After coming in second to Nazareth one too many times, Dodd City takes down champs in 1A final
Dodd City finally broke through to beat its playoff nemesis Nazareth, 30-21 in the UIL Class 1A girls basketball state championship game on Wednesday at the Alamodome.
Dodd City (32-0), ranked No. 1 in the state, came into the game 0 for 4 in its previous state tournament appearances. All four came in the title game with four losses to Nazareth (2002, 2017-19).
But the Hornets got over the championship hump to win their first in program history while denying the Swiftettes their 25th all-time and fifth straight. Nazareth (27-5) was making its 30th state appearance.
Senior Journie Hilliard was voted MVP with team-highs 13 points on 6 of 8 shooting and seven rebounds.
The third quarter was the defining moment for DC.
After going into halftime facing a 16-11 deficit, the Hornets outscored the Swiftettes 13-0 in the third while holding Nazareth to 0 of 6 shooting. Nazareth missed three three-point attempts.
Dani Baccus stole the ball from Nazareth and was fouled while in the act. She made both free-throw attempts to cut the lead to 16-13 with 7:26 on the clock.
No one would score for the next three minutes when Hilliard’s layup trimmed the Nazareth lead to 16-15. Baccus, who finished with 12 points, six assists and four rebounds, gave DC the lead for good with a layup for the 17-16 edge with 3:19 to go in the third.
The Hornets would get seven more points to close the period with a three from Tori Dotson, two Dotson free throws and a Hilliard layup to take a 24-16 lead into the fourth.
Nazareth, No. 2 in the state, got as close as six in the final quarter on a Addie Dyer bucket.
Both teams struggled to keep the ball with a combined 39 turnovers (DC 20, Nazareth 19). The Swiftettes did make five three-pointers, but went 3 of 15 inside the arc.
Nazareth was led by Iris Schilderink’s seven points.
Dodd City held a 6-5 advantage after the first quarter, but Nazareth turned a 10-5 deficit into a 14-10 lead on three three-pointers by Merry Gerber, Presley Wheeler and Schilderink.
Wheeler’s three came with 2:02 left in the second quarter.
Schilderink added a jumper with 10 seconds to play as Nazareth took a five-point edge into intermission.
Dodd City went 10 of 23 from the field while Nazareth went 8 of 33. The Hornets made nine of 11 attempts at the free-throw line. Nazareth attempted just on free throw all game long.
