HIGHLIGHTS: Aaliyah Chavez caps storied career with Texas state title as Monterey cruises to 64-35 victory over Liberty Hill

Aaliyah Chavez closed her illustrious career by leading Monterey (Lubbock, Texas) to its first state title in 44 years, beating Liberty Hill (Texas) 64-35 in the Class 5A Division II finals in San Antonio on Saturday.

The No. 1 player in the Class of 2025 didn't put up prodigious scoring numbers on Saturday, as she's done most of her four seasons. She didn't need to as the Plainsmen got balanced scoring and used a 17-2 second quarter outburst to create separation.

Chavez, who was doubled and triple-teamed much of the game, finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. She was the game's MVP and finishes her career with 4,796 points, good for 14th on the all-time girls basketball scoring list.

Ambrosia Cole had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Monterey and Air Johnson added 12.

Monterey led 34-13 at halftime and cruised to the 29-point victory for its first state title since 1981, when they beat storied Texas program Duncanville.

Liberty Hill was 5 of 33 in the first half, including 2 of 14 from 3-point range, as Wofford commit Gabriella Mundy hit a bucket that was the lone field goal of the period for the Panthers. They were five percent from the field in the second period and finished the game 12 of 61 shooting (20 percent).

Meanwhile, the Plainsmen got seven points in the quarter from Cole and five from Chavez, including a heat-check 3-pointer from the top of the key while opening up a 34-13 lead at half.

Liberty Hill tried its best to claw back in the third quarter, hitting five straight shots for a 10-0 run that cut the edge to 43-27. But Chavez hit one of her three 3-pointers out of timeout that started a Monterey 10-0 run as Cole ended the third period with a steal and coast-to-coast bucket to beat the buzzer and a 53-27 lead.

Chavez, whose final basket was a 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining in the game, was subbed out with under a minute to cheers from the Monterey fans and hugs from players and coaches.