Samantha Morrow, who beat the competition and cancer, is retiring

Samantha Morrow, who led Mansfield girls basketball to four-straight UIL state titles, is retiring after 35 years.

"I just think it was time," said Morrow, who coached South Grand Prairie for the past five seasons. "I want to be with my mom, my sisters and my family. I just want to go watch the kids and watch basketball."

Morrow's first head coaching job was at Mansfield during the 1994 season. Five years later, she began a run no other coach has reached in the UIL's largest classification.

The Tigers won state titles from 1999-2002.

"Lucky I got to work for her as a middle-school coach when I was starting out," Birdville coach Amy Ingram said in a tweet to Morrow. "I learned how to do things the right way."

She moved on to neighbor school Mansfield Summit when it opened and coached the Jaguars from 2003-07 and led the program to its first state tournament in 2007.

"Thank you for being a mentor to me, hiring me 21 years ago, and teaching me how to build relationships with athletes," Summit coach Dawn Mailloux-Smith said in a tweet.

After coaching at UT-Arlington, Morrow landed at South Grand Prairie, where she took the Warriors to a top 20 state ranking and a regional final trip in 2017. The Warriors went 121-56 in her tenure.

"So grateful for the two years I was able to work with her at SGP," Midlothian Heritage volleyball coach Timmi Blackshear said in a tweet. "Inspiration and encouragement to women doing this job. Unbelievable career and helped me get one of the best jobs and experiences I’ve ever had."

SGP won 20 or more games all five years with Morrow.

"I feel good about where SGP is left off, they're in a good place," she said.

Morrow, who won her 600th career game in January, coached SGP while battling cancer in 2015. A year later she had her final radiation treatment and is now cancer-free. She will retire at the end of the year.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 5:22 AM with the headline "Samantha Morrow, who beat the competition and cancer, is retiring."