High School

MVP Elder leads No. 1 Dallas Lincoln past Cuero to win Texas UIL girls 4A-I state championship; live updates, recap

Dallas Lincoln wins fourth state championship in girls program history

Levi Payton

The No. 1 Dallas Lincoln girls get set to take on No. 11 Cuero
The No. 1 Dallas Lincoln girls get set to take on No. 11 Cuero / SBLive Sports

In its first tournament appearance, Cuero's girls have a chance to make history today.

To get that done, they’ll have to go through the buzzsaw that is No. 1 Dallas Lincoln. They'll get their shot when the Class 4A Division II state championship tips off at 5 p.m. inside the Alamodome in San Antonio.

At 33-6, Cuero – ranked No. 11 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) has been on a bit of a Cinderella run. After losing for the last time, 43-36 to Poth on Dec. 10, the Lady Gobblers have now won 15 straight.

Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers (38-6) are making their 17th appearance in the state tournament. They suffered both of their losses in back-to-back games to Alpharetta St. Francis (56-47) and Frisco Liberty (43-41) on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, respectively, and haven’t lost since.

They are led by a pair of underclassmen in 5-foot-8 junior combo guard Ar’jayla Elder and 5-10 freshman standout Lanae Dallas. In 38 games this season, Elder is tops on the team, averaging 13.7 points per game. Dallas, meanwhile, is second on the team averaging 11.7 points per game across 36 appearances.

A deep team that has seen 11 players contribute productive minutes, seniors Grace Spencer and Tanna Saddler average 9.0 and 7.6 points per game, respectively, while sophomore Jada Patterson chips in 8.7 points per game.

The Lady Gobblers are led by a pair of seniors in Arissa Carbonara and Aubrey Bowles. Carbonara (6-foot-1 Post/Forward) has averaged a double double over 32 games with 17.1 points per game and 11.5 rebounds along with 2.5 assists, 4.4 steals and 2.6 blocks entering today’s final, while Bowles (6-4 Post) has averaged 14.6 points, 9.8 boards, 2.9 steals and 3.3 blocks over 35 games.

Another senior, Mauryana Dasilva (5-3) runs the point for the Lady Gobblers where she averages 8.3 points and 3.6 steals per game.

As a team, the Lady Gobblers have scored 1,967 points this season while surrendering 1,210. Lincoln has scored 2,260 points and allowed 1,131.

Follow along below for live updates as they happen and today's recap. You can also follow along on NFHS Network.

No. 1 Dallas Lincoln vs. No. 11 Cuero; Texas UIL girls basketball 4A-I state championship; live updates, recap

Starting lineups for today's game:

Cuero: Kaitlyn Comiskey, Jaydie Cooper, Mauryana Dasilva, Aubrey Bowles, Arissa Carbonara

Dallas Lincoln: Ar’jayla Elder, Lanae Dallas, Jada Patterson, Grace Spencer, T’anna Saddler

FIRST PERIOD

Freshman Lanae Dallas steals it and gets it up court to Ar'jayla Elder for the layup. Lincoln takes the first lead, 2-0.

Elder drains a 3-pointer off another assist from Dallas to make it 7-2. Elder has all seven of Lincoln's points so far.

Grace Spencer gets a steal and takes it the length of the floor to give Lincoln a 9-4 lead with 3:58 left in the first period. Cuero calls a timeout.

Lanae Dallas makes a tremendous shot while being fouled. She makes the bucket, misses the free throw and Lincoln leads 13-4 with 2:41. Cuero immediately follows with its sixth turnover of the game already.

At the end of the first quarter, Lincoln leads Cuero 15-8.

Lincoln is just swarming Cuero. Despite having only two seniors, the Lady Tigers looked ready from the opening tip, and their defense is swarming the Lady Gobblers.

SECOND PERIOD

Elder drains a 3-pointer to open the second period and Spencer follows with a bucket of her own and Lincoln leads Cuero 20-8 with 6:55 left in the half. Elder has 10 points.

Elder pulls down a rebound and scores again. She's perfect from the field, hitting all six of her shots for 12 points.

Lincoln's defense continues to be very tough. They're relentless so far. Cuero is now putting up some wild shots just to get shots off.

Timeout with 4:19 left in the first half. Lincoln leads Cuero, 22-8.

Saddler hits a long 3-poitner for Lincoln and the lead is 25-8 with 3:16 left in the half.

Lanae Dallas scores with some flare on a highlight-reel layup and Lincoln extends it to 27-8 with 2:24 left.

Dallas takes on contact and scores another tough, contested layup before Elder scores off another assist by Dallas. It's 31-10, Lincoln, with 57 seconds left in the half.

Halftime: Dallas Lincoln 31, Cuero 11

Halftime notes: Elder is the halftime MVP as she's got 14 points and four rebounds at the break. ... Lanae Dallas and Grace Spencer have six points apiece for the Lady Tigers, while Spencer also has five rebounds and two assists, and Dallas has three assists. ... Jada Patterson has four points, four rebounds and three assists for the Lady Tigers. ... Arissa Carbonara leads Cuero with seven points, five rebounds and two assists, while teammate Aubrey Bowles has three blocks.

THIRD PERIOD

The second half starts fast as both teams trade buckets in fast-paced action. Lincoln leads 37-17 with 4:53 left in the third period.

Elder scores again. She's got 16 now and Dallas Lincoln leads 39-17. Timeout with 4:34 left in the third.

Lanae Dallas is taking over here in the second half. The freshman scores on another layup off a steal and a sweet play at the basket. She has 10 points and Lincoln leads 41-17.

Dallas scores again. I think she's gunning for MVP. She's got 12 points.

Carbonara is working on a double double for Cuero. She has nine points and seven boards.

Carbonara hits a pair of free throws and now has 11 points. She's three boards shy of a double double.

At the end of the third period, Dallas Lincoln leads Cuero 41-27.

FOURTH PERIOD

The Lady Gobblers could use some 3-pointers right now, but they've yet to make one of the two they've attempted.

Dasilva scores three for Cuero, but Elder drains a 3-pointer for Lincoln to make it 50-24 with 5 minutes to go. Elder has 19 points.

Lanae Dallas checks back into the game and immediately drains a trey. She now has 15 points. The race for MVP is on between the freshman and junior Elder.

Carbonara gets a rebound and now has a double double in her final high school game. She now has 13 points and 10 boards.

Dallas Lincoln has checked out all of its starters leading 58-29 with 2 minutes left.

Final: Dallas Lincoln 60, Cuero 32

The Dallas Lincoln Lady Tigers claimed their fourth state championship in program history, as three players finished in double figures in the historic victory. Ar'jayla Elder was named finals MVP after leading all scorers with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists, while freshman sensation Lanae Dallas followed with 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

Grace Spencer had 12 points and nine boards in the win.

Cuero was led by 6-2 senior Arissa Carbonara, who finished with 15 points, 12 boards and three assists in her swan song.

Leading after one quarter, the Lady Tigers took charge with a 16-3 run in the second quarter and never looked back. Cuero turned the ball over 25 times and Lincoln outscored the Lady Gobblers 26-6 off turnovers and 23-1 off fastbreak points.

Lincoln also dominated in the paint - outscoring the Lady Gobblers 40-20 near the basket.

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

Levi’s sports journalism career began in 2005. A Missouri native, he’s won multiple Press Association awards for feature writing and has served as a writer and editor covering high school sports as well as working beats in professional baseball, NCAA football, basketball, baseball and soccer. If you have a good story, he’d love to tell it.

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