SAN ANTONIO -- Cold shooting and carelessness with the basketball doomed Chireno in Thursday morning's UIL Class A state semifinal at the Alamodome.

Third-ranked Nazareth took control in the second quarter and never looked back, delivering a decisive 52-29 defeat to No. 4 Chireno in front of 2,236 fans.

Nazareth (31-5), a regular at the girls state tournament with 26 all-time appearances, will meet No. 2 Lipan (31-7) at 8:30 a.m. Saturday for the state championship.

Chireno, which was making its first state tourney appearance since 2002, finished its season at 33-3.

The Owls never got into a rhythm offensively, shooting just 28.6 percent (10 of 35) for the game. Complicating the rough shooting performance was Chireno's 23 turnovers, which led to 26 Nazareth points.

Nazareth carried an 11-8 lead into the second quarter when the Swiftettes began to pull away, outscoring Chireno 19-4 en route to a 30-12 halftime lead.

Allie Schulte led Nazareth with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and added nine steals and four rebounds. Abby Schmucker had 14 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.

Briana Dubois scored 12 points and added five rebounds to lead Chireno in scoring. She knocked down four of her seven field goal attempts, but the rest of the team was just 6-of-28 (21.4 percent).

---

No. 3 Nazareth 52, No. 4 Chireno 29

Girls Class A State Semifinal
At Alamodome, San Antonio

Nazareth         11    19    11    11    --    52
Chireno             8      4      9      8    --    29

NAZARETH (31-5) -- Allie Schulte, 17; Abby Schmucker, 14; Hannah Leavitt, 8; Aubrie Durbin, 6; Deborah VanDijk, 4; Kinzi Cleavinger, 2; Ellen Schliderink, 1.
CHIRENO (33-4) -- Briana Dubois, 12; Lainey Lee, 5; Kaylee Bennett, 3; Briana Rushing, 3; Brooklen Butler, 2; Victoria Rushing, 2; Chloe Woodson, 2.
THREE-POINT GOALS -- Nazareth: Schmucker (2), Schulte (2). Chireno: Bennett, Dubois, Lee, Rushing.

More From East Texas Sports Network