Unsurpassed — Former San Benito Lady Greyhounds basketball star Angelina Reyes surpassed 1,000 individual points in her junior year, and then doubled that feat a year later during her senior year. She signed a letter of intent on Tuesday, Aug. 5, to attend Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Courtesy photo/Albert Villegas)
By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
Angelina Reyes will continue her hoops career as a member of the Mount Mercy University Mustangs’ women’s basketball program after she signed her letter of intent on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
The commitment was made official inside the San Benito High School Gym, where Reyes shone as a four-year member of the Lady Greyhounds varsity team under Head Coach Abel Moreno, who was in attendance.
Reyes went on to be the Lady ‘Hounds’ all-time individual scoring leader, surpassing 2,000 points.
Reyes is excited to move on, but living hundreds of miles from home will be a challenge, she admits.
“It’s starting to slowly hit me because next Wednesday I leave for Iowa, and I’m leaving a place where I received so much love and support to help shape the person I am today,” Reyes said. “I’m looking forward to the new chapter I am about to begin.”
Reyes said that she toured the university in June, which is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She will major in nursing, describing the university’s program as top-notch. After meeting with the nursing advisors, Reyes also had the opportunity to speak to first-year Mount Mercy Head Coach Shareece Burrell.
“She considers everyone involved with the program as family, they’re very close with each other, and I like that because being so far away from home, it’s going to be good for me to find that family away from home,” Reyes said. “It will teach me life lessons, being away from San Benito. I am looking forward to it.”
Reyes will go from playing for an established high school basketball program to one that is trying to find its niche for winning consistently.
In March, Burrell was announced as head coach after serving as interim coach for three months. Burrell, who was an assistant for four years, helped the Mustangs earn seven victories in the Heart of America Athletic Conference and the program’s first-ever postseason.
“(Coach Burrell) told me they made history and are getting better, so hopefully I can go in and help them become a winning program,” Reyes said. “The play is going to be on a completely different level from high school. Hopefully, my new teammates will teach me and I them, and get insight into what we learned at our high schools.”
After standing alongside SBHS and school district administration to witness Reyes’ signing, Moreno said he is ecstatic for his former star player.
“I’ve known Angelina since she started fifth grade. It came at a time when I could coach her and the select teams, and she became a big part of the summer camps we had,” Moreno said. “She went on to become an outstanding basketball player for San Benito. She was homegrown.”
Reyes averaged at least 16 points per game her final three years, averaging eight points her freshman season.
She was named to the All-District team four years in a row, and played at least 35 games each season, which helped her reach the individual scoring title.
Reyes also averaged in her career five rebounds, two assists, and nearly three steals per game.
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