Martin’s Mill’s quest for 3-peat falls short against Lipan

Published 9:11 pm Thursday, March 5, 2026

SAN ANTONIO — Martin’s Mill went more than 10 minutes without a field goal as it fell to Lipan 42-35 in the Class 2A Division 2 state championship game Thursday night at the Alamodome.

The Lady Mustangs had won two consecutive state championships, and their junior class entered the game undefeated in the postseason.

Lipan led 8-7 at the end of the first quarter.

A 3-pointer by Brilen Butcher with 4:21 left in the second quarter tied the score at 12. With the Lady Mustangs down 14-12, Kara Nixon converted a three-point play to take a 15-14 lead with 2:11 remaining in the half. Lipan responded with a 7-0 run. After a McKenna Wise three cut the score to 21-18 with 38 seconds on the clock, Lipan’s Kynzi Callaway knocked in a triple to give Lipan a 24-18 lead at halftime.

Martin’s Mill went without a field goal in the third quarter. Wise was fouled with less than a second remaining and made both free throws to cut the lead to 30-20 heading into the fourth quarter. The Lady Mustangs were 0 of 9 from the field in the third quarter.

Martin’s Mill broke its field goal slump with a 3-pointer by Teely Salazar with 5:59 remaining to trim the score to 33-24.

The Lady Mustangs trailed 38-24 with 2:48 to play but attempted to rally. A 9-0 run capped by a Nixon three made the score 38-33 with 31 seconds left. After two free throws by Sydni Gaylor for Lipan, Martin’s Mill made the score 40-35 with a layup by Alli Vaughan with 19 seconds on the clock. Gaylor made two more free throws to seal the victory.

“It was not our best night,” Martin’s Mill head girls basketball Jay Bruce said. “We couldn’t get anything going early on. I felt like we were pressing. We came out a little tight. The third quarter was rough. They’re a good team. We can’t do that and get away with it. We didn’t do the things we normally feel like we can do.”

It was the fourth state championship for Lipan — first since 2023.

Gaylor led Lipan (35-5) with 23 points and she had eight rebounds. Callaway had 7 points and 11 rebounds, and Skylar Harrison added 7 points.

Nixon led Martin’s Mill (30-6) with 17 points. Salazar had 7, Wise 6, Butcher 3 and Vaughan 2. Wise grabbed nine rebounds.

Lipan was 14 of 46 (30.4 percent) from the field, 3 of 15 (20 percent) from 3-point range and 11 of 19 (57.9 percent) from the free-throw line. Martin’s Mill was 12 of 45 (26.7 percent) from the field, 5 of 15 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range and 6 of 8 (75 percent) from the free-throw line.

Lipan won the rebounding advantage 42-29.

It was the final high school game for Vaughan. All other Lady Mustangs will be back next year with four juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen on the roster.