Edinburg eases to first district win over Bears

District play for 31-6A kicked off for the Edinburg Bobcats and PSJA Bears as they squared away on Friday in Pharr.

The ‘Cats though took the dub with a 51-28 score, as they look to have another successful season similar to years past.

The first quarter started off a tad rocky for both teams as neither squad was able to connect. The Bears tried to drive in, but every opportunity to the basket was met by Bobcats who clogged up the paint. For Edinburg, the “three” ball couldn’t fall on multiple attempts.

The Bears had to endure a full-court press during the first quarter as the ‘Cats looked to push the tempo a bit to find their groove or more so, a spark.

Kiera Pool, sophomore for Edinburg, delivered that spark near the later minutes of the 1st quarter as she knocked down back-to-back threes from the right wing to give them a 15-9 cushion.

In the second quarter, the Bears showed some fight as Tara Smith chipped away at the deficit as she grabbed a board with the foul and basket. A missed free throw had the Bears down 15-13 as both teams tried to pull away from one another.

Edinburg junior Yuri Perez then followed suit and showed some swagger with back-to-back baskets — one with a clean two-step lay in and another on a fast break.

The Bobcats then picked up the tenacity as Perez got another lay in following a block to give them some momentum at the end of the first half to lead 24-13.

In the third, the ‘Cats were letting it fly as they capitalized on four three-pointers — two coming from Pool, one from Braelynn De La Garza and another from Gizelle Hernandez. PSJA tried to climb the deficit, but most of their points came from free throws by Abigail Reyes-Martinez.

The Bears were outscored in the third by 10 and the final quarter consisted of struggles by PSJA, along with fast-break buckets by Edinburg.

“We struggled in the beginning of the game, but I can’t take away how our girls were able to stay in the spirit of the game,” Head Coach J.D. Salinas said of the Bobcats. “That helped us overcome a slow start.”

The ‘Cats were scheduled to play La Joya on Tuesday and the Bears were set to play Economedes.

Edinburg is now 2-0 in district play with the 58-38 win over the Coyotes. The Bears bounced back with a 50-34 over the Jaguars.