Fort Worth Lake Country Christian wins TAPPS 4A girls basketball state title

The Fort Worth Lake Country Christian Eagles claimed their second TAPPS Class 4A girls basketball state championship in three years — and seventh overall — with a 67-47 victory over the Austin Hill Country Knights on Friday at Robinson High School.

Following a competitive opening period, Lake Country Christian dominated the final three quarters.

After yielding the opening basket to the Knights, the Eagles (32-5) used 3-pointers by McKenna Grella sandwiched around a basket from London Chandler to forge an 8-2 lead.

Austin Hill Country (28-10) managed to tie the game at 13 before a basket by Sadie Gough gave the Eagles a 15-13 advantage after the first quarter.

Lake Country Christian then took over to start the second period. Grella’s 3-pointer fueled a 16-2 burst to begin the quarter, highlighted by a pair of 3s from Chandler. Lake Country Christian held a 36-20 lead at intermission.

The Eagles maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half, with a Chandler bucket midway through the fourth period giving the Eagles a 27-point lead, its largest of the game, at 64-37.

Grella, who had five 3s in the game, mirrored her fast start from Lake Country Christian’s 42-33 semifinal triumph in dethroning five-time state champion Lubbock Christian a day earlier. In that game, she hit three of her five long-range baskets in the opening quarter, finishing with a game-high 17 points.

“Practice, practice, practice,” Grella said of the fast starts. “Get good looks. Amazing job from teammates getting me the ball. And just a matter of hitting the shots.”

Head coach Josh Blok, in his third season, said his team has been an excellent 3-point force throughout the season.

“Making 3s has been a major part of our offense all year,” Blok said. “Great court spacing by the players.”

The Eagles had 10 3-pointers in the title game after making seven in the semifinal win.

Blok emphasized that those open looks are keyed by his defense, which he said has been the team’s “calling card all the way to winning the title”.

“Our players do such a great job in pressure defense, and that triggers our fast break that results in a lot of open looks,” he said.

No. 2 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches final rankings on Feb. 9, Lake Country Christian has been led by a quartet of senior starters — London, Grella, Erika Hancock and Gough. The four led the way in the championship.

London finished with a game-high 23 points, including 13 in the second period when the Eagles outscored the Knights 21-7. Grella totaled 15 points on her five triples; Hancock finished with 11 points and 19 rebounds. Gough had nine points.

“Great way to go out,” London said. “Total team effort.”

Hancock, a Hardin-Simmons signee, was a force on the boards in both state tournament games, pulling down 16 in the semifinal win over Lubbock Christian.

“When the ball is in the air, I feel it is mine. That is my job. I take a lot of pride in my defense and rebounding,” said Hancock, a 2025 first-team all state selection after 2024 second-team honors.

Hancock and Chandler were part of the 2024 title team, and both said this one is just as sweet.

“Erika and I have been playing together since like fourth or fifth grade,” said Chandler, a 2024 first-team all-state selection and second-team pick the following season. “To do this again together and with this team and this senior class is so very special.”

Gough, who had 12 points in the semifinal win, has been with this team for two years, as has Grella

.“I have never been a part of a championship team,” she said. “This is just so amazing.”

Making its 19th Final Four appearance, Lake Country Christian avoided a letdown after knocking off five-time defending state champion Lubbock Christian (4A crowns in 2021 and 2022, then 3A titles in 2023 and 2024, then moving back up to 4A last season) in the semis.

“No way were we gonna lose,” Chandler said. “We beat them and knew we had one more win to go. We were fired up and ready to go.”

Blok said he challenged his team after the win over Lubbock Christian, the team that ousted Lake Country in last year’s state semifinals.

“Finish the job,” Blok said. “No letdown. And I repeated that to them at halftime of this title game. And the girls did a great job of finishing.”

Lake Country had cruised to a pair of playoff wins in reaching the Final Four — a 55-29 area round win over Colleyville Covenant Christian, and a 46-18 rout of Trinity Christian Willow Park in the regional.

Chandler, Grella and Gough were named to the 10-player all-tournament team.

No. 3 in the TABC rankings, Austin Hill Country Christian — winner of 19 straight games entering the championship game — was making its initial Final Four appearance. The Knights were paced by Riley Teeter, who had a team-leading 15 points.

This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 6:16 PM.