DeSoto defends state championship with gritty defensive effort over South Grand Prairie
For a brief moment, South Grand Prairie looked liked it was going to set a new UIL state record it didn’t want any part of.
The Warriors only had eight points in the first half and 11 through three quarters.
The UIL Class 6A record for fewest points allowed was 16 in 1953 (New Deal over Vidor). Hawley also gave up 16 points in a 4A game against Rankin in 1957.
With SGP’s shooting woes and DeSoto’s strong defensive performance, the Eagles defeated their DFW neighbors, 40-23, in the 6A state championship game on Saturday night at the Alamodome to close out the 2021-22 Texas high school girls basketball season.
DeSoto (35-2) wins its second straight state title. The Eagles won their first in program history last season, 53-37 over Cypress Creek.
“It really hasn’t hit me yet. Wow,” said DeSoto coach Andrea Robinson on winning back-to-back. “Great accomplishment. Wow. That’s all I can say. Super proud. It’s been a hard journey.
“I told them about this game and what we want to accomplish. It was to leave a legacy. These girls brought the first championship now bringing back-to-back and it’s an amazing accomplishment. These ladies pulled and rallied together. They will talk about this team for life.”
SGP, meanwhile, was in the state final for the first time after beating Houston Summer Creek in Friday’s semifinal. The Warriors were at state for a second consecutive season. They lost to DeSoto in last year’s semis.
“They’re really good. In the state of Texas, everybody is competitive,” SGP coach Brion Raven said. “What DeSoto does is they wear you down with their defense. They’re good. They have experience and play seven seniors. They’re a solid team.”
SGP (35-5) managed to hit shots at the buzzer both in the first and second quarter. Jahcelyn Hartfield hit a mid-range floater to cut the DeSoto lead to 10-6 after one.
Taylor Barnes drove past the Eagles’ defense for an easy layup in the second, but DeSoto led 15-8 at intermission.
“I told them at halftime that I looked at the score and SGP had eight points. To do that is amazing. We had a great defensive plan and they did a great job,” Robinson said.
DeSoto’s largest lead came at 31-11 early in the fourth following a three-pointer from Ja’Mia Harris, who scored 14 points to go with four rebounds and two assists. Harris shot 6 of 8 from the free throw line.
Harris was named state championship MVP.
The Warriors shot 27% from the floor and didn’t make any of their three-point attempts. They also committed 14 turnovers with 11 coming in the first half.
“They scouted us well. A big role on our offense is to go inside and through me so [DeSoto] did a good job to take that away. They made it harder for us to get inside looks,” said SGP 6-5 post Adhel Tac, who was limited to three points on 1 of 3 shooting and five rebounds.
This story was originally published March 5, 2022 at 10:45 PM.
