Rodriguez's Pirates accomplished goals

There was no other way to describe it for coach Monica Rodriguez.

Her Hidalgo Lady Pirates went on a ‘magical' journey that most would have never fathomed in the Rio Grande Valley, earning a trip to the state Final Four.

Yet if you ask the All-Valley Coach of the Year if she thought it could happen, she'll tell you that was part of the plan for the 2008-09 Lady Pirates.

"It was a great magical experience and a dream come true," Rodriguez said. "I'm just very proud to be a part of it all. It was always a goal of ours, and we set those goals at the beginning of the season to reach them and we did. Winning district, getting to regionals, then state, and we still have a bigger goal ahead of us and that's winning a state championship."

Rodriguez, a former all-region post in 1993 for McAllen Memorial, along with assistant coach Arnold Martinez and the rest of the coaching staff guided a ball club that claimed its fifth straight District 32-3A title, finishing this season with an impressive 36-3 record.

The trip to state, as anyone could guess, wasn't easy.

Hidalgo had to beat Corpus Christ West Oso, which was ranked third in the state and had eliminated the Lady Pirates from the state tournament the last three seasons, and did so in dramatic fashion.

With the game locked up at 36 with three seconds left in the game, Jessica Olvera went to the line and missed her first free-throw attempt. After a timeout, Olvera then drained the second to send Hidalgo into the history books.

"The West Oso game was very memorable," senior post Victoria Gonzalez said. "They have knocked us out the last three years, and the way we won it made is unforgettable."

For Rodriguez one of the invaluable boosts that helped the team this year was the support from the Hidalgo community.

"Our community is one close-knit family," she said. "It felt great to go to work every day knowing we had so much support from our AD (Albert Guerra) and community. I'm very proud of our kids and what we accomplished. I'm lucky to be part of this team that has broken a barrier for the rest of the Valley to follow. It's been a dream."

One of the most consistent girls basketball programs is St. Joseph, which is losing its best player in Marissa Shinsky, but waiting in the wings for next season is All-Valley Newcomer of the Year Samantha Garcia.

The 6-foot freshman post averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game during the Lady Bloodhounds' playoff season.

Coach Cynthia Martinez said having a player like Garcia gives her team versatility in its offense and defense that it hasn't had the past few seasons.

"She was big for us this year," Martinez said. "Having her presence in the middle took a lot of pressure off the guards, and it let us play a different type of basketball we haven't been able to do in years. Hidalgo lived off that, going inside with their post, just like the Spurs and (Tim) Duncan."

Another characteristic Garcia brought to the team was toughness, and that was displayed early in the season.

With just under four minutes left to play against Holy Cross on Jan. 4, Garcia dove for a loose ball with Lady Knights player Jackie Edwards and ended up in a collision on the floor. Martinez said she saw her player's head "bounce" as it slammed against the hardwood, where she remained motionless for 40 minutes before being driven to Valley Baptist Hospital.

At St. Joseph's next game a few days later, Garcia was back on the floor.

"She is a tough cookie," Martinez said after her initial return to the team. "She has guts, and everyone was glad to see her back. She was ready to go."

The All-Valley first team includes Harlingen South's Bianca Torre, who had another incredible year and finished the regular season averaging a triple-double with 24.6 ppg, 10.0 apg and 11.3 spg, leading South to its seventh straight district title.

Rounding out the rest of the squad is McAllen High's Ali Bills (18.9 ppg, 4.7 asp, 4.0 spg) District 32-5A MVP Kim Armstrong (Weslaco High), Santa Rosa's Diamond Caballero (20.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 5.3 apg, 5.2 spg) and Harlingen High's Crystal Gasca (18.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 5.3 spg ).

Louie Vera covers girls basketball for Valley Freedom Newspapers. He can be reached at (956) 982-6663 or via e-mail at lvera@brownsvilleherald.com.