The Rio Hondo Lady Bobcat varsity girls’ basketball team is shown inside the campus gymnasium on Thursday. (Photo by Heather Cathleen Cox)
By DANNY SOTO
Special to the NEWS
RIO HONDO – They didn’t get this good overnight.
For the Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats, the road to becoming one of the best 3A girls basketball teams in the state has been one filled with hard work, determination and of course, talent.
Coach Robert Jaramillo’s girls were 21-3 overall and 3-0 in district going into Friday night’s game against Progreso and were ranked No. 22 in the state by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
But while the attention and recognition have been nice, Jaramillo said it hasn’t been easy to get to this level.
“It’s been something we’ve worked on the last two years,” Jaramillo said of the team’s success. “Really, a key has been a lot of prayer. When I took over the program, it had hit rock bottom so we needed help to turn this thing around.”
Turn it around they have as shown by Tuesday’s 67-16 smashing of second-place Port Isabel. The game against the Lady Red Ants was the last of the first round of district for Rio Hondo.
A huge part of the awakening came in the form of 4-foot-10 point guard Ashley Canas, now a four-year starter for Rio Hondo. She led a group of seven lettermen back for the Lady Bobcats this season and is no doubt the general on the floor for Jaramillo’s team.
“She’s our leader on the court and she’s been playing unbelievably well,” Jaramillo said of Canas, who averages 4.5 assists and 4.0 steals per game. “She’s one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle.”
Other members of this year’s Lady Bobcats squad include junior Natalie Jaramillo (9.2 points per game), junior Janna Jaramillo (8.5), junior Samantha Atkinson (5.9 rebounds per game), sophomore Andrea Rodriguez (the team’s leading scorer at 9.9 ppg with 6.1 rebounds per game), senior JoAnn Hervey, junior Vanessa Hernandez, sophomore Dani Villarreal, sophomore Mary Lou Martinez and freshman Victoria Aguilar.
Coach Jaramillo, a Rio Hondo native, said while the rankings and notoriety are nice, his Lady Bobcats have stayed grounded as they attempt to become the first girls’ basketball team to reach the Region-IV tournament since 1987. They know they’ll have to get by Coastal Bend powers such as West Oso to get back there. But first thing’s first, Jaramillo said.
“We’ve talked a couple of times about it. The poll is just a number. We don’t put too much emphasis on it,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is to win district, get into the playoffs and do well in the playoffs.”
Rio Hondo won district in 2010-11 and advanced to the playoffs last season under Jaramillo, who took over the girls’ program in 2008. The coach said this year’s team is unselfish and is willing to put in the work required to be successful, looking to get past the area round that’s doomed them the past two years.
“They know what’s best for our team and our program,” Jaramillo said. “They see the results and our girls will do what is asked.”
Coach Jaramillo needs only to point to 3-4 years ago as proof. The Lady Bobcats had trouble winning games and the coach said “even though we’ve turned things around, they know that it could easily go back to that” if they don’t keep up their current work habits and effort.
However, Jaramillo can’t help but be proud of his team. He beamed when asked about his club and said he’s enjoyed coaching this squad and is happy to be along for the ride.
“It’s been a lot of fun and I’m real proud of their accomplishments,” he said. “I’ve known some of these kids since first or second grade. It’s really been a lot of fun.”
Read this story in the Jan. 20 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
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