MISSION — Edinburg High sophomore guard Madison Martinez scored a game-high 14 points, as the Bobcats edged the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks 43-40 on Tuesday at the Sharyland Pioneer gymnasium.
“The success of each of these programs gives you games like this,” Edinburg High head coach J.D. Salinas said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re 6A and they’re 5A. It’s five-on-five. I thought Pioneer did a great job in staying with it.
“We shoot the ball a lot but we weren’t hitting anything in the beginning. But our confidence never falls and we’re going to find a way. I think all of our girls did a good job. Defensively they stepped up…Those are all great things. I’m proud of our girls and our coaching staff. Overall, I think it was a great team effort.”
Down 17-15 at the break, Martinez sparked a 7-0 run by the Bobcats to start the third quarter, nailing back-to-back baskets to give her team a 22-17 advantage. The Diamondbacks answered with a 10-1 run behind point guard Sophie Ponce De Leon’s five points.
Ponce De Leon finished with eight points, while senior Jordan Bravo led the Diamondbacks in scoring with 11 points.
Edinburg High sophomore Kimora Fagan cut the lead down to two during the final seconds of the third, hitting from beyond the arc as time expired. Fagan is one of three sophomores who starts for the Bobcats, joined by Martinez and Emily Carranco in the starting lineup.
The sophomore trio combined for 30 of the Bobcats’ 46 points, with Fagan scoring seven, while Carranco added nine.
“As freshman last year they all got significant impactful minutes,” Salinas said. “Now as sophomores, the ball is in their hands a lot.
“You have these sophomores that want the ball in their hands. I think all three of them are going to be key for us.”
Martinez came up big for the Bobcats again with her team trailing by three during the fourth quarter, splashing in her second three of the game, followed by a pair of free throws during the Bobcats’ 6-0 run to close out the contest.
With that, Edinburg High improves to 7-1 on the year, while the Diamondbacks fall to 0-5.
Up next, both teams prepare to participate in McAllen ISD’s Border Bash tournament this weekend, tipping off at 8 a.m. Thursday, with games taking place at the McAllen High, McAllen Memorial and McAllen Rowe gymnasiums.
