Woodville’s epic second half comeback stuns Winnsboro in Class 3A state semifinal
In the first half, Woodville couldn’t find a bucket and it looked as if there was going to be the first upset of the UIL girls basketball state tournament on Thursday.
The Eagles went 9 of 31 (29%) and trailed 29-21 at the break.
But the team that came to the Alamodome with 35 wins and an 18-game winning streak finally showed up.
Trailing 33-23 with 5:36 left in the third quarter, Woodville turned it into another gear and scored the final 17 points of the period to grab a 40-33 edge.
The Eagles used a 21-0 run to rally past Winnsboro, 62-43, in a Class 3A state semifinal game.
No. 3 Woodville (36-4) advances to play No. 8 Shallowater (38-2) in the championship game at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Eagles clinch a spot in the state final for the third time, but will be looking for their first title (2009, 2019).
“We just had to settle down and execute our game plan. We didn’t do that in the first half,” Woodville coach Troy Carrell said. “There were no sad faces at halftime. We just went in there and talked about what we needed to do to win this game.”
A 3-pointer by Shannon Whitehead pulled the Eagles within six midway through the third. Kayla Merchant made a jumper two minutes later and Alexis Rigsby converted a 3-point play to make it 33-32 with 1:47 to go.
Jayda Argumon drained a corner three to put Woodville in front 35-33 with 1:21 left, its first lead since 6-4. Whitehead’s layup and a three from Telia Jackson gave Woodville a 40-33 lead going into the fourth.
Whitehead’s layup less than a minute into the fourth made it 44-33.
Winnsboro (29-8), at state for the 13th time, missed 17 consecutive field-goal attempts after leading 33-23. The Lady Raiders finally broke their drought with a three from Laiken Allen to pull within 53-40 in the fourth, but it was far too late.
“We just had to keep our minds right,” said Woodville senior post Jordyn Beaty, who finished with 11 points and a game-high 20 rebounds, which is tied for fourth most at the 3A state tournament (Beaty had 20 in last year’s semis vs. Poth).
Three other Eagles scored in double figures: Argumon (12), Jackson (11) and Merchant (10).
Woodville outrebounded Winnsboro 51-29 and shot 14 of 22 in the second half (63.6%) while holding Winnsboro to 4 of 27 shooting (14.8%) after the break.
The Lady Raiders were led by freshman Faith Acker’s 15 points and 13 boards.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 5:42 PM.
