Girls basketball state: Timberview reaches Class 5A title game, more from semifinals

The 2024 UIL girls high school basketball state championships are underway at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

See all the scores, results and more from teams competing for state championships.

Mansfield Timberview blows past Cedar Park for title berth

Playing the top-ranked Mansfield Timberview girls basketball team is like trying to escape from a boa constrictor. The Wolves wear you down with their defensive quickness and squeeze the life out of you with their depth and offensive prowess.

Timberview had six players that scored eight or more points as the Wolves tamed Cedar Park 67-45 in a Class 5A state semifinal on Thursday at the Alamodome.

Timberview (40-1) will now get No. 2 Frisco Liberty (33-7) which will be looking to defend its state title. The 5A championship is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Timberview defeated Liberty 40-19 in a regular season game in mid-November.

“Everything starts at zero and players come to play,” said Timberview coach Kit Kyle on beating Liberty earlier in the season. “It’ll be a whole new ball game on Saturday.”

Cedar Park (27-12) kept the game close early, but Timberview started to pull away late in the first quarter. Chrishawn Coleman sparked a 13-0 run by the Wolves that lasted until the 5:11 mark of the second quarter.

Coleman scored five of her seven points during the spree that gave Timberview a 25-9 lead, but left the game with 2:46 left before halftime and did not return.

“Things started off pretty good, but then CC (Chrishawn Coleman) had a little tweak, but I think she’ll be ready for the Saturday game,” said Kyle. “We decided that if we could get through the second half without her then we would.”

Coleman added seven rebounds and seven assists before her exit, but the Wolves had plenty of fire power left to pick up the slack. Tamaiya Mims scored all 11 of her points in the first half while Kamryn Wilson pitched in 13 points, all in the second half.

“I wasn’t that good offensively in the first half, but my coach always says that if you can’t do anything else then play defense,” said Wilson, who completed a double double pulling down 12 rebounds. “Get rebounds and stops on defense so that’s what I did and my offense came in the second half.”

Brooklyn Terry had 13 points and eight rebounds for Timberview with Emilee Jones scoring eight points and collecting seven rebounds. Dani Milliner chipped in eight points for the Wolves.

“I knew we were going to come out and play hard,” said Terry. “Whether we would knock shots down or not, I knew our defense was going to be solid and our effort was going to be good.”

Kyle was upset at the regional tournament because her team wasn’t rebounding as well as she liked, but Timberview hit the boards hard against Cedar Park, out rebounding the Timberwolves 51-29.

Cedar Park’s Kennedy Carlyle got hot late in the game hitting four three pointers in a five-minute span of the third and fourth quarters, but the Timberwolves could only cut the lead down to 17.

Carlyle had 15 of her game-high 19 points after halftime. Mariah Davis added 10 points and five assists for Cedar Park.

“This is what you prepare for,” said Kyle of reaching the title game. “This is what you work for, this is what you dream about.”

Kyle added that her team is just fearless and nothing really fazes them. They never believe that there’s something that they can’t overcome and they play for each other which makes all the difference in the world.

“This is the most fun and exciting team that I’ve ever coached in my 28 years and they’re just an absolute joy,” said Kyle. “I’m just so glad that we have one more game we can play.”

Frisco Liberty too much for Richmond Randle

The Frisco Liberty girls basketball team had a distinct height advantage over Richmond Randle and Jacy Abii recorded a double-double as the Redhawks overwhelmed the Lions 66-37 in a Class 5A state semifinal on Thursday at the Alamodome.

Frisco Liberty (33-7), No. 2 in the state in Class 5A, will defend its state title at 3 p.m. on Saturday against No. 1 Mansfield Timberview (39-1). Liberty lost to Timberview 40-19 earlier this season.

The Redhawks also won a state title in 2020 and have now never lost in the semifinals in six trips to state.

No. 5 Randle (30-9) kept the game close through most of the first quarter behind Alaysia Cook who had 10 of her team-high tying 13 points in the opening frame.

Things went off the rails for the Lions after that, however. A 7-0 run by Liberty gave the Redhawks a 19-11 lead with 22 seconds left in the first.

Liberty out rebounded Randle 51-31 for the game and when the Lions did get off a shot it was usually contested and off the mark.

Randle shot a woeful 17.9 percent from the floor for the game and was out scored 14-1 in the second quarter to trail 35-14 at halftime. The Lions missed all 11 shots taken in the second period.

Liberty’s biggest lead came with 4:25 left in the fourth quarter when Aziyah Farrier hit a three to give the Redhawks a 64-29 lead. As cold as Randle was Liberty was just as hot shooting 49.2 percent (30 of 61) from the floor.

Liberty had four players in double-figure scoring led by Abii with 17, Keyera Roseby with 15, Farrier with 12 and Lilian Johnson with 11.

Abii added 18 rebounds which are tied for eighth most in a Class 5A state tournament game. The sophomore guard also had eight assists and six blocked shots.

Abii was a member of the 2023 USA Women’s U16 National Team that won a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA Americas Championship. She started all six games during the tournament and averaged 8.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals.

Kurynn McNeill also had 13 points for Randle with Ifemena Nwora scoring eight points with seven rebounds and four steals for the Lions.

Randle reached the state tournament in just its second season of playing varsity basketball. The Lions won a fourth-seed, play-in game last season and lost in the second round.

Canyon has record-setting shooting performance to down Boerne

Canyon junior Jaylee Moss set a Class 4A tournament game record by hitting seven of seven three pointers as the Eagles downed Boerne 53-39 in a 4A state semifinal on Friday at the Alamodome.

Canyon (33-7), ranked No. 8 in the state in 4A by the TABC, will attempt to win its 21st state title when the Eagles face No. 2 Waco La Vega (31-11), the defending 4A champions.

Canyon never trailed the game and used the three-point shot to get ahead of No. 5 Boerne (34-5) and stay ahead.

Canyon is second in both overall trips to state (29) and titles (20), both behind Nazareth’s 31 trips and 25 championships.

Moss, who finished with a game-high 26 points, opened the game for the Eagles with a three. Boerne pulled even at 5-5, but three more threes in the quarter, one by Moss gave Canyon a 16-10 advantage after one.

Canyon kept the lead around 10 points until a 10-0 run in the third quarter by the Greyhounds cut the lead to 28-27 with 2:44 left in the third.

But Moss quickly pushed the lead back to seven, hitting two threes. The latter came with 28 seconds left in the third quarter to make it 34-27.

Boerne cut the lead to three again, 35-32, early in the fourth quarter, but Moss made her sixth three to give the keep the Greyhounds at bay.

Moss’ final three came with 3:00 left in the game and pushed a five-point lead back to eight, 43-35, and the Eagles pulled away from that point.

Moss’ seven threes set a new Class 4A record for the most three pointers in a tournament game. The previous mark was six by La Vega’s Katrina Prince against Brownsboro in 1994.

Moss’ mark tied her for third place for the most threes made in any class. Eight has been done twice in Class 6A.

Her 100 percent shooting from three (minimum of five attempts) broke the mark of 80 percent (4-5) done twice.

She’s only the second girl in any class to go 100% from three point range (minimum of five attempts). Moss has the most attempts at seven surpassing Lipan’s Lanie Roberts who made six of six threes in 2016 against Roby.

As a team, Canyon eclipsed its own three-point shooting percentage record hitting 10 of 13 (76.9 percent). The Eagles made eight of 12 (66.7 percent) in 2005 against Cleveland.

Moss also had six rebounds in the game as did Sydnee Winfrey who also added six steals. Kambrie Graser chipped in 10 points for the Eagles.

Averi Aaron led Boerne with 13 points with Meredith McLeod adding eight points and six rebounds. Abby Smith also had six rebounds for the Greyhounds.

Waco La Vega takes two overtimes to down Dallas Lincoln

You could tell this one was going to go down to the wire as both teams were mirror images of each other, and both playing at a high level.

No. 2 Waco La Vega was held to only one point in the third quarter, but he Pirates turned up the defensive heat in the fourth quarter and came away with a 65-60 win in two overtimes over No. 9 Dallas Lincoln in a Class 4A state semifinal on Friday at the Alamodome.

La Vega (31-11) will attempt to defend its state title from a year ago, and win state for the third time, when they meet Canyon (30-6) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

“This was a classic with two teams that are very similar,” said Dallas Lincoln coach Ashley Greer. “One thing about playing in a classic game is that one team has to come up on the short end of the stick. I don’t feel bad so much for myself, but for my kids that won’t be able to make it here again and we will be back.”

“It looks like we had a state championship game before the state championship game,” said La Vega coach Marcus Willis. “You won’t find a better game at the tournament this year than what we had today.”

The game saw 18 lead changes and 16 ties.

La Vega led 33-32 at the half behind Mar’Cyah Willis who had 11 of her 16 points in the first half with nine in the first quarter. Grace Spencer had nine points of her own for Lincoln on her way to a double double of 17 points and 13 boards.

While La Vega struggled in the third quarter missing six shots, committing two turnovers and getting a shot blocked, the Tigers were building a seven-point lead, 41-34.

But things turned around in the fourth quarter for the Pirates. La Vega forced 37 total steals plus turnovers in the game with 16 coming in the fourth quarter alone.

“Pressure bursts pipes, but it also creates diamonds,” said Marcus Willis on his teams ability to create havoc. “I have a bunch of diamonds on my team.”

The Pirates finally pulled back even at 45-all with 4:03 left in regulation. A made free throw by Kiyleyah Parr gave the Pirates a 54-51 lead, but T’Anna Saddler hit one of her three threes in the game with 12 seconds left to tie.

Lincoln (30-4) had a chance to win it after a steal by Jalynn Staten, but Spencer’s lay up just before the buzzer hit the under side of the rim to send the game to overtime.

Both teams scored two points in the first overtime to go to a second extra four minutes, but La Vega put the game away making seven of eight free throwns in the second OT.

Parr finished with 15 points for the Pirates with Angela Carroll and Alaysia Gude chipping in 13 points each. Carroll had 11 rebounds and five blocked shots and Mar’Cyah Willis recorded five steals.

Saddler finished with 12 points and Jada Patterson added 11 for the Tigers.

Lincoln was making its 16th appearance at the state tournament, good for seventh most all time. The Tigers, who have won three titles, hadn’t been to state since they went back to back in 2019 and 2020.

Shallowater stuns No. 3 Emory Rains

It was bad enough that the Emory Rains girls basketball team shot a meager 24.5 per cent from the field, but every time the Lady Cats would make a run Shallowater would answer.

The Fillies hit big shot after big shot to shock No. 3 Rains 59-47 in a Class 3A state semifinal on Thursday at the Alamodome.

Shallowater (27-12) will try to win its third state title on Saturday when the Fillies face No. 22 Huntington (36-6) at 10 a.m. It’s the eighth trip to the tournament for Shallowater who won it all in 2020, the last time the Fillies made it to state.

Rains (36-3) was battle tested in the past three rounds with wins over No. 15 Ponder, No. 7 Tatum, and No. 4 Winnsboro, but couldn’t get baskets to fall after falling behind late in the first quarter.

A basket by Carli Buckley, who led Shallowater with 20 points, with 1:43 left in the first quarter gave the Fillies a 11-9 lead that they would never relinquish.

Shallowater had pushed the lead to eight points before a three pointer by Rains’ Caroline Piles cut the lead to 21-16 with 2:55 left in the half. Sidney Venable answered immediately with a three of her own for Shallowater to make it an eight-point game once again.

A driving layup by Venable with 6:45 left in the third quarter made it 33-19. But Rains once again chipped away and with 1:45 left in the third, a pair of free throws by Arianna Philson cut the lead to five at 35-30.

Threes on back-to-back trips down the floor for Shallowater by Buckley and Linley Wright ballooned the lead to 11.

Piles, the second leading scorer for Rains with eight, fouled out with 7:10 left in the game, but the Lady Cats weren’t done. Rains cut it six, 44-38, with 4:59 left, but a lay in by Addison Pitts and another key three by Buckley helped the Fillies keep the lead around 10 points the rest of the way.

Jasey Campbell, who led Rains with 14 points, also fouled out with 3:05 left in the game.

It was the most wins in school history for Rains (36) which was making its first appearance at UIL state.

Rains was getting out rebounded early, but made up the difference behind Presley Kilgore (9 rebounds) and Kenzy Thompson (7). Maggie Grimes had 12 rebounds for Shallowater.

This will be the sixth trip to the title game for Shallowater which last reached the tournament, as well as won it all, in 2020 under Chuck Darden who spent 40+ years at Shallowater. The Fillies also took home a title in 2004.

Huntington downs Columbus for first title trip

Huntington forward Kyra Anderson recorded a double-double with 28 points and 17 rebounds as the Devilettes handled Columbus 47-33 in the first Class 3A state semifinal on Thursday at the Alamodome.

Huntington (36-6), ranked No. 22 in 3A by the TABC, will make its first trip to a state-title game in its first trip to the tournament. The Devilettes will play at 10 a.m. on Saturday against Shallowater (27-12).

Anderson scored 21 of her 28 points after halftime, but Huntington built much of its lead during the second and third quarters by holding the Cardinals to eight total points.

Anderson had all 11 points for Huntington in the third quarter where the Devilettes built their biggest lead of the game, 16 points. A pair of made free throws by Anderson made it 30-14 with 3:07 left in the third quarter.

Columbus (26-11) cut the lead to seven twice in the fourth quarter, the last with 4:58 left, but the Cardinals could only muster five points the rest of the way.

Senior Karlee Mathis led Columbus with 14 points and freshman Anaya Gardner had 11. Mathis scored 11 points in Columbus’ only other trip to the state tournament when they lost to Holliday, 59-40, in the semifinals last season.

Columbus coach Mike Albers has over 950 career wins.

Huntington upset No. 1 Fairfield, 42-41, in the Region III final on its way to state. Fairfield was the two-time defending state champions who had reached the title game for four consecutive years.

Nocona rallies late to down Wellington

The Nocona girls basketball team trailed for almost the entire game on Friday at the Alamodome. The Indians took its first lead early in the fourth quarter then survived, beating No. 10 Wellington 44-42 in a Class 2A state semifinal.

This only the second trip to the state tournament for No. 9 Nocona (35-3) with the first being 71 years ago in 1953. The Indians lost in the quarterfinals in the ‘53 tourney, but have chance to record its first ever state title in girls basketball when they face fourth-ranked Ben Wheeler Martin’s Mill (35-5) at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Wellington (29-7) never trailed in the first three quarters of the game. The Skyrockets built a 10-point lead, 32-22, on a made free throw by Audrey Jones with 3:56 left in the third quarter.

The Indians, however, went on a 13-4 run to end the third quarter led by Megyn Meekins who had a three and a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 36-35. Meekins led Nocona with 19 points.

Nocona took its first lead of the game on a lay in by Reagan Phipps to open the fourth quarter. The Indians took the lead for good when Meekins hit a jumper in the paint to make it 39-38 with 5:21 left in the game.

Wellington had eight missed shots and a turnover from that point. Nocona’s Avery Crutsinger got a huge rebound with 34 seconds left, was fouled and made both foul shots to give the Indians a 43-38 lead.

Jones scored a pair of baskets, the latter with 11 seconds left that cut the lead to 44-42. But after a pair of missed free throws by Nocona, Charley Wilbur’s desperation shot from just inside mid court didn’t find its mark for the Skyrockets.

Skyler Smith added nine points and seven rebounds for Nocona. Wellington was extremely balanced with Jones and Briley Waters scoring nine points each, Presley Kane with eight points, and Wilbur and Kaitlin Bawcom with six points each.

Kane and Wilbur had eight rebounds each.

It was the first state tournament appearance for Wellington.

Martin’s Mill holds off Goldthwaite for title shot

Ben Wheeler Martin’s Mill is no stranger to the girls basketball state tournament. The Mustangs have reached the state tournament every year since 2006 except for 2014 and 2020.

It was a battle early for Martin’s Mill, but the Mustangs got some space early in the third quarter and then kept Goldthwaite at bay in a 54-43 win in the first Class 2A state semifinal on Friday at the Alamodome.

Martin’s Mill (35-5), ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 2A according to the TABC, will have a shot at its seventh state title when it faces No. 9 Nocona (35-3) in the 2A title game at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

It was a donnybrook in the first half with Goldthwaite jumping out to a 8-1 lead. Martin’s Mill countered, taking its first lead on a three pointer by Kate Lindsey to make it 14-12 with 1:11 left in the first quarter.

Addisyn Howard, who scored all 10 of her points in the first half, hit a three for the Eagles with 5:58 left before the break to give Goldthwaite a 21-16 lead, but neither team led by more than five points the rest of the half.

Hope Hermesmeyer played her heart out for Goldthwaite (34-4) scoring a game-high 20 points with 11 rebounds and four assists. Hermesmeyer’s three pointer to open the third quarter gave the Eagles an 26-25 lead, but the Mustangs got hot after that.

Martin’s Mill went on a 12-1 run to go up by 10 at 37-27 with 3:44 left in the third. Hermesmeyer hit a pair of threes, the first being a 35 footer at the third quarter buzzer, to cut Martin Mill’s lead to six, 41-35, with 7:41 left in the game, but Goldthwaite would get no closer.

Kara Nixon took over in the second half scoring 16 of her team-high 18 points in the second half with 12 coming in the fourth quarter alone.

Lindsey had 13 points for Martin’s Mill with Alli Vaughan contributing 12 points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs.

Martin Mill’s 18 tournament appearances is the sixth most of any team in the state. The Mustangs hope to avenge a one-point loss to Lipan in the semifinals last season.

This will be Martin Mill’s 12th appearance in a state title game. The Mustangs won it all in 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2019.

It was the third trip to the state tournament for Goldthwaite (1955 and 2000). The Eagles have yet to win a game at state.

Newcastle rolls over Westbrook

Mattie Dollar poured in 32 points, including 15 in a 20-point second quarter, as the Newcastle thumped Westbrook 59-37 in the first Class 1A state semifinal at the Alamodome.

Newcastle (34-1), No. 2 in the final TABC 1A rankings, is making the most of its first state tournament appearance and will play for the title at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.

In a battle of Ladycats, Newcastle jumped out to 7-0 lead, but Tae Morris’ three pointer for Westbrook cut the lead to 7-3 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.

But that’s as close as Westbrook (28-10) would get as Dollar was on fire hitting 11 of 18 from the floor, including four of six from beyond the arc.

Newcastle’s biggest lead came with 4:29 left in the third quarter on a jumper by Mya Cabrera who had 15 points as well as seven rebounds.

Morris led Westbrook with 17 points and Raenee Rich added 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Westbrook (28-10) was making its second trip to state.

Dollar’s 32 points put her in a third-place tie for the most points in a Class 1A game at state. Newcastle’s only loss this year came in the second game of the season to Gorman, 48-44.

Top-ranked Turkey Valley holds off Neches

It will be No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the Class 1A state championship game on Saturday as Turkey Valley pulled away late to down Neches 54-41 in the second 1A state semifinal on Thursday at the Alamodome.

Valley (37-2), No. 1 in the final TABC Class 1A state poll, will be seeking its first state title in four appearances at the tournament. The Patriots will meet No. 2 Newcastle (34-1) at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Valley lost its first two games of the season to Shallowater (3A) and Amarillo Tascosa (5A) and is now on a 37-game winning streak. Newcastle has won 33 games in a row.

The Patriots jumped out to an early 9-0 lead, but No. 16 Neches (29-8) battled back and gave Valley all they wanted for much of the game.

Anna Ferrel scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the second quarter allowing the Patriots to keep the lead. Valley never trailed in the game.

Neches cut the lead to two points three times in the second quarter, but could never tie or take the lead.

The Tigers cut a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter down to four, 45-41, on a three pointer by Sealy Hines with 5:30 left, but Neches couldn’t hit a shot the rest of the way.

Hines led Neches with 15 points with Aubrey Kincade pulling down 11 rebounds and dishing out eight assists for the Tigers.

Trinity Schlueter had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Valley with Reese Cruse adding 12 points for the Patriots.

Neches was making its 12th state tournament appearance and fourth in a row. The Tigers have won state five times with three coming in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

This story was originally published February 29, 2024 at 11:59 AM.