The Steele Knights are headed to the state semifinals for the first time in nine years after defeating the Brennan Bears 64-60 in overtime.
The Steele Knights earned their first trip to the state semifinals since 2016 as they overcame a first-half, double-digit deficit to defeat the Brennan Bears 64-60 in overtime in the Class 6A Division I Region IV final Saturday at Littleton Gym .
Sa’myra Witcher led Steele with 24 points, including eight combined in the fourth quarter and overtime period, as the Knights moved to within one game of a state championship appearance. Steele will meet Humble Summer Creek in the semifinal either Monday or Tuesday, at a site to be determined. “It’s been nine years?” said Witcher when told how long it had been since Steele had been in the state semifinals. “It feels good. I’m just happy for me, I’m happy for all of us, I’m happy for my coaches.” NEWSLETTER: Your free all-access pass to the best high school sports coverage in San Antonio Witcher, a senior guard, along with sophomore post Jasmine Travis and senior forward Ne’tayla Hurst made sure Steele fans wouldn’t have to wait any longer to see their team play again in the state semifinals. Bella Flemings had a game-high 34 points for Brennan , the defending regional champions, with SyNariea Snow chipping in 10 and Janea Walls eight. The Knights had a rough start, falling behind 22-11 to Brennan at the end of the first quarter. Brennan made 10 of 13 shots in the opening quarter as junior Bella Flemings, who scored a game high 34 points, scored 11 points in the frame. Making things more difficult for Steele was it made only three shots in the period. “Just perseverance, man, perseverance is the word,” Steele coach Gene Pena said. “I always tell them we’re going to have our rough patches in games even during the season, but we just had to push through. We got to make sure when we are pushing, when we have those downs, that we’re going to have ups. Just believe in your hearts.” Steele took Pena’s words at heart as they started to chip away at the Brennan lead in the second quarter. The Knights went on a 13-4 run to get within 26-24 on a Travis jumper at the 4:07 mark of the period. Brennan responded with a run of its own to end the first half, taking a 34-29 lead into halftime. Brennan would lead by as many as six points in the third quarter before Steele would narrow the margin to a single point on three separate occasions, with the Bears taking a 42-41 advantage going into the fourth quarter. Steele would take its first lead of the game at 43-42 on two free throws from Travis with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter. The Knights led by as many as four points twice before Brennan scored five straight points, capped off by a Flemings trey, to take a 52-49 lead. Witcher tied the game at 52-52 with a 3-pointer of her own and then added a layup to put Steele back on top 54-52 with 2:25 left in regulation. A hook shot by Flemings underneath tied the game at 54 with 1:46 remaining in the fourth period. Brennan had a chance to win the game in the final seconds of regulation, but a 3-point try by Alayna Perez rimmed out of the basket as time ran out. Brennan took a 56-54 lead in overtime on two free throws from Snow. The lead changed hands twice as Hurst connected on a 3-pointer to put Steele back up 57-56 before Flemings answered with a layup to reclaim the lead for Brennan. From there, Steele would take over as Travis converted a spin move into a three-point play, putting the Knights up 60-58 at 1:27 in overtime. Travis also came up with the defensive play of the game. With Steele leading 63-60, Travis, using her 6-5 frame, blocked Brennan’s Niashya Townsell’s shot underneath and hustled to get the loose ball from her rejection. Travis then made one of two free throws to ice the game for Steele, as the Knights made four of their final six from the charity stripe in the game. Pena, in his first season as Steele’s head coach, said making it as one of the final four teams in state is expected at Steele, which has been to the state semifinals five times in the program’s history and played in the state championship game in 2013. “It’s a blessing,” Pena said. “I can’t believe it. That’s the expectation for our program and that’s what coach Chatman, the coach before me, preached. I learned from him and I just kept that going. That’s just the expectation at Steele.” Witcher said she was happy that everyone on the team will get to experience playing in a state semifinal game. “This was coach Pena’s first year head coaching us and he brought us here himself,” Witcher said. “Everybody deserved it, everybody wanted it. So, we just pushed through and we’re just excited. But were not done yet.”
Brennan Bears Class 6A Division 1 Flemings Steele Brennan Travis Bella Flemings Sa'myra Witcher Gene Pena Ne'tayla Hurst 12 Jasmine Travis Niashya Townsell Alayna Perez Class 6A Division 1 Region IV Region IV Littleton Gym Humble Summer Creek Class 6A Division I Bears Synariea Snow
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