Duncanville's 70th straight win seals back-to-back state titles

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Duncanville won it's second-straight and eighth state girls basketball championship with a 59-36 win over Cibolo Steele in Austin.

The Panterettes (42-0) extended their win streak to 70 games and became the first repeate 5A state champion since Mansfield's four-straight titles (1999-2002).

Duncanville put together a 23-4 first half run and never trailed Cibolo Steele (33-6).

“We like to get a good lead on them,” forward Kiara Perry and the championship game's Most Valuable Player told the Dallas Morning News, “because we don’t want them coming back.”

Perry, a senior who has signed with SMU, scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Junior guard Ariel Atkins contributed 13 points and seven rebounds.

“Coach told us to push hard from the start,” Atkins said, “and just keep going.”

“They’re up there,” coach Cathy Self-Morgan said when asked to rank this year’s Pantherettes with her other five state champions including three at Austin Westlake and two at Duncanville.

“They’re a great group of kids,” she said. “The city is proud of them, the school is proud of them, and there’s a lot to be proud of.”