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Final 9-0 run carries Pflugerville to Mansfield Rotary crown

Mansfield Timberview can't make six-point lead stand in final 1:25

MANSFIELD — Pflugerville needed a minor miracle to keep its dreams of an undefeated season alive.

The state’s third-ranked Class 5A girls basketball team got just that Thursday night.

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After trailing by six with 1:25 remaining, Pflugerville closed the game with a 9-0 run to stun 12th-ranked Mansfield Timberview, 54-51, in the championship game of the Mansfield Rotary Invitational at Mansfield Legacy. A year after losing by 16 to Canyon in the tournament’s championship game, Pflugerville won its first Mansfield Rotary title and improved to 26-0.

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“It feels so good to just come back and win,” Pflugerville senior forward I’Tiana Taylor said. “We were pretty confident. We just had to relax.”

Taylor, a North Texas signee, was named the tournament MVP after she had 12 points and 16 rebounds against Timberview (17-5). She made two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to give Pflugerville a three-point lead, and Timberview couldn’t get a shot off after rushing the ball up the court.

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“We’re very proud of our kids,” Timberview coach Candi Harvey said. “It was a great tournament for us. … We’re disappointed that we weren’t able to close it out, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. I thought we got better every time that we played.”

Timberview was trying to win the tournament for the third time in four years, and it appeared on its way to doing that after Terriell Bradley made two free throws with 1:25 left for a 51-45 lead. But Ari Booth hit a jumper, then Brenisha Payne made a 3-pointer to get Pflugerville within 51-50 with 58.8 seconds left.

With Timberview attempting to run down the clock, Taylor Ross poked the ball away from behind, and it ended up in the hands of Payne, who was fouled with 30.2 seconds remaining. The junior guard stepped to the line for a one-and-one and calmly made two free throws to give Pflugerville a 52-51 lead.

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“I was really nervous,” Payne said. “I had to get this for my team, because we really deserved this win.”

After Timberview missed a jumper with a chance to win it, Taylor’s two free throws completed the scoring. Payne had only three points in a semifinal win over Amarillo, but she scored 17 in the title game. Lili Thompson led Timberview with 15 points.

Briefly: A year after winning the Mansfield Rotary Invitational, Canyon (15-3) took third with a 46-45 win over Amarillo. … Senior guard Chelsea Jennings, who has signed with defending national champion Texas A&M, scored a game-high 24 points to lead North Crowley to a 59-49 win over Arlington Lamar in the consolation championship game. In the fourth quarter, Jennings scored 11 points — one less than the entire Lamar team.