Cedar Park is Austin area's lone team at UIL girls state basketball tournament
Cedar Park will make its third trip to the UIL girls state basketball tournament in the last four years, but the Timberwolves will face top-seeded Mansfield Timberview in Thursday night's Class 5A state semifinals in San Antonio.
Timberview (39-1) has won 36 straight games, its lone loss to defending Class 6A state champion San Antonio Clark. The Wolves followed that loss by beating Westlake, Clark, Waco La Vega and South Grand Prairie over the following week; La Vega and South Grand Prairie also are in this year's state tournament.
Cedar Park beat district rival Glenn 45-44 in overtime Saturday to earn its trip to state. The Timberwolves won back-to-back state titles in 2021 and 2022 under former coach Donny Ott, who has led Humble Summer Creek to this year's Class 6A state tournament.
“I am so unbelievably proud of this team and their accomplishment by winning this weekend,” said Cedar Park head coach Kami Williamson, who's in her first season. "They had a mindset and vision of what they wanted for this game and for this season. They stayed tough in the challenging moments and relied on their trust and belief in each other to battle back and win against a very talented Glenn team and punch our ticket to the state tournament.“
Cedar Park guard Hope Edwards scored 19 points, including a 3-point shot in the waning moments of regulation to tie the game 42-42 and force overtime. It was the second win in three tries for Cedar Park (27-11) against Glenn. Kennedy Carlyle added nine points and eight rebounds. Glenn was led by Soma Okolo's 19 points and Mariah Houston's 13.
Westlake falls: The defensive-minded Chaparrals fell 55-40 to San Antonio Brennan in the regional semifinals, their best finish in two decades. Gianna Angiolet scored 16 points and had six rebounds.
Hendrickson comes up short: Hendrickson capped a challenging season with a strong regionals performance, its fourth straight as a Class 5A program after making back-to-back regional trips in 6A. The Hawks fell to Richmond Randel 59-55 in the regional semifinals.
Girls state tournament
Thursday-Saturday, Alamodome, San Antonio
Thursday — Class A: Newcastle vs. Westbrook, 8:30 a.m.; Turkey Valley vs. Neches, 10 a.m.; Class 3A: Huntington vs. Columbus, 1:30 p.m.; Rains vs. Shallowater, 3 p.m.; Class 5A: Frisco Liberty vs. Richmond Randle, 7 p.m.; Mansfield Timberview vs. Cedar Park, 8:30 p.m.
Friday — Class 2A: Goldthwaite vs. Martin's Mill, 8:30 a.m.; Nocona vs. Wellington, 10 a.m.; Class 4A: Dallas Lincoln vs. Waco La Vega, 1:30 p.m.; Boerne vs. Canyon, 3 p.m.; Class 6A: Humble Summer Creek vs. Duncanville, 7 p.m.; South Grand Prairie vs. San Antonio Brennan, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday's finals — Class A, 8:30 a.m.; Class 3A, 10 a.m.; Class 2A, 1:30 p.m.; Class 5A, 3 p.m.; Class 4A, 7 p.m.; Class 6A, 8:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Cedar Park girls basketball advances to UIL state tournament
