DeSoto girls pull away in second half to knock off hometown Clark in state semifinals

DeSoto and San Antonio Clark went neck and neck during the first 16 minutes of their UIL Class 6A state semifinal game on Friday at the Alamodome.

Leading by a single point, DeSoto opened the fourth quarter with the first 13 points to pull away from Clark to advance to the state championship game.

The Eagles (34-2), the No. 1 team in the Class 6A state rankings, will play South Grand Prairie (35-4) at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The two schools are separated by 15 miles.

DeSoto’s run was 18-0 after the Eagles trailed 37-33 with 2:35 left in the third quarter. Jiya Perry scored the final five points of the period on a three-point play and a pair of free throws.

The run continued on a Perry three and back-to-back layups from Tionna Herron and Ja’mia Harris that made it 46-37 with 4:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Another Herron layup and Perry three gave DeSoto its biggest lead at 51-37 at the 2:46 mark of the final frame. Clark did cut to five, but DeSoto made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to close out the victory.

Perry and Harris led DeSoto with 15 and 13 points. Perry grabbed 10 rebounds and Sa’Myah Smith pulled down a game-high 12. DeSoto shot 38% from the floor to Clark’s 37%.

Both teams shot 75% from the three-point line.

The Eagles had more rebounds (36-28), second-chance points (21-13) and points in the paint (28-14).

Clark surprised DeSoto to start the game with a pair of threes that turned into a 9-4 lead and forced the Eagles to call a timeout. But the first half was a game of runs as both teams traded separate 7-0 spurts to put Clark ahead 16-11 at the end of the first quarter.

DeSoto trailed by six with just under five minutes left in the second quarter, but the Eagles closed out the period with nine straight points for a 31-26 halftime lead.

The Eagles won state last season and also beat South Grand Prairie in the state semifinals.

DeSoto also reached the state tournament in 2019.