SAN ANTONIO – The Frisco Liberty Redhawks picked up right where they left off nearly a year ago at the Alamodome for the UIL girls basketball state tournament. 6-2 sophomore Jacy Abii, among the best players in the country, nearly had a triple-double as the Redhawks rolled past Richmond Randle 66-37 in a Class 5A state semifinal game on Thursday.
Liberty (33-7) won its 17th straight game and will play for another state championship at 3 pm Saturday against #1 Mansfield Timberview, which beat Cedar Park on Thursday night. Liberty, the defending champ, ended the regular season ranked behind Timberview at #2 in the state rankings.
The Redhawks have reached the state championship game now in all six appearances at the tournament. This trip to state marks their fifth in the past six years. They beat Lubbock-Cooper in the final last season and won their first title in 2020.
Abii finished Thursday’s game with 17 points, 18 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 blocks. She had 9 offensive rebounds and 9 defensive rebounds – all in 24 minutes. Last year as a freshman she averaged 17 points in two state tournament games with 15 coming in the championship against Lubbock-Cooper.
Liberty’s offense led in the first quarter as the Redhawks were up 21-13 while shooting 10 of 21 from the field. Then they outscored Randle 14-1 in the second and went up 35-14 at intermission. The defense held Randle to 4 of 16 shooting in the first quarter and 0 of 11 in the second quarter.
The Redhawks outscored Randle in every quarter – going 20-14 in the third and 11-9 in the fourth. Keyera Roseby, last year’s state champ game MVP, contributed 15 points and 8 rebounds on 7 of 17 from the field. Aziyah Farrier and Lilian Johnson chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Roseby scored 28 in last season’s semis against San Antonio Wagner and finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds against Lubbock-Cooper on her way to MVP honors.
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Abii’s 18 rebounds are tied for eighth most in a 5A state tourney game.
Her 8 assists are tied for most and her 6 blocks are tied for fourth most.
She was a member of the 2023 USA Women’s U16 National Team that won a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA Americas Championship. She started all six games during the tournament and averaged 8.3 points, 5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2 steals.
