For the second time in 19 hours, Cypress Creek girls basketball jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, and breezed to a win at the 6A Region III tournament. The Cougars advanced to next week’s UIL State final four with a 57-36 win against Summer Creek. They’re also the third Cy-Fair ISD team to advance to state in the past 12 months, joining Cypress Falls boys basketball and Cy-Fair football.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Cy Creek head coach Jennifer Alexander. “The kids are thrilled, so that makes me the most happy. They’re elated to be in this position.”

Cy Creek scored the game’s first 10 points, and held leads around that margin throughout the game. VYPE Player of the Game Rori Harmon was slowed down by Friday’s injury and Summer Creek’s double-team defense, but broke through with nine of her 13 points in the second half.

“My plan was to make sure we [came] together as a team,” said Harmon. “I was ignoring my injury. We just kept going. We didn’t stop.”

he game played out as she had hoped, with multiple teammates contributing. Kristine Ezimako had a fast start, and finished with 11 points. Jalyn Johnson had a similar second half as Harmon, and shared the game high.

“We had a really fun time during this game,” said Harmon. “We all had a smile on our face.”

The Cougars’ defense also showed up, like it did in the semis. Summer Creek scored 23 less points than it did in Friday’s win against Jersey Village, and its season leader in points scored, Damaya Telemaque, was held scoreless for two-and-a-half quarters.

Cy Creek now turns its attention to next week’s state tournament. Its state semifinal opponent hasn’t been announced yet, but it’ll either be Region I champ Plano, Region II champ Sachse, or Region IV champ Converse Judson. The same goes for Friday’s game time, which will either be at 7pm or 8:30pm at San Antonio’s Alamodome.

“We just have to make sure we keep the intensity we’ve been having for the playoffs,” Harmon said of next week’s plan. “We’re going do our best in everything.”

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