News articles Smiley shopping programs

Katy Taylor's Jada Roberts, left, and Amira Jenkins, right, trap Cy-Fair guard Cassie Peoples.

When Katy Taylor started letting Cy-Fair chip away at its sizeable lead on Thursday night, Mustangs senior Amanda Jungwirth knew her team needed to relax.

The Mustangs had dominated for nearly three quarters before the defending Class 5A champion Bobcats made their run. But despite the attempted comeback, Katy Taylor calmed down, regained control and won 79-59 at Coleman Coliseum to advance to the Region III semifinals.

The Mustangs (32-6)will face Cypress Falls at 6 p.m. Tuesday night at the Berry Center.

“The last two years in a row, we have lost in the second round,” Jungwirth said. “I was not going to let us do that again. We had to just quit letting our emotions take over and calm down and play.”

The Mustangs took a 14-4 lead within the first 3 minutes of the game and were up 26-11 by the end of the first quarter. Jungwirth had 11 of her game-high 28 points in the period.

“I thought jumping out ahead early on a team like Cy-Fair made a big difference,” Katy Taylor coach Carlos Villafone said. “They have a lot of experience and great players, so we needed to get going right away.”

Rebounding did the trick, as offensive boards and second-chance points gave the Mustangs the early cushion.

But Cy-Fair (21-11) wasn’t done. The Bobcats put together a 12-0 run that spanned the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth, getting a 23-point deficit down to nine.

After a timeout with just over 6 minutes to play, the Mustangs went on a 12-0 run to secure the win.

Cy-Fair was led by 22 points from senior McDonald’s All-American guard Cassie Peoples. The Bobcats had been to the state tournament the last four years and won two titles.

“We knew at some point the tides would change, they had to,” Cy-Fair coach Ann Roubique said.