Cypress Woods was close - really close - last year, falling in the regional championship game.
Now, the No. 1-ranked Wildcats are heading to state.
"It's great," said Cy Woods senior guard Erica Ogwumike, who scored 35 points to go with 16 rebounds in Saturday's 75-36 victory over Westside in the Region III-6A final. "It's great knowing we have four more days of practice. It's great knowing we're going to run suicides still.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
"It's weird, because those are bittersweet things. I like it. We're all still together, and it's almost realistic - we're about to get to our goal that we've been saying since the beginning of the year."
Cy Woods is among eight schools making their first appearance at the UIL girls state tournament. On the other end are Nazareth and Canyon, who are making their 24th and 25th appearances, respectively.
But all 24 teams will be a part of history. This year's state tournament will be the first outside Austin in the event's 94-year history.
San Antonio's Alamodome will host the girls tournament Thursday-Saturday, and the boys play there the next week. The state tournament had been held on the University of Texas campus since the 1920s.
The move comes after years of decreased tournament attendance coinciding with the growth of the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival, which forced fans and teams to stay outside Austin and deal with high hotel prices.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
"As a UT alumni, I'm not going to lie. I was really looking forward to going to the Drum," Cy Woods coach Virginia Flores said. "But at the same time, to be one of the first teams to go to the Alamodome, we get to make history."
Cy Woods (33-1) will face Region IV champion San Antonio Wagner (26-10) in the second 6A semifinal, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Friday.
Dallas Skyline (30-6), which beat Dekaney in Sunday's Region II final, plays Flower Mound (28-7) in the other semi at 7 p.m. Friday.
The winners of those games meet at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the 6A final.
Wagner is the only 6A team not making its first trip. The Thunderbirds are at state for the fourth time, losing in the semifinals in 2008, 2011 and 2014.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
If Cy Woods wins, it will give the Houston area consecutive titles at the state's largest classification for the first time.
Between 2007-10, Cy Fair won two state titles (2008 and 2010) and was the 2007 runner-up.
The Wildcats will try to follow Manvel, which knocked off two-time defending state champion Duncanville in last year's 5A final. They have the résumé, having beaten eight teams ranked in the final regular-season state poll.
"I want to just keep playing and keep practicing," Flores said. "Keep running and keep gunning. And the suicides, they won't stop until the fat lady sings."
