Manvel girls’ comeback nets first state title
AUSTIN — Since his team lifted the regional championship trophy, Manvel coach Bryan Harris said the pressure was off his Mavericks.
They were the Houston area’s best team all season and did what they were supposed to do — dominate their opponents and win the Region III-5A title.
Manvel also was the state’s second-ranked team behind two-time defending champion Duncanville. The pressure was on the Pantherettes, according to Harris and the Mavericks. Duncanville was supposed to win Saturday night’s Class 5A champi- onship game at the Erwin Center.
Instead, Manvel knocked off the top-ranked powerhouse 58-53, overcoming a shaky start to pull away in the fourth quarter as early foul trouble caught up to Duncanville.
“We wanted it so bad, and
I tell them all the time, ‘Guys, it doesn’t matter how good you are, it’s how bad you want it,’ ” Harris said. “You could see when Duncanville was playing that they had this ‘want to.’ Well, we found it, too, and that’s really special.”
Manvel (38-2) avenged an earlier loss to Duncanville — the Mavericks squandered a double-digit lead at the McDonald’s Texas Invitational in November. It also ended Duncanville’s 105-game winning streak, one that dated to the 2011-12 season and included three victories over Houston-area teams at state.
“We didn’t hang our heads after that (November) game,” junior Jordan Hosey said. “We used that as motivation throughout the whole season and throughout the playoffs.”
It’s the Houston area’s first UIL state title since Cy-Fair won the 5A crown in 2010.
“We knew what it was going to take to win this game,” said senior Rangie Bessard, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. “Everybody doubted us, but that motivated us even more.”
Duncanville (35-1) had answers for Manvel early on, holding the Mavericks without a field goal for the opening 12 minutes and building a 16-4 lead. But Manvel closed to within four points by halftime and stayed within one possession through the third quarter.
The tables finally turned in the fourth quarter.
Duncanville’s do-it-all star Ariel Atkins fouled out with 3:52 left. Manvel scored the next eight points while Duncanville missed shots on its end and turned the ball over three times.
The Pantherettes led by six points when Atkins fouled out, but the lead was cut in half a minute later and a Brianna Turner layup put Manvel up 52-51 with 1:50 left. The Mavericks outscored Duncanville 14-2 in the final 3:12.
“They played hard; they played with a lot of heart,” Duncanville coach Cathy Self-Morgan said of Manvel. “They knew what to do. It just wasn’t meant to be tonight.”
Turner was named the game’s most valuable player, finishing with 17 points and 17 rebounds. Hosey added 14 points.
Atkins had a gamehigh 24 points, but no other player reached double figures.
“Once Ariel fouled out and a lot of the other players fouled out, we really picked it up,” Turner said. “We hit free throws at the end of the game, and we won it.”