Perfect endings loom down playoff road
Cy Creek, Dulles, Kingwood Park enter unbeaten
The rare chance to go undefeated is at stake for three Houston-area teams as the UIL girls basketball playoffs tip off Thursday.
Class 6A’s Cypress Creek (26-0) and Dulles (22-0) and 5A’s Kingwood Park (24-0) are attempting to do what no one from the Houston area has done since the UIL starting sponsoring girls basketball in 1950-51: finish the season with a perfect record.
Many, such as Cypress Creek in 2019-20, have been painstakingly close. The Cougars entered the state championship game 41-0 before falling to Duncanville.
Cypress Woods’ 2014-15 championship team suffered only one defeat, losing in the regular season to North Shore by three. Brianna Turner and Manvel’s 2013-14 title team had two losses. Cy-Fair’s title teams in 2007-08 and 2009-10 had one and two losses, respectively.
Angleton’s 1972-73 championship came with just one loss, too.
For now, Cypress Creek, Dulles and Kingwood Park see only the bi-district round in front of them.
This year has brought uncharted territory for Kingwood Park, which is an outright district champion for the first time. With a pair of standouts in the paint in Biva Byrd and Savannah Wilson, floor leader Aliyah Bustamante, and Amenda Yechem, who “enjoys playing defense,” the Panthers rely on balance.
Kingwood Park shares a region with Kaiya Wynnled Foster and 16-0 Beaumont United, among others. It’s one reason Panthers coach LeighAnn Wolfe isn’t dreaming of a flawless season just yet.
“I think we’ve got one of the toughest regions in the state,” Wolfe said. “There’s us in there. There’s College Station in there, the Austin schools, Beaumont United. We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us. We don’t want to look too far ahead. We just want to take care of business this Friday, and then we’ll prepare for the next one.”
Dulles’ season has kindled memories of when Kelsey Bone roamed the court in the late 2000s. These days, Nya Threatt leads the Vikings.
Dulles coach Jay Simon calls Threatt “the real deal.” The senior guard is averaging 20 points and five steals this year.
Dulles has been to four state semifinals, with the last coming in 2001-02. To get there this season, Dulles and a host of other teams likely must go through 6A Region III’s only known commodity. Cypress Creek, anchored again by a dynamic backcourt in University of Texas commitments Kyndall Hunter and Rori Harmon, is looking for a third trip to the state tournament in four seasons.
Cypress Creek enters the playoffs as the topranked 6A team in the state, according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll.
The program has won at an amazing clip the last four years. Cypress Creek coach Jennifer Alexander said much of what her current group achieved this year was already knocked off the checklist during a strong run over the last four seasons. These Cougars are motivated by what they don’t have yet.
“We’re like a family, and the kids, they just want to win it for each other,” Alexander said. “It’s really just for the girl right next to them, the coach that helps lead them. I think that’s what really motivates and drives them every day. Because they all have done something together, this senior class, up to this point. So just to finish it off for the girl standing next to you, the woman next to you, I think really motivates them every day.”