TAPPS high school basketball state tournament: Which schools secured championships?

The TAPPS high school basketball state championships are underway. See results, stats and more from the title games in Waco, Texas.

Check back for more updates as the title games continue.

Arlington Grace Prep falls short in Class 4A TAPPS title game

The Arlington Grace Prep Lions seemed poised to win its sixth TAPPS Boys championship, but fell short, falling 56-49 in overtime, to the Houston St. Thomas Episcopal Saints in the TAPPS Boys 4A state championship contest at Robinson High School.

Grace Prep (27-10) led most of regulation, taking its biggest lead 39-29 with under a minute left in the third period. However, junior Aiden Law drilled buzzer-beating three-pointer narrowing the Lions lead to seven entering the fourth quarter.

St. Thomas opened the final quarter on a 5-0 spurt. Grace Prep never trailed in the final stanza. Nathan Law, brother of Aiden Law, hit a basket for St. Thomas with 11 ticks left to tie the game at 44-44 in regulation. A turnaround mid-range shot by Grace Prep at the buzzer was short, forcing overtime.

Kaden Lehew, a senior and Illinois State signee in football, opened the overtime session with a basket to give Grace Prep a 46-44 lead. However, St. Thomas went on a 9-0 run, and outscored Grace Prep 12-7 in the overtime, to claim its second-ever TAPPS crown, the other coming in 2014.

No. 3-ranked by TABC, Arlington Grace Prep (27-10) head coach Josh Duke was proud of his team’s performance.

“We came out well, and played very good defense the entire game,” said Duke. “Turnovers hurt us in the second half, and I thought that was the key in the outcome.”

“So proud of this team this year. Worked hard. Played with confidence.”

Sophomore Jaiden Lowe led Grace Prep with 14 points, and senior Noah Daniels contributed 11.

Making its 12th state tourney appearance, Grace Prep was seeking its sixth TAPPS state crown, taking home titles in 2022, 2019, 2012, 2011, and 2002.

Grace Prep advanced to the title game with a 49-39 victory over district foe over No. 2 ranked Lubbock Trinity Christian, avenging a pair of regular season losses (51-33 and 71-54). The Lions had a 32-30 win over Bullard Brook Hill in the Area round then eliminated Carrollton Prince of Peace 77-61 in the Regional.

Jaiden Lowe, Noah Daniels and Kaden Lehew were named to the 10-player all-tournament team for Grace Prep.

St. Thomas Episcopal (27-6) was paced by Jarod Mosley with a game-high 18 points and Aiden Law, who finished with 14, including four of the Saints eight three-pointers in the game.

Top-ranked by TABC in 4A Boys classification, Houston St. Thomas Episcopal won its other title in 2014 and was making its seventh state tourney appearance. It was runner-up a year ago, losing to Lubbock Trinity Christian 69-61 in title game.

Fort Worth Lake Country wins Class 4A TAPPS title

Sophomore London Chandler scored a team-high 17 points to lead four players in double figures as the Fort Worth Lake Country Christian Lady Eagles (30-6) captured their seventh TAPPS championship in girls basketball with a 56-49 victory over League City Bay Area Christian Friday afternoon at Robinson High School.

Campbell Young and Erika Hancock, a pair of seniors, each totaled 11 points apiece in the win. The Lady Eagles raced to a 19-10 first-quarter advantage and held a 28-20 halftime lead.

Lake Country had rolled in three playoff wins entering the title matchup. It defeated Waco Vanguard College Prep, 42-24 in the Area round, then eliminated Willow Park Trinity Christian Academy 52-37 in the Regional.

The Lady Eagles then cruised past district foe Arlington Grace Prep, 43-27, in the state semifinal, with Hancock tallying 13 points and Young 11 to lead Lake Country. The two teams had split a pair of regular season meetings. District 1-2 champ Grace Prep was ranked No. 2 in the TABC final poll on Feb. 12, while Lake Country was No. 3.

The Lady Eagles were making their 13 state tourney appearance, winning its last crown in 2018. League City Bay Area Christian (22-8) was fourth in the TAPPS 4A rankings.

Fort Worth Southwest Christian girls secure Class 5A TAPPS title

Junior standout Ananda Jenerson scored a team-leading 18 points to lead four double-digit scorers as the the Fort Worth Southwest Christian Lady Eagles captured their third state title -- all in the last five years -- with a 63-58 victory over Houston Second Baptist in the TAPPS Girls 5A championship contest Friday at Robinson High School.

Tied at 31 apiece at intermission. Fort Worth Southwest Christian (23-8) opened the second half on a 7-0 run, and held Houston Second Baptist scoreless for the first four minutes in third stanza.

“Our defense in those four minutes to start the second half was the best it has been all season,” said Southwest Christian head coach Ashlaa Zuniga. “That gave us tremendous confidence.”

A Brown University pledge, Jenerson, who eclipsed the 1,000 point scoring plateau in December 2022 of her sophomore season and is nearing the 2,000 point mark, had 15 in the semifinal victory.

“Ananda is an amazing talent,” said Coach Zuniga, who guided the team to a state title in her first season at Fort Worth Southwest Christian. “Very poised. She does so many things for us. Just a complete player.”

Freshman Maley Campbell knocked down five three-pointers and finished with 16 points. That performance came on the heels of also scoring 16 points the day before, draining four treys in the 48-46 semifinal win over Argyle Liberty Christian.

Trailing 56-53 with under four minutes to play in the championship game, a Campbell three-pointer tied the game and ignited a 10-2 closing run by Fort Worth Southwest Christian, a team that is No. 5 in the TABC final 5A rankings.

“Wow!” said Coach Zuniga of Campbell’s play at the state tournament. “She is a coach’s kid. She has been huge for us.”

Sophomore Serenity Massey totaled 15 points in the title game. Massey was instrumental in the Lady Eagles advancing to the title game. Trailing by a point, 46-45, late in the semifinal contest, Massey connected on a game-winning three-pointer with 13 seconds left to propel Southwest Christian to the championship matchup with Houston Second Baptist, a team it has defeated for all three of its state crowns.

The trio of Jenerson, Campbell and Massey were named to the 10-player all-tournament team.

Houston Second Baptist (29-10) and No. 3 in the TABC poll, was making its 10th overall -- and seventh straight -- state tourney appearance, but fell to 0-8 in title games.

Senior Olivia Savageau, a Trinity University-San Antonio signee, pumped in a game-high 23 points to lead Houston Second Baptist.

Fort Worth Bethesda claims Class 2A TAPPS title

The Fort Worth Bethesda Christian Lions were determined to forge a different outcome in its return trip to the TAPPS 2A title game after coming up short a year ago.

This time, Bethesda Christian celebrated after a 48-33 victory over Dallas First Baptist in the TAPPS 2A Boys state championship Thursday at Robinson High School.

“This means everything,” said Bethesda Christian head coach Tim Owen. “After coming up short last year, for our program, our team, the families, this is amazing.”

Bethesda Christian fell 64-52 to Houston Grace Christian in last year’s state title matchup.

The starting five are all seniors, and two more come off the bench. Owen said the group of seniors provide “tremendous leadership.”

“They have played together since elementary school,” Owen said. “All the hard work. All the effort.”

The Lions assumed control of the game from the outset.

Cason Flagg scored a pair of baskets to begin the game -- both on assists from Christian Blackwell -- as Bethesda Christian never trailed en route to winning its second-ever TAPPS boys state championship, with the other coming in 2007.

Bethesda Christian, which led 20-13 at intermission and 34-26 after three quarters, outscored Dallas First Baptist 14-7 in the final period to claim the crown.

Carson Foster scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to lead the Lions. Hanson Allen tossed in 11 points and Clagg added nine more.

Christian Blackwell, who registered a game-leading 25 points in the team’s 52-49 semifinal win over district foe Fort Worth Christian Life Prep School on Wednesday, chipped in with eight points in the title contest.

Cason Clagg, Christian Blackwell and Hanson Allen were all-tourney selections, the latter two for the second consecutive year.

Bethesda Christian (33-8) was ranked No. 1 in TAPPS 2A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches final Boys poll on Feb. 12, 2024.

The Lions rolled in two playoff wins -- 65-36 over Lubbock All Saints in the Area round which was followed by a 65-49 victory over Abilene Christian School in the Regional -- in reaching the state tournament.

The Lions were making their second straight, and third overall, state tourney appearance. Bethesda Christian won its lone title in 2007 with a win over Fort Worth Calvary.

Second-ranked Dallas First Baptist (26-12) was led by sophomore Dylan Jones with 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Jones tallied a game-high 28 points -- draining 8 three-pointers -- in a 50-38 semifinal win over Galveston O’Connell.

“We saw him make all those three-pointers yesterday, and we wanted to be sure our defense not give him any open looks and stay with him on perimeter,” said Owen. “And we did a great job of that.”

First Baptist, making its sixth overall state tourney appearance, won all three of its championships consecutively, in 1985-1987.

The Lions defeated its semifinal opponent, district foe Fort Worth Christian Life Prep School (20-8), for the third time this season, after regular season wins of 52-37 and 43-37.

Life Prep was making its initial state tourney appearance. Seniors Will Turner and Hudson Scheffler were named to the 10-player all-tourney team for Life Prep.

This story was originally published February 29, 2024 at 10:43 PM.