Rihanna DeLeon knew she would have to raise her game going into her junior year.

The Tompkins shooting guard had been one of the teams best offensive weapons in both her freshman and sophomore season, but with the graduation of a strong senior class, she knew that she would have to step up this season.

DeLeon has done just that, the junior has been a focal point of the Falcons offense and has stepped up with some of the biggest performances of anyone who’s worn a Tompkins uniform, and it all comes back to the work that she has put in throughout the year.

“I’ve put in a lot of hours for this because I want to get better and I want to improve and help this team,” Deleon said. “I tried to get in three workouts a day during the summer and just as much as I can now. But I think just as important, my confidence has gone up a lot from last year to this year, that’s helped me a lot.”

It’s been a historic start to DeLeon’s junior season. Before district play even started, DeLeon broke the single game record for Tompkins for 3-pointers, pouring in 10 of them in a win over Fort Bend Bush where she scored 38 points, but that wasn’t even her biggest performance of the season, as she broke the school single game scoring record with a 44-poing performance against Hardin Jefferson.

“She’s just become more of a total team player,” said Tompkins head coach Tamatha Ray. “She understands that she’s going to get her opportunities and that she has to be locked in on both ends of the floor. The glitz and the glamor is when she’s able to just splash in three’s from behind the line, but she’s becoming more of a complete player. Rihanna has a super high basketball IQ and she knows that certain nights when teams take her out of it she can impact the game in other ways. That’s where she has really stepped up, she understands how influential both ends of the floor are.”

DeLeon has done this while being targeted by other teams as the person they need to stop on Tompkins. She’s been a nightmare for opposing coaches and has been a huge part of Tompkins success. Even in a win earlier this year, Taylor head coach Blair Ary singled out DeLeon and her ability on the offensive end.

“Rihanna is one of the best offensive players I’ve ever coached against in 20 years,” Ary said. “She’s just able to do everything and is such a weapon and is without a doubt one of the hardest players I have ever had to coach against.”

DeLeon has helped Tompkins get off to a hot start in District 19-6A and an early hold on one of the top spots overall. But for her, the job isn’t finished. She wants to get a district title back to Tompkins and continue to improve as the playoffs get closer.

“We’re working towards our goals still, but when we get it all figured out and get everything down this is going to be a great team,” DeLeon said. “The goal here every year is to win district and this team can do that. This is a team that can compete with anyone in district and in the playoffs.”