SAN ANTONIO 鈥� Ryan defied the odds time after time during its historic playoff run and did so once more Saturday to win the first girls basketball state championship in Denton ISD history.
Nothing was going right for the Lady Raiders midway through the third quarter of the 5A Division I state final at the Alamodome. Ryan trailed state No. 1-ranked San Antonio Wagner 28-26 after being outscored 8-0, getting whistled for seven fouls to none on Wagner and committing six turnovers, all over the first 3:38 of the period.
The Lady Raiders responded with a 10-2 run and never looked back on their way to taking home the hardware with a 58-47 victory over Wagner.
鈥淲e have weathered the storm this year,鈥� Ryan coach Monesha Allen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 funny how not only physical this game is, but it鈥檚 also mental. We have had to work on the mental side of the game so much this season. If we didn鈥檛 do what we鈥檝e done mentally, there鈥檚 no way we finish this game, not on top anyhow.鈥�
Ryan junior forward Kaylin Jackson led the way with 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one block alongside an efficient 9-of-11 shooting performance, earning the game鈥檚 Most Valuable Player award.
She scored 12 of Ryan鈥檚 points amid a 17-2 run from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth that put the game away for good.
Junior guard Zaviyana Madison added 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, while junior forward Kinley Lewis chipped in six points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
The trio helped Ryan prove the doubters wrong once again.
The Lady Raiders (32-7) were not ranked among the TABC鈥檚 top 25 teams in Class 5A entering the playoffs and defeated No. 4 Amarillo, No. 3 Amarillo Tascosa and No. 1 Wagner (34-4) on their way to winning it all. They were one of just three unranked teams to make a title game among the 24 qualifiers from 6A Division I down to 1A Division II.
Ryan had never previously been past the regional final round, let alone in the state title game, but the program believed it was possible from its first practice of the season.
鈥淭he very first thing [the coaches] told us is we can put the banner up that says 鈥楽tate Champions 2025,鈥欌�� Lewis said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how much we believed our coaches when they said it, because it鈥檚 surreal. Like, the top team, we could be that? But we were told it every single day by our coaches, so it gave us the confidence to be able to push through.鈥�
That unwavering belief helped the Lady Raiders overcome a 31-6 disparity in free throw attempts as they were called for 23 fouls to 12 on Wagner. The Thunderbirds shot just 18 of 31 (58.1%) from the foul line and Ryan outrebounded them 39-23, helping offset the lopsided margin.
Madison was one of five Ryan players to finish with at least four fouls.
She had three fouls by halftime and picked up her fourth just 37 seconds into the third quarter but was able to play the last 11:09 of game time without committing a disqualifying fifth foul, scoring eight pivotal points in that span.
鈥淚t was just facing adversity,鈥� Madison said of the foul trouble. 鈥淢y teammates were able to trust me that I鈥檓 not going to foul anymore or anything like that. They were able to trust me, I was able to get back on the court and we did it as a team.鈥�
Wagner built an early 7-2 edge and weathered Ryan鈥檚 response with a late basket to lead 12-11 through one quarter. The Lady Raiders opened the second period with a 9-0 run and led by as many as eight points three times in the quarter before Wagner pulled back within 26-21 by halftime.
Ryan built on its strong finish to the third quarter by opening the fourth period on a 10-0 run and never saw its lead dwindle to fewer than 10 points the rest of the way.
It all amounted to a historic achievement, the significance of which hadn鈥檛 quite sunk in for many of Ryan鈥檚 players in the immediate aftermath.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still surreal,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淚 was crying, we were hugging everybody. I was like, 鈥極h my gosh, we did it!鈥� It鈥檚 just so surreal to me.