There’s a first time for everything, including on your first state tournament appearance.
Cedar Park took off to a strong start in the first quarter and never looked back in a 46-39 victory over Frisco Liberty to claim their first state title in program history.
“It’s huge for our program and community.” Cedar Park head coach Donny Ott said. “I got three of the greatest seniors ever that led this charge. The moment with these kids, I just want to soak it up with them.”
Liberty never gave up the fight, as they used a 11-2 run in the fourth to cut the deficit down to one with 3:40 left in the game.
“We knew they were really good,” Frisco Liberty head coach Ross Reedy said. “It’s tough to get a full grasp on how good they were going to be. We’re used to being in close games and like to be in close games. The lead got a bit too far away from us. The two times we cut it to one, we had uncharacteristic busts.”
Cedar Park responded with a 6-0 run engineered by Gisella Maul, who won the Most Valuable Player award, and Shelby Hayes, who finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, shot four-of-five from the field and recorded two assists.
The strong start also was key for the Lady Timberwolves as they took off to a 7-0 start in the first three minutes of the game.
After a Journee Chambers basket in the second, Cedar Park extended their lead once again with a 6-0 run powered by Hayes, Maul and Sarai Estupian to give a 16-6 lead with two minutes left in the half.
With a 19-9 lead at the halftime break, Liberty found ways to cut the deficit with the scoring hand of Maya Jain, Jazzy Owens-Barnett and Lily Ziemkiewicz to bring the Lady Redhawks within five with 5:30 to play.
The Lady Timberwolves had their response with the duo of Hayes and Maul to extend their lead to 26-18 with 4:37 left as the two teams traded baskets with Cedar Park leading 28-23 after three quarters as Cedar Park fought off the Liberty comeback in the fourth.
“We expected it to be this way,” Ott said. “We had no doubt that it was going to be tough and we knew that they were going to try to dictate the tempo and make us play their style. We were slowing down too much. We could at least push and made them get back, even if we didn’t get a transition score.
Once we settled in, I thought the third and fourth quarter was a lot better. We got out of the full court [press] because I felt like we could defend them in the half court well if we got matched up. We just never waivered when it came down to crunch time and that’s what I’m most proud about.”
For Liberty, Owens-Barnett and Chambers led the team respectively in scoring, tallying 10 points. Jain added eight.
