Texas state girls basketball championships: Roundup of Thursday’s UIL semifinals
The UIL Texas girls basketball championships are underway at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
THURSDAY’S SEMIFINALS
CLASS 1A
▪ Huckabay 47, Mertzon Irion County 35
Huckabay used a 9-0 run midway through the third quarter to open up a close game on its way to beating Mertzon Irion County.
Huckabay led 23-21 with 7:47 remaining in the quarter. Back-to-back three-point goals by Rion Baccus and Seren Fowler, followed by a two-point goal by Baccus and a three-point goal by Chayni Chamberlain gave the Indians a 35-21 lead with 4:20 left in the period.
The Hornets led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter, but Huckabay took the lead with a 16-8 edge in the second quarter for a 23-18 halftime edge.
Baccus led all scorers with 23 points, Chamberlain added 13 for the Indians. Melanie Rainey had a team-high 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Hornets.
Huckabay improved to 40-2, while Mertzon Irion County finishes the season 29-9.
▪ Nazareth 59, Neches 48
Nazareth used a big fourth quarter to advance to the 1A championship game.
The Swiftettes led 41-39 entering the final quarter, before using a 18-9 edge to claim the win.
Neches had just one field goal in the fourth quarter, none in the final 7:46.
Nazareth improved to 30-9 and will play Huckabay in the state 1A title game on Saturday.
Brooklyn Birkenfeld scored a game-high 21 points, while Brooklyn Dyer scored 12 for the winners. Joely Jenkins had a team-high 17 points for Neches.
CLASS 3A
▪ Fairfield 51, Winnsboro 43
Using a big fourth quarter, Fairfield rallied to a 51-43 win in the semifinals.
The Eagles trailed 32-31 after the third quarter, before outscoring Winnsboro 20-9 in the decisive period.
The Eagles overcame a huge game by the Rugged Red Raiders’ Faith Acker who scored a game-high 22 points off 10 of 18 shooting and also grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds.
Fairfield had a balanced scoring attack, led by Jimilyah Nash’s 13, McKinna Brackens’ 12 and Shadasia Brackens’ 10.
Fairfield improved to 39-2 and will play for the Class 3A title on Saturday; Winnsboro’s season ends with a 31-9 record.
▪ Holliday 59, Columbus 40
Jumping to a 21-5 lead first-quarter lead, the Holliday Eagles coasted into the Class 3A finals.
The Lady Eagles made 10 of 16 first-quarter field goals, while holding the Cardinal to just one of 10 from the field. Jayln Bristow scored nine points in the opining quarter and grabbed six rebounds.
She finished with a game-high 35 point, making 17 of 21 field goals. She also had 18 rebounds. No other Lady Eagle scored more than eight.
Karlee Mathis led the Cardinal with 11 points and Ally Tribe added 10.
Holliday improved to 33-3, while Columbus finished its season with a 31-5 record.
CLASS 5A
▪ Frisco Liberty 64, San Antonio Wagner 49
Keyera Roseby and Jacy Abii combined for 47 points to lead Frisco Liberty to the state title game.
Roseby scored a game-high 28 points on 10 of 19 shooting from the field and added 7 of 10 free throws. She also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Abii scored 19 points on 9 of 19 field goal attempts.
Wagner led 15-14 after the first quarter, but Frisco used a 12-6 second-quarter edge to lead 26-21 at halftime.
Sahvani Sancho led Wagner with 26 points. The Thunderbirds finished the season with a 28-5 record.
The Red Hawks improved to 28-10.
▪ Lubbock Cooper 70, Lamar Fulshear 52
Cooper scored 22 of the game’s final 26 points, snapping a tie at 48, and rolling into the state title game.
The game was close for three quarters. Cooper led 17-14 after the first quarter, 29-26 at halftime and 46-45 after the third quarter.
The score was tied at 48 early in the fourth quarter. Cooper then scored 14 straight points to build a 62-48 lead as the Fighting Pirates pulled away. They outscored the Chargers 24-7 in the final quarter.
Peyton North led Cooper with 31 points, Carisa Cortez added 14.
Kimora Lopez led Fulshear with 18. Jada Morgan added 11 but was in foul trouble much of the game, limiting her minutes. She fouled out in the fourth quarter.
FRIDAY’S SEMIFINALS
CLASS 2A
Lipan (33-3) vs. Martin’s Mill (31-6), 8:30 a.m.; Gruver (29-5) vs. Hearne (33-8), 10 a.m
CLASS 4A
Glen Rose (39-1) vs. Waco La Vega (36-5), 1:30 p.m.; Boerne (35-1) vs. Sunnyvale (32-6), 3 p.m.
CLASS 6A
Coppell (38-3) vs. Northside Clark (32-3), 7 p.m.; Pearland (35-3) v. DeSoto (27-5), 8:30 p.m.
SATURDAY’S FINALS
1A: Huckabay (40-2) vs. Nazareth (39-9), 8:30 a.m.;
3A: Fairfield (39-2) vs. Holliday (33-3), 10 a.m.
2A: 1:30 p.m.
5A: Frisco Liberty (28-10) vs. Lubbock Cooper (31-6), 3 p.m.
4A: 7 p.m.
6A: 8:30 p.m.
