The race in District 13-3A came down to Chapel Hill and Winnsboro for most of the season. The team battled in both of their meetings during the district schedule, but Winnsboro’s play in the post, led by post Faith Acker, made the difference in both meetings.
In order to set up a third meeting and ensure that the regional title would go to a team out of District 13-3A, both teams would have to take care of business against state-ranked competition.
The Lady Devils kicked off the regional tournament, held at Prosper High School, taking on fourth-ranked Pottsboro.
Chapel Hill got off to a fantastic start, jumping out to a 9-0 lead after the first quarter and held off a Lady Cardinal rally in the second half to pick up a 44-39 win.
Chapel Hill led at halftime, 27-9, but Pottsboro battled back, outscoring the Lady Devils in the second half, 30-17 to pull within striking distance. The Lady Devils held on to punch their ticket to the regional final.
Mackenzie Espinosa led Chapel Hill with 20 points. Katie Hart added 13 points. Abigail Thrapp finished with six, Kaylee Tompkins added three and Madison Manning put in two.
Payln Reid led Pottsboro with 13 points. Ava Sims added 11 and Addison Frye finished with seven.
In the second semifinal, Winnsboro pulled away from Gunter in the second half after a tight first half, setting up round three between the district rivals.
The teams finished the first quarter tied, 18-18, as Chapel Hill used their outside shooting to combat Winnsboro’s advantage in the paint. Unfortunately, the iron became unkind for the Lady Devils and the Lady Raiders took advantage of Acker’s size in the paint to set up second chance points as Winnsboro pulled away in the second half, 56-36 to book the school’s 15th trip to the UIL state tournament. Winnsboro scored 31 points in the second half alone.
Espinosa and Thrapp led Chapel Hill with 10 points apiece. Manning and Tompkins both added six and Hart and Keira Hawkins both scored two.
Acker led Winnsboro with 19 points. Kaitlyn McAdoo added nine and Halle Deaton put in eight.
The Lady Devils’ season ends at 29-9 with a final state ranking of 21st. It was the final game for seniors Katie Hart, Hannah Rhea and team manager Madai Galvan.