Marble Falls girls basketball player Reynoso gets 500th rebound
CAPTION: There aren’t many lose balls when senior Leslie Reynoso is on court because she rebounds misses and knows what to do. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
When Marble Falls High School senior Leslie Reynoso grabbed her 500th career rebound Dec. 9 during the 36-24 victory against Llano, few were surprised by the milestone.
After all, Reynoso was simply doing what got her a spot on the varsity as freshman four years earlier.
“That’s what got her on the varsity was her willingness to do the — quote, unquote — ‘dirty work,’ to get the boards, get all the putbacks, the stuff that doesn’t show up in the (score) book,” head coach Adley Canales said. “She was that person for us. She’s continuing to be that person for us.”
He noted that in the first game of the Waco Robinson Rockets Invitational Dec. 11-13, Reynoso scored 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds en route to helping the Lady Mustangs beat Groesbeck 54-30.
“That’s huge for us,” Canales said.
She grabbed 15 rebounds against Robinson, 12 against Austin Valor and 13 against Concordia Lutheran.
“You have somebody who’s that consistent and is making an effort,” the coach said. “She makes a conscious effort to go get the ball and she’s made up in her mind that she’s going to get the ball. That’s huge for us.”
He pointed out that in the loss to Lorena Dec. 16, Reynoso recorded eight rebounds, while the next closest Lady Mustang had three.
“She’s that person for us, and we love her for it,” Canales said. “She’s a huge help when she’s on the floor because we can almost guarantee that if she doesn’t get it, she’s going to be really close to it, and at least give us a chance to recover.”
While being a solid rebounder is a skill, he believes the ability to consistently want to get the ball is a mindset.
“We have to have the mindset and determination to go get it because it’s not always flashy,” the coach said. “Then the skill set to do it. Now when you get there, you have to have the skill to be able to box out somebody and keep them behind you. Once you get the rebound, we can’t turn it over, even if they’re putting pressure. You have to find the outlet, do all those things, so I think it’s pretty equal. You can’t do one without the other to be successful in it.”
Canales emphasized that while scoring is what gets fans talking, coaches and players know that rebounding is a big part of the outcome of any game.
“It’s not the stuff that’s going show up in the book,” he re-emphasized. “It’s not the stuff that’s going to make a highlight reel. But it’s the stuff that wins games.”
Marble Falls is enjoying the Christmas holiday. The Lady Mustangs will travel to play at Gatesville Tuesday, Dec. 30, and will welcome Brownwood Saturday, Jan. 3. The junior varsity plays at 10:30 a.m. and the varsity at noon on both dates.
