rio Grande City’s Claudette Rodriguez could hardly wait to return to the court.
The junior power forward was sidelined for a majority of the season’s opening two months with a lower leg injury but wasted no time in making an immediate impact for the Rattlers.
Rodriguez returned in time to help fuel a 10-game winning streak to close the regular season and clinch the District 30-5A championship during a season of nearly unprecedented success in Rio Grande City.
For her role in cementing history in RGC and anchoring one of the Rio Grande Valley’s most dangerous units, Rodriguez has been tabbed The Monitor’s All-Area Girls Basketball Sixth Man of the Year.
“It feels really awesome to be recognized,” she said. “My freshman and sophomore year I worked really hard to improve this much, so it feels really nice to win our district and Sixth Man of the Year. It’s sort of like, ‘Wow, look at everything we achieved this year.’ For me, it feels great to get this.”
Rodriguez missed nearly the entirety of the first two months of the season while nursing a knee injury.
Her absence from the court proved to be painful and costly for both her and the Rattlers.
Rio Grande City lost its only two regular-season games of the 2020-21 campaign to Edinburg High and Weslaco High during her time away from the court.
It was a lengthy departure compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had prevented Rodriguez from practicing with her teammates during the offseason or participating in summer tournaments together.
“It was really hard having that injury and seeing the girls play on the court,” Rodriguez said. “I was really sad, but I was also really excited to join them. What I really wanted to do was play and get back out on the court.”
She persevered and recovered fully in time to make her return for the Rattlers’ biggest game of the season to that point: a clash for first place in 30-5A against rival Roma in the first leg of the Starr County Classic.
Rodriguez’s return bolstered the Rattlers’ prolific frontcourt, giving the team a needed and timely shot in the arm.
The junior dazzled down low and came off the bench to tally a career-high 17 points and six rebounds on a game-high 60% shooting from the floor as part of a resounding Rio Grande City victory.
“I was ready. I was just anxious to play that entire day. I came back and said it’s my time to shine, so let’s go,” Rodriguez said. “I was really excited to be back after my injury, so there was no looking back. I felt like I couldn’t play all the time, so it was good to get back out there and play my hardest.”
With Rodriguez back in the fold, the Rattlers dominated their district competition behind the strength of one of the Valley’s speediest lineups and most versatile collection of post players.
She rotated with fellow posts Haley Garza and Angela Razo to complement junior center Emily Lopez, the unanimous choice for District 30-5A’s Player of the Year, to form the RGV’s most fearsome frontcourt.
Rodriguez worked alongside Garza, Lopez and Razo down low to help the Rattlers routinely out-rebound their opponents and seal off the paint defensively.
More than anything, though, Rodriguez and her teammates brought an elite combination of size, speed and athleticism to Rio Grande City that allowed the team to play a breakneck, fast-paced style of basketball that relied on stifling full-court defense and pushing the tempo in transition offensively.
“Our posts — me, Angela, Haley, Emily — and all the girls on the team really, we were really quick for posts and could all run up and down the court. That’s what set us apart really,” Rodriguez said. “We leaned on each other a lot and fed off each other in games. We were always communicating, running and moving the ball trying to get shots and score in transition.”
Rodriguez thrived in her role as Rio Grande City’s explosive sixth man during an unbeaten run through district play.
Despite appearing in only nine of the Rattlers’ 20 regular-season games, she ranked among the squad’s statistical leaders in numerous categories and left lasting impressions on RGC’s district opponents.
The junior tallied 9.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and a block per contest — all of which ranked third on the team — while earning a 30-5A First Team All-District selection.
Rodriguez also played an essential role in the Rattlers’ most significant victory in decades during a decisive win over Roma in Round 2 of the Starr County Classic.
She combined with Lopez and Razo to record a season-high eight blocks as part of a defensive clinic against the Gladiators in the low post that helped Rio Grande City capture its second district championship in school history.
“I felt blessed,” Rodriguez said. “During the last 5 seconds, we all got excited. It felt like, ‘Wow, we hadn’t won (our) district in 35 years and just did.’ It was amazing … and we were able to do it in front of our fans, which was incredible.”
Rio Grande City’s postseason dreams were dashed in the bi-district round, however, in a 31-22 loss to Corpus Christi Flour Bluff during a defensive duel in Falfurrias.
The Hornets (46.8) and Rattlers (50.0) held one another well below their season scoring averages in what represented the lowest-scoring game of the year for both teams.
“I played good defense, and we all did play really good defense in that game. Where we really struggled was scoring and getting it out in the fastbreak,” Rodriguez said. “It was disappointing to lose, but we had more rebounds and actually played really, really good defense for all four quarters.”
But despite a premature playoff exit, Rodriguez and her teammates are encouraged by the strides they made as a program bringing Rio Grande City its first district title on the basketball court in 35 years.
The Rattlers will return 13 of 14 varsity lettermen, making them one of the most experienced teams across South Texas entering next season.
For Rodriguez, that means securing RGC’s first back-to-back district titles ever and making more school history in the postseason.
“Our goals for next year are to be district champs again and get to the fourth round or the fifth round and go deep trying to get to the state (tournament),” she said. “We want to take this far and get bigger and better.”
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch
