SAN ANTONIO — Ross Reedy isn’t one for hyperbole, especially when it comes to Jacy Abii. The Frisco Liberty coach was being completely serious when he said recently that his five-star sophomore has the capability to be the best female basketball player in the world someday.
It may be awhile before Abii reaches the level of WNBA superstars Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu and NCAA phenoms Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, but the state’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2026 certainly looked like the best high school player in America on Saturday.
After flirting with a triple-double in Thursday’s state semifinal, the 6-2 Abii took over the game in the second half and finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and four assists as Liberty rallied from 12 down in the third quarter for a 60-51 win over state No. 1 Mansfield Timberview in the Class 5A state championship game at the Alamodome. With its 18th consecutive win, Liberty (34-7) cemented its status as a dynasty by winning its second straight state title and its third championship in five years.
This was against a Timberview team that had won 37 in a row, was ranked No. 12 in the nation and that was allowing just 35.3 points per game. And it came after Abii scored just three points in a 21-point loss to Timberview in November.
“You need big-time players to take over in big-time moments, and she certainly did that,” Reedy said. “To see her poise and competitive spirit, it was absolutely special.”
Abii scored 18 points in the second half despite playing the entire half with three fouls. She was named the game’s MVP after shooting 11-for-21 from the field and making four 3-pointers.
“This game meant so much to me,” said Abii, who has averaged 20.3 points while going 4-0 in state tournament games in her career. “I just wanted to get the ring for my team and get it for me.
“At first I was stressed out [about the foul trouble]. But I just had to focus on the game and just getting my teammates good looks.”
Frisco Liberty beats Mansfield Timberview 60-51 in 5A state final to win its second straight state title and its third championship in five years.
— Greg Riddle (@DMNGregRiddle) March 2, 2024
Jacy Abii had 30 points and 12 rebounds.@SportsDayHS @Friscoisdsports @friscoisd @MISDathletics @Tabchoops pic.twitter.com/whGPUWAUXF
Abii is immune to pressure, as she scored all six of Liberty’s points in the final two minutes — including the game-clinching layup with 25 seconds left — in last season’s state championship game, a 57-52 victory over Lubbock Cooper. Rated the ninth-best player in the country, Abii was even better Saturday and had eight points during a game-closing 21-4 run.
Timberview (40-2) led 34-22 early in the third quarter and still had an eight-point lead at 47-39 with less than two minutes left in the quarter. But a layup by Judith Aluga — “Playoff Judy” as she is called by her teammates — started a 17-1 run that gave Liberty a 56-48 lead after a 3-pointer by Stephen F. Austin signee Keyera Roseby with 3:27 left in the fourth quarter.
Timberview was outscored 16-4 in the fourth quarter and shot 1-for-20 from the field in the quarter. Timberview was seeking its second state title — and first since 2010 — and it fell short in its bid to become just the seventh girls basketball state champion with more than 40 wins in UIL history.
“This is the best team we’ve ever had,” Timberview coach Kit Kyle Martin said. “We’re crushed. Our hearts are broken. You’ve got to give credit to Frisco Liberty. They played a great game, especially in the second half. They are so big and long at the top of that press. It gave us some trouble.”
Junior guard Aziyah Farrier, a transfer from Mount Pleasant who didn’t join the Liberty basketball team until November after finishing her volleyball season, scored 16 points and was 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Farrier scored 13 points in the second half while making all five of her shots.
Liberty committed 19 turnovers, and Timberview had a 27-2 advantage in points off turnovers. But Liberty made up for it by shooting 50% from the field and making nine 3-pointers against an opponent that Reedy said was the best team Liberty has faced in its six trips to the state tournament.
Timberview got 23 points from Drexel pledge Emilee Jones, and Chrishawn Coleman added 17 points, five rebounds and four steals. Coleman, one of nine seniors on Timberview’s roster, played with a strained Achilles tendon that forced her to sit out the second half of Thursday’s semifinal win.
“Chrishawn Coleman played like a beast,” Martin said. “She was questionable from the trainer’s standpoint. We wanted to watch her warm up. There is no give-up in this kid.”
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