Entering this weekend's UIL State girls basketball final four, Cypress Creek had the best odds to win a state championship. The Cougars not only stormed into San Antonio's Alamodome with a perfect 40-0 season record, but their leading threesome of Kyndall Hunter, Rori Harmon and coach Jennifer Alexander was motivated to finish what it started after suffering a loss in the 2017-2018 UIL 6A state semifinal.

The group took care of business against McKinney as expected, but its close victory surprised fans across the state. One key factor in the tight battle was the lack of Harmon due to a broken "team violation". It resulted in an early nine-point deficit, but Hunter's game-high 31 points led Cypress Creek to a 54-51 win and earned her the VYPE Player of the Game honor.

"I knew that everyone's going to have to step up, even me," said Hunter. "I'm just so proud that my team, we all played our roles perfectly."

Ally Haman also contributed an important 11 points, which came in handy when Erin Fry's 16 points and Nic Porter's 12 nearly tied the game late for McKinney.

"I would put [my] kids up against anyone," Alexander said when asked how her team matches up with Converse Judson and Duncanville in Saturday's state championship game.

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