No. 2 Mason Cowgirls Unable to Complete Comeback Against No. 1 Panhandle

SAN ANTONIO, TX — The No. 2-ranked Mason Cowgirls basketball team was playing in its first state championship Thursday, and it looked like it early.

Mason fell into a 15-0 hole just minutes into the game against No. 1 Panhandle, and the Cowgirls trailed by as much as 21-4 early in the second quarter.

Then Mason woke up and fought its way back into the game.

The Cowgirls rallied all the way to within 29-25 with 5:42 remaining before Panhandle was able to finish off a 38-25 victory to claim the Class 2A Division I state title at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

It was the third state title in Panhandle’s history. The Pantheretters were playing in their fifth state final.

Panhandle completed its season with a 38-1 record as the Pantherettes won their 37th straight game.

Mason had its 32-game winning streak ended as the Cowgirls finished their best season ever with a record of 40-2.

"I can't say enough about how proud I am that they kept fighting and kept battling and really competing their hearts out," Mason head coach Alicia Cummings said of her team's comeback. 

Panhandle junior Riley Segura scored a game-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

"She's a great player," Cummings said. "She handles the ball really well, and she can get in the paint. She's got her midrange shot, but she also creates a lot for her teammates. There in that first opening few minutes, we couldn't keep her out of the paint, and she was able to get in there score and able to get in there and kick it out."

Mason’s Anna Marie Whitworth and Flora Appleton each had six points. Whitworth added a game-high nine rebounds.

Panhandle blitzed Mason to start the game as the Pantherettes made their first five shots, while Mason missed its first six shots.

Before the Cowgirls could even get settled, they were already down 15-0 just 4:14 into the contest.

Mason didn't make its first basket until a Whitworth layup with 3:13 left in the first quarter, and they trailed 19-4 heading into the second quarter.

Mason was behind by as much as 21-4 with 6:02 left in the second quarter when the Cowgirls suddenly found life with an 11-4 run to end the first half, pulling them within 25-15 at halftime.

"I really felt like after the opening five or six minutes of the first quarter that we played really well," Cummings said. "So the message at halftime was to keep trying to win possessions. And then after that slow start, I felt like we were right there."

Mason inched closer in the third quarter and trailed 29-22 heading into the final quarter.

After a putback by Appleton cut the deficit to 29-25 with 5:42 remaining, Panhandle's Paige Bixby hit a back-breaking 3-pointer with 5:24 left to stop Mason's momentum.

The Cowgirls were never able to score again, and Panhandle ended the game on a 9-0 run.

It brought an end to a Mason season that saw the program reach the state semifinals for the fourth time and finally reach its first state final.

"We all grew up playing together, so this was a really tight group of girls, and I love every single one of them. I love playing with them," Mason senior Ainsley Burns said. "As the season went on, we got closer and started to play sisters, and we really were. So this is much more than a team to me. It was a sisterhood. Being able to play with them was such a blessing."

It was the final game for three Mason seniors — Burns, Whitworth and Maya Aguero. Whitworth scored more than 2,000 points during her career at Mason. Her next game could possibly be in San Angelo as Angelo State University is among the schools that have offered the 6-foot-2 forward a chance to play in college.

This story will be updated.

Panhandle 38, Mason 25

Panhandle   19   6   4   9 — 38

Mason   4   11   7   3 — 25

PANHANDLE — Riley Segura 19, Paige Bixby 5, Addison McCoid 2, Allie Ashley 6, Allie Theis 2, Ell Robinson 4.

MASON — Anna Marie Whitworth 6, Flora Appleton 6, Camille Schmidt 1, Georgia Hicks 2, Bronwyn Underwood 3, Kaitlin Paiva 1, Everly Rabon 4, MJ Griffin 2.