The DeSoto Lady Eagles defeated South Grand Prairie 40-23 in the UIL 6A Girls Basketball Championship Game on Saturday, March 5. Their opponents, the Warriors, took the loss in front of a crowd of 3,689 onlookers in San Antonio’s Alamodome.
This marks the second consecutive state title win for DeSoto, cementing the team’s legacy as a dynasty. It was also the Lady Eagles’ third appearance in the championship game in the last four years.
DeSoto (35-2) was beyond impressive this season with a perfect district record (14-0) and only two losses the entire season. Their roster was riddled with talent, including seven Division I college prospects: LSU signee Sa’Myah Smith, Kansas State signees Ja’Mia Harris and Michayla Gatewood, Kentucky signee Tionna Herron, Texas signee Amina Muhammad, SMU signee Jiya Perry, and Mississippi signee Ayanna Thompson.
The Lady Eagles’ win came in the face of adversity, as Gatewood was out for the title game due to a season-ending knee injury suffered earlier this season. Over the last two years, Smith and Harris also suffered season-ending injuries while the team played through the pandemic.
“It’s been a hard journey to get here. People will talk about this team for the rest of our lives,” said head coach Andrea Robinson following the victory.
“I told them about this game, and what we wanted to accomplish, [which] was to leave a legacy,” said Robinson. “These girls brought the first championship; now [they are] bringing back-to-back [championships], and it’s an amazing accomplishment.”
DeSoto secured the win behind a phenomenal defensive performance, with the Lady Eagles allowing the Warriors to make just 9-of-37 (24.3%) shot attempts. The 23 points Grand Prairie managed tied for the fifth-fewest points ever allowed in a 6A UIL state tournament game, falling seven points short of the record.
Harris, who missed last year’s state title game with a knee injury, led DeSoto with 16 points, making 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. She was named the game’s MVP.
“Last year I was just happy to win it with my teammates, and I wasn’t really sad that I was on the bench. I was just excited for them,” Harris said. “Winning it this year again, while I was on the floor, and MVP, it feels great.”
DeSoto is the first back-to-back state champion in the 6A division since Duncanville accomplished the feat in 2016 and 2017. Overall, it is the sixth time the 6A state champion has come from the Dallas area in the past seven years.
All seven Division I signees in DeSoto’s senior class finished their four-year careers with a record of 128-14, including 22-2 in the playoffs. The state title is Robinson’s fourth as a head coach, after leading Fort Worth Dunbar to championship victories in 2005 and 2007.
Though all of the DeSoto’s big-name prospects are graduating and moving on to the next chapter of their basketball careers, Robinson’s wealth of knowledge and experience in building championship teams should lead to continued greatness out of the Lady Eagles basketball program for years to come.
