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No. 1 DeSoto takes “Legacy Tour” to state tourney after win over Duncanville in 6A Area II ultimate

February 26, 2022

Because the DeSoto ladies basketball group tries to win a second straight Class 6A state championship, it has dubbed this playoff run as its Legacy Tour.

Gamers even wore shirts with these phrases on the again Saturday as they warmed up for a matchup of nationally ranked groups at Ellis Davis Subject Home. It’s a strategy to remind the nation’s No. 2-ranked group {that a} group of six Division I signees has an opportunity to depart its mark as the best senior class to ever come by DeSoto.

With four-star LSU signee Sa’Myah Smith flirting with a triple-double, DeSoto overcame a gradual begin and added one other regional title to its legacy by beating 11-time state champion Duncanville 60-47 within the Class 6A Area II ultimate at Ellis Davis Subject Home. It was DeSoto’s twelfth consecutive playoff win — all by double digits — and it put DeSoto within the UIL state event for the third time in 4 years.

DeSoto, ranked No. 1 within the state, shall be joined on the state event by No. 2 Humble Summer season Creek, No. 3 San Antonio Clark and No. 5 South Grand Prairie. The state semifinal pairings shall be introduced by the UIL on Sunday.

“We discuss to them quite a bit about leaving a legacy right here at DeSoto,” coach Andrea Robinson stated. “These girls introduced DeSoto its first state championship, and we’re actually working laborious for them to deliver a second, to go back-to-back.”

DeSoto’s dynasty might need by no means occurred if Robinson hadn’t had a last-minute change of coronary heart in 2018. That 12 months, Robinson was launched as Fort Price Brewer’s new ladies basketball coach at a press convention, however she then backed out of that job and determined to remain at DeSoto, which to that time had made solely made one look at state, in 2008.

DeSoto guard Ja'Mia Harris (4) captures a video as she celebrates with teammates following... — DeSoto guard Ja’Mia Harris (4) captures a video as she celebrates with teammates following their 60-48 victory over Duncanville to advance to the state event. The 2 groups performed their Class 6A Area ll ladies championship basketball recreation at Ellis Davis Subject Home in Dallas on February 26, 2022. (Steve Hamm/ Particular Contributor)(Steve Hamm)

Now, DeSoto (33-2) will take an 11-game profitable streak into state and shall be a heavy favourite to turn out to be the primary back-to-back Class 6A state champion since Duncanville in 2016 and 2017. The final 3 times that DeSoto and Duncanville met within the playoffs, the winner went on to win a state championship.

DeSoto has gained six in a row in opposition to a Duncanville group that got here into the sport ranked No. 16 within the nation by ESPN, and that features victories in back-to-back regional finals. That was after Duncanville dominated the collection from 2012 to 2020, profitable 18 of 19 matchups, together with wins by 41, 34, 50 and 29 factors.

However beating Duncanville for a 3rd time this season wasn’t simple. Smith, rated the 58th-best participant within the nation within the Class of 2022 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz, didn’t rating within the first quarter as DeSoto fell behind 16-8.

“For no matter cause, after we play Duncanville, we’re making an attempt to win it proper there. We come out and attempt to win it immediately, somewhat than taking every quarter and every possession at a time,” Robinson stated.

Was Smith fearful that her highschool profession is perhaps coming to an finish?

“In no way,” she stated. “We’ve been down by extra earlier than, even within the state recreation.”

DeSoto fell behind by 11 within the second quarter in final 12 months’s state ultimate earlier than rallying to beat nationally ranked and then-undefeated Cypress Creek 53-37, closing the sport on a 45-18 run. Smith, a 6-4 ahead recognized for her intimidating presence within the paint on each offense and protection, didn’t panic Saturday and began the second quarter by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers as DeSoto outscored Duncanville 20-4 within the quarter to take a 28-20 lead into halftime.

Smith completed with 17 factors to go together with 11 rebounds and 6 blocked photographs. Mississippi signee Ayanna Thompson scored 12 factors off the bench, Kansas State signee Ja’Mia Harris scored 10 and Texas signee Amina Muhammad completed with 9 factors.

“Our coach, she yelled at us [after the first quarter],” Muhammad stated. “She instructed us to go more durable. She is actually encouraging when she yells at us.”

Duncanville (34-7) closed to inside 33-29 within the third quarter, however DeSoto responded with a 14-4 run to grab management, a spurt that included 5 factors from SMU signee Jiya Perry. DeSoto did that in opposition to a Duncanville group that has made 26 appearances on the state event, which is third-most in UIL historical past behind Nazareth and Canyon.