For the second consecutive year, the Eula Lady Pirates played until the final day of the Texas girls high school basketball season, but came up just short of the sport’s ultimate prize – an elusive state championship.
Eula battled the Broaddus Lady Bulldogs in the Class 1A Division I UIL Girls Basketball State Championship for the second straight season, trading blows and big runs throughout a back-and-forth state title game.
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The Lady Pirates, however, couldn’t keep up with the Lady Bulldogs or match their offensive firepower, as Broaddus outlasted Eula for a 52-42 win in the 1A DI UIL Girls Basketball State Championship game Thursday afternoon at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
The victory lifted Broaddus to 36-5 overall this season and represents back-to-back 1A DI state championships for the Lady Bulldogs, who defeated Eula 56-39 in last year’s state title game.
The loss ends Eula’s season at 36-3 overall.
After a sluggish start, during a mostly defensive first quarter, the Lady Pirates reeled off a 10-0 thanks to a pair of buckets by senior Emma Damron and two 3-pointers knocked down by senior Kamryn Franklin that gave Eula a 10-4 edge 5 minutes into the first half.
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Eula’s defensive intensity also showed in the early going, as the Lady Pirates held Broaddus without a made shot from the floor for more than 5 minutes to close out the first quarter with a narrow 10-8 advantage.
The Lady Bulldogs started to open up their lead during the second quarter and closed out the first half on a 16-8 run that gave Broaddus a 6-point lead heading to halftime.
Broaddus broadened its lead again throughout the third quarter thanks to their strong interior defense and opportunistic offense.
Despite the Lady Pirates’ advantage from the 3-point line (Eula made seven of 21 shots from deep), and a relatively even battle on the boards, the Lady Bulldogs racked up 12 fast-break points and 20 points in the paint as they controlled the paint and dictated the tempo throughout the second half.
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Broaddus also boasted a 15-of-29 mark from the free-throw line compared to Eula’s 4-of-11 free throw shooting clip.
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Eula was able to cut Broaddus’ second-half lead to as few as five points early in the third quarter.
Broaddus junior point guard was voted MVP of the 1A DI UIL Girls Basketball State Championship game after accounting for 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals.
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The Lady Bulldogs also got big games from junior forward Kaeli Yarbrough and junior guard Kaylynn Quinney.
Yarbrough posted nine points, three rebounds and one steal, while Mitchell recorded a game-high 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting with five rebounds and two assists.
Damron led Eula offensively with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting with eight rebounds, three steals and one assist.
Damron’s fellow seniors Franklin and Addison Goodman also made major impacts on the court for the Lady Pirates.
Franklin tallied nine points on 3-of-6 3-point shooting with one rebound, while Goodman added six points, three assists and two rebounds for Eula.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Broaddus outlasts Eula in 1ADI UIL Girls Basketball State Championship
