Wheatley Girls Basketball Team Heading To State!

HOUSTON, TX — The Wheatley girls basketball team rallied from 10 points behind to knock off district rival Yates in the Class 4A Region III championship on Saturday. Now the Lady Wildcats are headed to state.

Wheatley won a tough 56-51 battle over Yates at Johnson Coliseum on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. It was the second-straight day the Wildcats came from behind. On Saturday, Telisha Brown scored 18 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter. Yates took a 43-33 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Wheatley went on one of their patented runs to tie the game at 47-47. Wheatley took over the lead in the final minute and held on for the win.

Wheatley advances to the final four in state, and they'll face a young Argyle team in the first semifinal at the state tournament this coming weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Lady Eagles are the three-time defending state champion, having beaten the region III champion in the state final in 2017 (Liberty Hill) and 2016 (Waco La Vega).

Here's the schedule for the Class 4A Pairings:

Class 4A State Tournament • Alamodome, San Antonio
Friday, March 2
1:30 p.m. - Houston Wheatley (31-3) vs. Argyle (32-7)
3:00 p.m. - Denver City (30-6) vs. San Antonio Veterans Memorial (32-9)

Saturday, March 3
7 p.m. State Championship

Wheatley and Yates split the season series and, subsequently, split the District 24-4A title. Yates won the first meeting, 49-44, in December and Wheatley won the second game, 60-58.

Wheatley soundly defeated No. 1 Liberty Hill, 72-61, in the regional semifinal on Friday to reach the rematch with Yates. Wheatley has 10 seniors on its roster while Argyle has just three, meaning the Lady Wildcats have lots of older, experienced players.

Final TABC Class 4A Rankings After Regular Season

No. 1 Liberty Hill
No. 2 Glen Rose
No. 3 Loveland
No. 4 Navasota
No. 5 Denver City
No. 6 Dallas Lincoln
No. 7 SA Veterans Memorial
No. 8 Wheatley
No. 9 Canton
No. 10 Tatum

The state tournament kicks off Saturday in San Antonio with state semifinals in Class 1A, 3A and 5A. On Friday, Classes 2A, 4A and 6A will play their semifinals, and all state championship games will be at the Alamodome on Saturday.

(Photo by Jason O'Brien/Getty Images)