Texas high school girls basketball: See updates from 2024 UIL state championship games

Duncanville wears down SGP for Class 6A title

The Duncanville girls basketball team got off to a slow start against South Grand Prairie in the Class 6A state championship game, but the Panthers made up for it the second half.

The Panthers turned up the pressure on the defensive end, wearing down the Warriors, allowing Duncanville to come away with a 59-41 win on Saturday at the Alamodome.

Duncanville (35-4), No. 5 in the state in 6A according to the TABC, was making its 18th appearance in a state title game. The Panthers now have 12 championships under their belt which is third most all time.

Duncanville has been to the state tournament 27 times which ranks third all time as well.

No. 7 South Grand Prairie (33-4) jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead. Duncanville committed turnovers on its first six possessions to aid the spree.

The lead stayed between five and nine points for the Warriors throughout the first quarter, but the game tightened in the second. The Panthers cut the lead to one point on two occasions and the half ended with SGP up 18-17.

“We were playing really good defense for about two and a half quarters, but eventually the dam just broke and they got some shots and we couldn’t get any to fall,” said South Grand Prairie coach Brion Raven. “Good job by Duncanville. They did a really good job and had a good game plan.”

Duncanville took its first lead of the game when Championship Game MVP Mariah Clayton buried a three pointer with 7:10 left in the third quarter to put the Panthers up 23-22.

“Being down by one at the half and knowing calls weren’t going our way and knowing we weren’t making shots, we had to pick ourselves up some way,” said Clayton, who had 19 points and nine rebounds in the game. “So being a leader I knew I was going to have to help my team and let them know that it’ll be ok and we’re going to get the win. And that’s what we did.”

Duncanville took the lead for good with 5:15 left in the third on a layup by Clayton that made it 25-24.

The Panthers lead hit 10 points with 7:32 left in the game when Kaylinn Kemp scored to make it 37-27.

“The biggest thing for us, when you haven’t played us or haven’t seen us, is our tempo and our speed,” said Duncanville coach Neiman Ford. “It’s coming in waves of next girl, next girl. We pick it up full court the entire game all the way until the buzzer drops.

“When I sub the other girls in who haven’t played as much, all they know is gettin’ up. That’s how we practice so if you haven’t seen that then it’s hard to handle that for four quarters.”

Duncanville’s biggest lead came with nine seconds left before the final buzzer on a free throw by Katelynn Price.

Duncanville wasn’t allowed to participate in the playoffs last season because of the suspension of then coach LaJeanna Howard for UIL violations.

Ford, won two state title with the Panthers boys team as an assistant coach, moved over to the girls team last April.

“I had offers from some 5A and 6A schools to coach boys, but I didn’t leave because I felt that this is the best job in the country,” said Ford. “A basketball doesn’t have a gender and it’s played world wide. I just wanted to prove that I could coach the girls because if you can coach basketball and you can play basketball it doesn’t really matter what gender it is.”

Both of Duncanville’s McDonald’s All-American nominees led the Panthers in scoring again. Clayton’s 19 and Cincinnati commit Chloe Mann, who added 13 points.

Taylor Barnes led SGP with 14 points and eight rebounds, Taliyah Parker had 10 points and Anyla Herbert had nine points and six rebounds.

The Warriors have now made three trips to the state tournament. South lost to DeSoto the first two times in the 2021 semifinals and the 2022 title game.

“These girls are mentally tough,” said Ford of his 2024 squad. “They come in every day and work hard. We have our ups and downs, but because of the program, in any sport, they have the will to win.

“It’s something like you couldn’t even imagine, the will to win these ladies have. The way they come and just impose their will.”

Waco La Vega goes wire to wire in 4A title win

Waco La Vega raced out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back as the Pirates downed Canyon 45-36 in the Class 4A state championship game on Saturday at the Alamodome.

La Vega (32-11), ranked No. 2 in the state in 4A by the TABC, successfully defended its state title from a year ago, winning state for the third time. It was the Pirates seventh trip to the state tournament.

La Vega kept the comfortable lead it had jumped out to and built it to 13 points when Sydney McKinney hit a basket with 5:57 left before halftime that made it 21-8.

No. 8 Canyon (30-7) started chipping away, however, and cut the lead to 33-30 by the end of the third quarter. The Eagles cut it to a point at 33-32 with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter on pair of free throws by Jaylee Moss.

But Kiyleyah Parr pushed the lead back to eight, 40-32, scoring seven points on a pair of lay ins and a three. Parr, the Championship Game MVP, finished with 21 points, eight steals and four assists.

Addison Cunningham cut the lead back to four, 40-36, for Canyon with 1:36 left, but La Vega made five of six free throws from that point on to seal the win.

Alaysia Gude had 12 points for the Pirates with Angela Carroll pulling down seven rebounds.

Sydnee Winfrey had 10 points and seven rebounds for Canyon with Moss leading the scoring for the Eagles with 12. Kambrie Graser had 10 points as well for Canyon.

Canyon was attempting to win its 21st state title. The Eagles are second in both overall trips to state (29) and titles (20), both behind Nazareth’s 31 trips and 25 championships.

Shallowater takes Class 3A title in OT

Shallowater and Huntington played neck and neck the whole way in the Class 3A state championship game on Saturday at the Alamodome.

The game even went to overtime after a miracle 35-foot shot that was banked in by Huntington’s Harleigh Havard at the fourth quarter buzzer to tie the game.

But Shallowater dominated the overtime to take a 54-49 win over Huntington and claim its third title in eight trips to the state tournament.

Neither team led by more than seven points the entire game with Shallowater (28-12) leading almost the entire first half. Havard hit a three-quarter court shot at the halftime buzzer to give the Devilettes a 24-22 lead.

Huntington (36-7) led the entire second half until Addison Pitts hit a free throw with 51 seconds left in regulation gave the Fillies a 43-42 lead. Pitts hit two more free throws with seven seconds left, but the foul was on Huntington’s best player, Kyra Anderson, who fouled out on the play.

Anderson led the Devilettes with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five blocked shots and four steals. Anderson had 28 points in the semifinals.

Harvard took an inbound pass with four ticks remaining, almost had the ball taken away, then threw up the shot to tie the game at 45.

Keelie Williams, who led Shallowater with 13 points and was named the Championship Game Most Valuable Player, hit a pair of threes in the overtime to help put the game away.

Carli Buckley added 12 points for Shallowater while Maggie Grimes had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Fillies. Lexi Litton had 10 for Huntington and Harvard had six points, all on the two long buzzer beaters, and eight rebounds.

The Fillies tied a Class 3A tournament record with two other teams (Wall in 2010 and Ozona in 1996) recording 20 steals.

Shallowater, which was unranked by the TABC at season’s end, won it all in 2020, the last time the Fillies made it to state, and also took home a title in 2004.

No. 22 Huntington was making its first trip to a state-title game in its first trip to the tournament. The Devilettes magical season ends after upsetting No. 1 Fairfield, 42-41, in the Region III final to get to state.

Fairfield was the two-time defending state champions who had reached the title game for four consecutive years.

Martin’s Mill freshman hits winner at buzzer for 2A title

Ben Wheeler Martin’s Mill freshman Kara Nixon took an inbound pass with eight seconds left, drove the length of the floor and tossed in a shot off the backboard as she was falling to the ground to lift the Mustangs to a 44-42 win over the Indians in the Class 2A state championship game on Saturday at the Alamodome.

Martin’s Mill (36-5), ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 2A according to the TABC, won its seventh state title which moves it up to a tie for fifth most in tournament history.

Martin Mill’s 18 tournament appearances is the sixth most of any team in the state. The Mustangs lost by a single point to Lipan in the semifinals a year ago.

Nocona looked as if they were going to win their first state title after Skyler Smith hit a three pointer with 5:34 left in the game, giving the Indians a 39-30 lead.

But the Mustangs battled back and pulled within a point when Nixon buried a three with 1:40 remaining to make it 40-39. Nixon’s three with 16 seconds left gave Martin’s Mill a 42-41 lead, but Nocona’s Megyn Meekins was fouled driving to the basket with eight seconds left.

The Indians only made two of four free throws in the final 29 seconds and when Meekins only hit one of two, it left the door open for Nixon who capitalized.

The game was close from the start with neither team leading by more than six points until the fourth quarter.

Nixon was named the Championship Game MVP and finished with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Alli Vaughan contributed 12 points and McKenna Wise had 11 for the Mustangs.

Meekins led Nocona with 16 points and Smith finished with a double double recording 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Indians.

It was only the second trip to the state tournament for No. 9 Nocona (35-4) with the first being 71 years ago in 1953. The Indians lost in the quarterfinals in the ‘53 tourney when three rounds were played at state.

Martin’s Mill has reached the state tournament every year since 2006 except for 2014 and 2020.

It was Martin Mill’s 12th appearance in a state title game. The Mustangs won it all in 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2019.

Newcastle rolls to Class 1A title

Newcastle head coach Ryan Dollar only played five players - his starters - and that’s all he needed as his Ladycats defeated No. 1 Turkey Valley 48-32 in the Class 1A state championship on Saturday at the Alamodome.

The Ladycats capped off a 35-1 season with the program’s first title in its only appearance. Newcastle, which finished No. 2 in the final TABC 1A state rankings, beat Westbrook in Thursday’s semifinals and ended with a 34-game-winning streak. Its only loss came against Gorman in the second game of the season.

Valley (37-3) was denied its first title in its fourth state tournament appearance. The Patriots last trip came in 2010 while their only other state championship game was in 1973.

Junior Mattie Dollar, the daughter of Ryan Dollar, was voted Championship Game MVP with 24 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals. She went 12 of 12 from the free-throw line, tying a 1A tournament record for the most attempts without a miss (Lipan’s Lanie Roberts, 2016). Dollar went 6 of 6 in the semifinals.

Additionally, Dollar’s 56 points in two state tournament games are third most all time at the 1A state tournament. She scored 32 on Thursday against Westbrook - tied for third most in a single game in 1A.

Newcastle never trailed against Valley. The Ladycats got a layup from Kenzie King and a three-pointer from Dollar in the opening 90 seconds. Valley, which went 1 of 15 in the first quarter, finally scored off a free throw at the 2:43 mark. The Patriots trailed 13-4 after one.

Trailing by nine with 4:36 to play in the second quarter, Valley managed to cut it to 18-15 on three consecutive jumpers by Reese Cruse, but in the final minute Newcastle scored the last four points to take a 22-15 edge into the intermission.

The Ladycats got the lead back to nine in the first minute of the third quarter before Valley trimmed it to 28-24 after Cruse registered a takeaway and turnaround jumper with 47 seconds on the clock.

Valley, which had its 37-game win streak snapped, never got within one possession as Newcastle used an 8-1 run to up its lead to 40-27 with 2:18 left in the game. Dollar went 10 of 10 from the charity stripe and scored 14 points in the final stanza.

Senior Maya Cabrera chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds for Newcastle, who also started two freshmen and one sophomore. Freshman Camren Mallory added nine points and nine rebounds.

Valley was led by Cruse, a senior, who had 18 points on eight of 14 shooting. The 32 points were tied for its fewest in a game this season. The Patriots scored 32 in a loss against Amarillo Tascosa in November.