The whirlwind year for Davis graduate Esmeralda Enriquez continued Sunday when she committed to Houston.

Her pledge to the Cougars came within three weeks of her leading Eastern Arizona College to the NJCAA Division I championship, being named tournament MVP, and earning All-America and national Player of the Year honors.

All this after committing to EAC late in the recruiting cycle.

"It was different, and it was also challenging but the adversity is what really helped me grow," Enriquez said. "Winning the chip and earning scholarships just  proved what I have always been capable of and how far I’ve come."

She picked Houston from a list of offers that included Tennessee, Southern Mississippi and Seattle.

Enriquez averaged a team-best 15.7 points a contest in leading the Gila Monsters to the No. 1 ranking this winter. She added 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 per game, and connected on nearly 45% of her 3-point attempts.

In four games in the NJCAA tournament, Enriquez averaged 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals for second-seeded EAC, which rallied past New Mexico Junior College in the championship game.

With the Gila Monsters trailing by eight points late in the second quarter, Enriquez battled through shooting struggles, sinking two 3-pointers before halftime and another early in the third quarter as Eastern Arizona took the lead shortly after intermission and held on for its first national title.

"She was just a game-changer for us, plain and simple,” Eastern Arizona head women's basketball coach Angelica de Paulo, the NJCAA Coach of the Year, said in a news release. “Winning a national title is incredible, but what she did for this program goes way beyond that."

Houston finished 1-17 in conference play and 7-23. Much in the way she helped turn the tides with the Pirates program, Enriquez will look to help build a tradition with the Cougars, who haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2011, the last year they won a conference championship.

"I trust the vision and winning culture that is being built," she said. "It’s got everything to help me develop as a person and player."

At Davis, Enriquez was the CBBN Player of the Year during her 2022-23 junior season in leading the sixth-seeded Pirates to their first trip to the Tacoma Dome for the Class 4A state tournament.

She was a first-team all-conference selection the following season, as Davis returned as the fifth seed, and eventually finished third. She scored a tournament high 86 points and averaged 21.5 points, which was second-best in the tourney.

She spent her freshman season at North Idaho College, where she was voted the Scenic West Athletic Conference Player of the Year, and earned second-team NJCAA Division I All-America honors after averaging more than 18 points per game for the Cardinals.

Her older brother, former Pirates star and boys assistant coach Robert Galindo, voiced his pride and excitement in what his sister has earned.

"It means the world not only to me but to everyone that knows her and who she is outside of basketball," he said. "She’s worked so hard for this and never gave up, no matter the circumstances and I’m just so grateful Houston gave her this opportunity to showcase what she’s all about, not only to  the Big 12 but to all kids that feel like they don’t have enough  exposure or the odd are stacked against them."

And Enriquez embraces her journey.

"I bring everything because I come from nothing," she said, thanking the schools she attended -- Adams Elementary, Washington Middle School and Davis -- as well as Madison House, and the coaches and trainers she worked with. "My story makes me different, it’s what makes me a competitor and winner."