Valley comes up short to Newcastle in UIL 1A state championship

Valley season-long quest of bringing home their first state title in school history came up short as the Lady Patriots fell at the hands of Newcastle 48-32 in the UIL Class 1A state championship game on Saturday morning at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The Lady Patriots, who were playing the state tournament for the first time in 14 years, carried the No. 1-ranking in 1A most of the season end a fantastic year at 37-3 while suffering their first loss since Nov. 7.

“It’s an honor to be here,” Valley head coach Amy Bowles said. “It’s an honor to put Turkey-Quitaque back on the map at the state tournament. We were all thankful for this opportunity and happy we got this chance. We are a tight-knit family and we’re thankful. We had a lot of young kids here watching these girls play and I think it gives them that drive in motivation to get back to where this team took us.”

Newcastle, which finished the season at 34-1, wins its first ever state championship in school history.

In very unfamiliar fashion a solid shooting Valley team struggled from the floor Saturday morning. The Lady Patriots got off to a slow start and never recovered going 13-of-52 (25 percent) from the floor, 2-of-9 from beyond the arc and 4-of-12 at the free-throw line.

The Lady Bobcats had a much different outcome. Newcastle shot 41.7 percent (15-of-36) from the field and were 15-of-18 from the charity stripe. Newcastle also outrebounded Valley 37-27 for the game.

Valley fell behind 13-4 after a rough first quarter. Mattie Dollar found a rhythm early scoring five points to lead the Lady Bobcats. Newcastle was able to carry that lead into halftime up 22-15.

In the second half, Valley made its push cutting the deficit 28-24 with 47 seconds left in the third thanks to a 6-2 run highlighted by a Reese Cruse 3-pointer and layup. However, Newcastle fired right back closing the quarter fastbreak points from Dollar to take a 32-24 into the final frame.

That was the last gasp for the Lady Patriots as Newcastle dominated the last eight minutes to pull away to claim the 1A crown.

Dollar was named the 1A state tournament MVP for Newcastle posting a double-double with 24 points, 11 rebounds with three assists and three steals. Dollar was also a perfect 12-for-12 at the free-throw line.

Cruse led Valley with a team-high 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting with four steals and four rebounds. Trinity Schlueter followed with nine points and 11 boards.

“I feel blessed to be where we’re at,” Bowles said. “It’s hard to find those words after a loss but we play with grit, and we play with heart. We just couldn’t get over the hump against a really good team. But I’m proud of our team and where we are today.”