黑料福利社

Basketball tends to reward players willing to take on challenges and go up against the best.

Esmeralda Enriquez showed no fear through difficult circumstances on and off the court, from the beginning of her high school career at Davis through one-year junior college stints at North Idaho and Eastern Arizona. The latter ended with a national championship and the national junior college player of the year award, setting up her biggest test yet at the University of Houston.

"I feel like my coach pressured me a lot, my teammates did," Enriquez said at a Yakima Heat game last month at West Valley High School. "They expected a lot from me and it's a good thing because it just makes you live up to that standard."

She embraced the biggest stage at the NJCAA tournament in Lake Charles, La., last March. With plenty of Division I coaches watching, Enriquez put up 14, 24, 18 and 16 points in four straight wins to secure tournament MVP honors.

Along the way, the Gila Monsters' leading scorer picked up more than 15 D1 offers, including from Tennessee and Alabama. She eventually decided to join three-time SEC coach of the year Matt Mitchell at Houston, where he's looking to rebuild after the Cougars won just one conference game in his first season.

"I think Houston was a spot for me to be uncomfortable and I feel like being uncomfortable, if you're not uncomfortable, you don't grow," Enriquez said. "It's totally different than what I'm used to. Bigger school, bigger city, a lot more resources and stuff, so it's got everything to help me be successful."

Davis coach Akil White believes it will be a great fit for Enriquez, who he said has had to overcome challenges her entire life. She grew up in poverty without her father and traded in his last name of Galindo for her mother's name shortly after her freshman season at North Idaho, where she averaged 18.2 points per game and won the Scenic West Athletic Conference player of the year award.

White said Enriquez's "fighter" mentality carried her past obstacles as she won the CBBN player of the year award and led Davis to third place in 4A as a senior. Highly touted recruit Cheyenne Hull, who recently won a second state tournament MVP award after capturing back-to-back titles with the Pirates, honed her competitiveness as a freshman by going up against Enriquez in practice.

"Her whole life is taking on challenges, and if you tell her she can't do something she's going to do it," White said. "She's got this fire and burning passion in her that gets her in trouble sometimes."

He worried about how Enriquez would handle the move to Arizona, and she acknowledged it brought some big adjustments. But the program's winning culture only enhanced her gritty, aggressive playing style as she gained confidence quickly thanks to trust from teammates and coaches.

Enriquez valued EAC's emphasis on defense, averaging 1.7 steals per game. She eagerly took on the toughest perimeter assignment when needed, a role she shared with ACCAC defensive player of the year Trinity Alex-Mayer.

Coach Angelica de Paulo gave Enriquez the keys to the offense from the beginning, and the 5-foot-8 sophomore focused on building a connection with teammates to know when to shoot or pass. She averaged a team-best 15.7 points per game and reached double figures in 30 of 35 games while shooting an efficient 45.7% from the field, including 44.8% from 3-point range.

In a press release, de Paulo said, "There's a difference between a basketball player and a hooper ... Esmeralda is a hooper, no question." White said the sentiment perfectly encapsulates Enriquez, who wasn't surprised when the D1 offers started coming her way聽鈥� she knew the work she'd put in and the type of player she'd become.

Shortly after graduation, Enriquez moved to Houston to begin summer school and team workouts. She's ready to elevate her game once more and enjoy the rewards of power conference basketball, including some NIL opportunities she's already found to bring in extra income.

"It's kind of cool," Enriquez said. "I feel like I gave the game so much, and to see it give back to me, that's a good feeling."