(San Antonio, Texas)-In the University Interscholastic League’s Class 5A Division II Girls Basketball Championships at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Lubbock Monterey (36-5) was unstoppable in the first quarter with block shots by junior 6’3 center Johnson Ari and drives to the basket by the Nation’s No.1 college recruit, Aaliyah Chavez (5’11) as they built a 17-11 lead and never looked back as they defeated Liberty Hill 64-35.
Lady Plainsman head coach, Jill Schneider led her team to the its second state title in school history and their first state appearance since 1990, sixth overall (1978, 80, 81*,85, 90, 2025). “This title is for Aaliyah Chavez. She wanted this bad. She’s our MVP,” said Schneider. “Today, we are Lady Plainsman State 5A DII UIL Champions.”
In the second quarter, the Lady Plainsman just kept pulling away as they built its biggest lead of the morning, leading 27-13 with 3:02 left in the half. Chavez made another steal, finding teammate Natalie Sanchez open and was fouled. Liberty Hill was making its seventh appearance ( 1996, 2004, 12, 15, 16, 17, 25) as Lady Panthers head coach, Chris Lange was forced to call timeout and regrouped with his team.
In the second half, the Lady Plainsman built its biggest lead to 40-15 over Liberty Hill. Chavez will be a name that the Lady Panthers will not forget on this day as the senior led her team with amazing passes and drives to the basketball. Teammate Ambrosie Cole added some dazzle with her three-point shot, swooshing the nets to give the Lady Plainsman a 43-20 lead with 3:09 left in the third quarter. Still, the Lady Panthers, with their “never-say-die” spirit went on a 7-0 scoring spurt to trail 43-27. A timeout by the Lady Plainsman paid off with two back-to-back three pointers to lead 49-27. Chavez was named the UIL MVP leading all scorers with 19 points, six assists, and seven rebounds. Teammates Ambrosie Cole scored 16 points and Ari added another 12 points and nine rebounds. (HSSMImages)
