After the Rockets defeated the Alexander Bulldogs with a score of 43-62, the Lady Rockets came into the game feeling confident and were looking to come out on top against the Brandeis Broncos and become the Region IV Champions for the first time in school history.

“We want to be aggressive,”  head coach Triva Corrales said. “We want to attack the paint and keep their star from getting easy shots.”

In the opening tip off, Judson won but failed to contribute any points in their first possession. Center Heaven Mbaruk stopped the Broncos first possession with a block and turned it into a fast break to guard Mia Davis, who scored the first points of the game.

The Broncos answered quickly. With Judson making early mistakes and causing turnovers, the Broncos scored a deep three pointer to make it 8-12. Judson quickly came back at the end of the quarter with a deep three pointer by guard Chantel Govan to make it 15-16, Judson.

Judson started the second quarter with six straight points to expand the lead 15-22. Early in the quarter, Judson took a timeout due to a turnover forced by the Broncos. After the timeout, Brandeis did not hesitate, stole the ball, and drained a three pointer to take the lead with three minutes left. Judson answered back immediately with an easy layup from guard Tiffany McGarity. With seconds left in the second quarter, center Desiree Lewis ended the quarter with a three point attempt due to the Broncos fouling. Going into the half, the Rockets were down by one point with the score of 33-34.

At the start of the third quarter, Mbaruk blocked another shot to stop the Broncos drive and turned that into an easy layup. Quickly, the Broncos answered back with a three pointer to make it a close game. Brandeis called a timeout due to the Rockets aggressive defense that forced a steal and easy points with 2:34 minutes left in the quarter. With the last minutes approaching, the Lady Rockets made a great defensive stand by only allowing the Broncos to score two points and keep the lead with a score of 43-47.

To start the fourth quarter, the Rockets forced another turnover to add points to the board and extend the lead. With both teams playing outstanding defense, it made it a low scoring quarter. With 3:50 minutes left in the last quarter, it was a tie game 50-50.

Seconds after the Broncos took the lead, the Rockets called a timeout to make adjustments. After the timeout, Lewis scored and made it a tie game again, 52-52. Mbaruk came in clutch with another great block. With the Rockets playing great defense, with only minutes left, they forced the Broncos to turn the ball over and called a timeout. Guard Kyra White made a clutch block in the paint to stop the Broncos drive and forced them to foul her. With 12 seconds left in the clock, the Rockets held the ball to end the game with a score of 56-63.

The Lady Rockets made history becoming the first Rocket girls team to win the Region IV Championship. They have been invited to play in the state tournament this coming Friday at the Alamodome against the number one ranked team in Division 6A, the Duncanville Panthers.