Summer Creek survives late rally by Lady Eagles 45-40
March 8, 2026
And for the second straight year -- Summer Creek outlasted Dawson to advance to the state semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years. The Lady Bulldogs won last year's contest against the Lady Eagles 58-42.
While Summer Creek entered the game a slight favorite, the Lady Eagles were not going to be intimidated this year with a trip to the 6A state semifinals on the line.
Summer Creek jumped out to an early 11-4 lead before Dawson gathered some momentum to close the gap to 11-10 midway through the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs would end the opening period leading 15-10.
Both teams battled in the second period as each team scored 10 points leaving Summer Creek with a 25-20 advantage at intermission.
The Lady Eagles began the third quarter by chopping at the Summer Creek lead and late in the frame, Dawson briefly took over the lead 32-31 on a basket by Journey Lovett after outscoring the Lady Dogs 12-6.
But Summer Creek scored four unanswered points to close out the third to take a 35-32 lead into the final eight minutes of the game.
The Lady Bulldogs took control of the fourth quarter by outscoring the Lady Eagles 7-1 for a 42-33 advantage with a little over four minutes left to go in the game.
But Dawson wasn't going to fold as Lovett and Faith Etienne rallied the troops to go on a mini-run 7-1 to make the score 43-40 with 2:29 left in the contest.
Unfortunately, Dawson committed a series of turnovers down the stretch that allowed Summer Creek to hang on to the 45-40 win with a trip to the state basketball tournament on the line.
The Lady Eagles finished the season with a sparkling 34-4 season record.
Summer Creek went on to beat Austin Westlake in the 6A state semifinals and then beat Flower Mound 55-45 in the state title game to claim back-to-back state championships.
