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SAN ANTONIO — It was a historic night in the Alamodome … one that will forever be remembered in the town of Brownsboro.

Playing in their seventh state tournament in program history and first championship game, the Bearettes captured their first state title with a 50-49 win over Hardin-Jefferson in the Class 4A final on Saturday night.

“We have an unbelievable group of kids who fight for each other,” Brownsboro head coach Jeremy Durham said. “They’ve been playing together since they were tiny. They love each other. They love our town, our school and our community. They’re very easy to coach. And every time we go out, I feel like we’ve got a chance to win against anybody.

“I didn’t know how this stage would be, and it certainly was not too big for them.”

Durham is in his second season at his alma mater and helped lead an already tradition-rich program to new heights.

“I can not put into words what it means to me,” Durham said. “It’s an honor to represent this place. It’s an honor to represent the community and the school and to be from here. And it’s certainly a pretty good place to be right now.”

Senior Paris Miller was 4 of 6 from 3-point range to score a game-high 20 points. Senior Mekhayia Moore finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds to be named the championship game’s Most Valuable Player.

“I’m speechless,” Moore said. “It’s pretty unreal. I didn’t think we would get here and we are. I didn’t think half of the stuff that just happened tonight would happen. But I’m really proud of us and how we handled tonight. Nineteen and 14, yeah, that’s pretty good.”

Hardin-Jefferson took an early 4-0 lead before Paris Miller knocked down a triple. Down 8-5, the Bearettes got a three by Mekhayia Moore and then Moore scored in transition to put Brownsboro in front. The score was tied at 14 at the end of the first quarter.

Brownsboro led 26-23 with 2:27 left in the second quarter after two straight 3-pointers by Miller. The Lady Hawks ended the half on a 6-0 run to lead 29-26 at the break.

In the third quarter, though, it was all Bearettes. Down 36-35, Brownsboro went on a 7-0 run. The Bearrettes outscored the Lady Hawks 17-7 in the third quarter to lead 43-36.

“We made some defensive adjustments,” Durham said. “Emily Breedlove is our assistant, and she’s our defensive coordinator, and she’s the best defensive coach in America. And that’s not hyperbole. I’m telling you, she’s remarkable and the kids have bought into that completely.

“It’s one thing to have a gameplan and that work. That’s vitally important. But to be able to change what we’re doing and alter that gameplan in halftime and go execute it, that says a lot about Coach Breedlove and our kids.”

After Hardin-Jefferson cut the score to 43-39 with a free throw by Ashlon Jackson, Brownsboro got a free throw from Khyra Garrett and then neither team scored for three minutes until Caylor Blackmon had a layup to make the score 46-39 with 2:30 to play.

After a layup by Jackson, Miller made two free throws to put the score at 50-41 with 52 seconds on the clock.

The Lady Hawks chipped away and eventually got a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Kendall Sneed. However, Brownsboro still had a one-point lead and immediately erupted into celebration as the time expired.

“He (Durham) told us before every game that the most consistent team will win, and that’s how it worked out at the end,” sophomore Khayla Garrett said.

And the Brownsboro faithful in the crowd let the team know how much it meant to them.

“The community support, you guys saw tonight, just a million people out there,” Durham said. “They support us across the board, in athletics, band, ag and certainly academics. It’s a phenomenal place.”

Jackson, who is a McDonald’s All-American and a Duke signee, and Sneed both had 17 points for Hardin-Jefferson (34-4).

Brownsboro finished the season with a record of 40-2 and a state title in the final high school game for seniors Miller, Moore, Allie Cooper, Tori Hooker, Rebecca Rumbo, Emma Barrentine, Karis Fisher, Blackmon, Ja’Niya Barron and Mae Lewis.

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Brownsboro 50, Hardin-Jefferson 49

Brownsboro 14 12 17 7 — 50

Hardin-Jefferson 14 15 7 13 — 49

BROWNSBORO — Khyra Garrett 2-4 3-6 7; Mekhayia Moore 8-18 2-6 19; Allie Cooper 1-2 0-0 2; Paris Miller 6-10 4-4 20; Tori Hooker 0-2 0-0 4; Khayla Garrett 0-1 0-0 0; Caylor Blackmon 1-1 0-0 2. Team 18-38 9-16 50.

HARDIN-JEFFERSON — Ashlon Jackson 6-15 4-9 17; Jalyn Wright 2-3 0-0 4; Kendall Sneed 8-19 0-0 17; Molly Beavers 1-4 0-1 2; India McMahon 1-9 2-2 4; Kassidy Riley 1-1 0-0 2; Audie Rogers 1-1 0-0 3; Jada Pleasant 0-2 0-0 0; Chandler Preston-Caver 0-0 0-0 0. Team 20-54 6-12 49.

3-POINTERS — Brownsboro 5-11 (Miller 4-6); Hardin-Jefferson 3-17 (Jackson 1-5).

REBOUNDS — Brownsboro 32 (Moore 14); Hardin-Jefferson 30 (Wright 6, Jackson 6).

ASSISTS — Brownsboro 10 (Khyra Garrett 3, Cooper 3, Khayla Garrett 3); Hardin-Jefferson 7 (Beavers 3).

STEALS — Brownsboro 9 (Khyra Garrett 3, Moore 3); Hardin-Jefferson 12 (Sneed 5).

BLOCKS — Brownsboro 5 (Cooper 2) ; Hardin-Jefferson 5 (Beavers 2).

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