High School

Day 2 Standouts and Game Highlights From The UIL Texas Girls Basketball Championships

Decatur wins in OT to repeat as champs; Dallas Lincoln steamrolls to 2nd straight crown
Cody Thorn|
A general overall view of the Alamodome. The arena is the site of the UIL girls basketball championships through Saturday night. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
A general overall view of the Alamodome. The arena is the site of the UIL girls basketball championships through Saturday night. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The second day of the UIL girls' basketball championship featured a pair of repeat champions in the  night games on Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Here’s a roundup of the scores from Friday and what to watch for on Saturday.

What happened?

Class 3A Division 1

Hitchcock 60, Shallowater 46

Class 3A Division 2

Wall 49, Nacogdoches Central Heights 34

Class 4A Division 1

Decatur 58, Waco La Vega 54 OT

Class 4A Division 2

Dallas Lincoln 77, Fredericksburg 49

What did it mean?

Dallas Lincoln and Decatur both won repeat state championships.

Wall won No. 3, while Hitchcock won a title in its first trip to the title game.

Hitchcock (27-7) was unranked in the Class 3A poll and brought a roster of only 9 players to San Antonio. Only 7 of those got into the game, but the Bulldogs played with the lead for but 9 seconds in the win.

Hitchcock beat teams ranked No. 4, 10, 11 and 13 to get to the Alamodome.

The Wall Hawks had a tough path by beating No. 2-ranked Coahoma, No. 3-ranked Idalou and No. 6-ranked Paradise.

Nacogdoches Central Heights was ranked 24th in the TABC poll.

Decatur finished 37-4 and all four losses came against Class 5A or 6A schools — two of them Denton Ryan, who plays in the Class 5A Division 1 finals. The Eagles have now won two in a row, beating La Vega 53-41 last year. Decatur’s repeat follows La Vega winning two in a row in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

This was only the 6th overtime game in 4A final history, according to the UIL almanac.

Decatur still has a way to go to catch Argyle’s streak of 5 in a row from 2014-15 to 2018-19.

The Lincoln Tigers won state title No. 5 in their 18th trip to state. The Tigers won their final 17 games after falling to Putnam City, Oklahoma.

Fredericksburg lost in the semifinals last year to La Vega, but dropped down a conference this year to be Division 2 but the Battlin’ Lady Billies are still without a championship after 7 trips to the tournament.

5 Who stood out?

Lane Dallas, Dallas Lincoln

The 5-foot-10 guard had a game-high 23 points. She had 9 steals, grabbed 5 rebounds and hit 9 of 12 shots.

Ar’Jayla Elder, Dallas Lincoln

The Old Dominion signee had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. She hit 3 3-pointers and was 7-for-10 at the free-throw line.

Bralyn Peck, Decatur

The Oklahoma State signee scored a big bucket in the fourth to force overtime. She finished with a double-double with 33 points and 12 rebounds. She was 11-for-14 from the field and drew 10 fouls.

Jewels Johnson, Wall

She nearly had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 9 points.

Taryl Jones, Hitchcock

The 5-foot-8 junior post had 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the school’s first title. She was one of four on her team to play all 32 minutes.

Others noteworthy numbers

Rilyn Grona, Fredericksburg

Scored 17 points, had 4 assists, 3 steals and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Rih Kinsey, Waco La Vega

The UTSA signee scored 21 points for the Lady Tigers. She also drew 11 fouls in the game.

CeMaria Kelley, Waco La Vega

The unsigned senior led La Vega with 22 points. She had 7 steals and hit 3 3-pointers.

McKenzie Lopez, Wall

She led her team with 11 points, while adding 3 assists, 2 steals and 4 rebounds.

Peaches Gallien, Nacogdoches Central Heights

Despite a tough night from the field, the Blue Devils got a solid game from the junior. She had 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and made 7 of her team’s 9 free throws.

Emma Clawson, Shallowater

The No. 18-ranked team was led in scoring by the senior, a New Mexico State volleyball signee. She had 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Kimora Carroll, Hitchcock

The guard played all 32 minutes and drew 10 fouls. She scored 14 points, hit 8 of her 10 free throws and shared a team-high 3 assists.

What’s happening on Saturday?

11 a.m. — Class 5A Division 1

No. 7 Leander Tom Glenn vs. No. 2 Denton Billy Ryan

1 p.m. — Class 5A Division 2

No. 6 Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill vs. No. 5 Argyle

5 p.m. — Class 6A Division 1

No. 3 Humble Summer Creek vs. Flower Mound

7 p.m. — Class 6A Division 2

No. 1 Austin Westlake vs. No. 6 Lancaster

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Cody Thorn
CODY THORN

Cody Thorn is a veteran journalist who covers high school sports across the state of Texas and Missouri. He is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has covered sports and news since 1999.

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