Brock girls look to continue basketball title streak

By Travis L. Brown

Special to the Star-Telegram

When talking premier UIL girls basketball programs in Texas, Brock has to sit near the top of the list.

The Eagles head to Austin this week , making their fifth consecutive trip to the Class 2A state tournament in search of a fifth straight championship.

What makes the run even more amazing is the player turnover within the program during those years.

This season, Brock returns to the Erwin Center sans their three-time 2A state tournament MVP, Kamy Cole, now a TCU freshman who has started most of the Horned Frogs’ games.

Of the players on last year’s state roster, only two return who made a key impact in any of the tournament games, Taylor Fulmer and Lexie Ducat, each of whom scored 10 points in a tournament game.

Brock faces Centerville at 8:30 a.m. Friday in the 2A semifinals.

Nazareth holds the state record for consecutive championships at six, between 1979-1982. Brock lost title games to Nazareth in 1979, ’80 and ’81.

Here is a look at the other state matchups with area teams participating:

Class 4A

Aledo vs. Dallas Lincoln

Aledo moved away from a heavy 3-point shooting offense last season to a low-post dominated set this year and has seen it pay dividends.

With three players over 6 feet tall, including 6-foot-4 Justis Szczepanski-Beavers, size is definitely the Bearcats’ strength.

“We don’t shoot [outside] a whole lot anymore,” coach Rusty Johnson said. “We’ve gone to a low-post game and try to be dominant in the paint. We still have some good perimeter shooters in [Mallory] Powell, but ideally, we’re trying to get the ball to the rim.”

In No. 2-ranked Dallas Lincoln, Aledo faces an offense with athletic ability unlike any it has seen this season. The Tigers return to the state tournament for the first time since 2010, but gave state 5A No. 1 Duncanville a run for its money during its undefeated regular season. losing 63-55 .

Aledo is simply excited to be making its first state appearance after the great state title streak its football team rode over the past several seasons.

“It’s been a neat thing for the girls,” Johnson said. “We talked before we left to go to Snyder [for the regional tournament] that we had an opportunity in a 24-hour span to take the excitement of going to a regional and multiply it by a million in my mind and come back to your school and your community that has been behind you so much and know that for the first time ever in Aledo, we’re sending the girls to state.”

Class 3A

Kennedale vs. Smithville

It took four seasons for Kennedale to finally get over the regional-final hump and punch its ticket to Austin.

Twice, Kennedale saw its season end at the hands of eventual state champion Abilene Wylie after losing once in the regional final to Texarkana Liberty-Eylau, who also won the state championship that season.

This season, the team has rallied together after the season-ending knee injury of top scorer Jamaika Hughes. The Wildcats have produced offensively by committee while facing some of the area’s top teams, such as Duncanville, Cedar Hill and Brock, during the regular season.

Coach Vance Hughes said if his team’s defense can show up in Austin, don’t count them out.

“Our defense is how I see us winning and we want to make sure we stay on top of everything defensive-wise to give ourselves a chance.”

Looking for comments?