No. 2 Mason Weathers Rival No. 7 San Saba's Second Half Storm for State Berth

SAN MARCOS, TX -- The no. 2-ranked Mason Cowgirls are back into the state tournament for a second consecutive year after beating district rival no. 7 San Saba 46-36 at San Marcos High School.

It was the third time this year that Mason beat their district rival.

"San Saba's a great team. I mean, they really are," Mason head coach Jeff Guice said. "Coach Cummings does a great job. And those kids, you can't say enough about the San Saba kids. They're all quality kids and they play extremely hard. So, it's tough to beat them three times. We feel very fortunate to beat them three times this year."

Mason's determination to get back to San Antonio started on the bus ride home after losing to Martin's Mill in the state semifinals.

"The kids ... they're just determined," Guice said. "They made up their mind that they wanted to get back. They've put in the work throughout the summer and cross country season and all the things you ask kids to do to be successful. They're willing to put in the work. Like I said, we were just fortunate enough to get by San Saba this time."

The Cowgirls had to go on a 7-0 run in the second quarter to take their first lead of the game.

After each team hit shots from three-point range to open the scoring, San Saba’s Ashlynn Cash hit another three to spark an 8-3 run to take an 11-6 lead. Mason would close it to 11-8 by the end of the first quarter.

Mason would take the lead and eventually extend their lead to 29-19 entering halftime thanks to a trey from Jesse Armstrong.

Then each team lost their rhythm entering the third quarter. Nobody scored until 4 minutes, 55 seconds left in the third when San Saba’s Kylee Eckermann hit one of her two three-pointers in the game. That sparked a 9-0 run for the Lady Armadillos to close out the quarter trailing by just one point.

"We've got a lot of kids that have a lot of experience. So, they've been down that road a few times," said Guice, regarding his team's resiliency in the back-and-forth game. "We just felt like they'd get it going. McKenzie [Cano] got it started with a three. It just kinda got us going. Those kids have been down that road and they believe in each other. I just knew they would get it done."

Guice credits the offseason work for the Cowgirl's success in a fast-paced game where both teams moved quickly up and down the floor.

"It's important. They've gotta have their legs under them," he said. "We play a lot of kids. We have a sub rotation where we play eight or nine kids every game. We try to keep their legs fresh and we feel like we're fresh in the fourth quarter to finish games. That's how it went today."

Anastas would put the Cowgirls up 31-28 early in the fourth only to have Eckermann respond with a game-tying three-pointer.

Cano then scored seven points in the fourth quarter to spark an 11-2 run that saw the Cowgirls back to the state tournament.

Cano would finish as the game-high scorer with 17 points. Ruby Magnus finished with 13.

Courtnee Cash finished with 10 points for San Saba.

Mason (37-1) will face no. 12-ranked Grapeland (28-8) in the state semifinals on Friday at 10:00 a.m. Grapeland beat Marlin 63-43 for the Region III crown.