Cedar Park falls to No. 1 Mansfield Timberview
SAN ANTONIO – Cedar Park fought valiantly but in vain in Thursday night’s 67-45 loss to top-seeded Mansfield Timberview in the Class 5A semifinals of the state basketball tournament at the Alamodome.
The Timberwolves (27-12) were making their third state tournament appearance in four years but were matched against the state’s No. 1 team, which had won 37 straight games. Cedar Park showed its nerves in the first half, trailing 34-13 at the break, but played the Red Hawks even in the second half with only a 33-32 deficit over the final two periods. Cedar Park’s Kennedy Carlyle capped her high school career with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting and added five rebounds. Mariah Davis finished with 10 points and Hope Edwards with eight.
Timberview’s decisive 51-29 rebounding edge proved the difference. The Red Hawks were led in scoring by Kamryn Wilson and Brooklyn Terry, with 13 points each. Tamiya Mims scored all 11 of her points in the first half as Timberview substituted freely in the second.
Cedar Park led the heavily favored Red Hawks early at 5-4, and the game was tied at 7-7 with 3 minutes, 39 seconds left in the opening period, but Timberview
(40-1) found its tempo, enjoyed the big rebounding advantage and used tenacious defensive pressure to force poor shot selections. Timbeview led 15-9 after the first period and opened the second with a 10-0 scoring run. The Red Hawks held a 19-4 advantage in the second period.
Timberview, No. 12 nationally, will face defending 5A state champion Frisco Liberty (33-7) in Saturday’s championship game. Liberty beat Richmond Randle 66-37 in Thursday’s first semifinal. This is Liberty’s fourth final four appearance in the past five years. Timberview won state in 2020, lost in the regional finals in 2021 and finished as state runner-up to Cedar Park in 2022.