MERKEL — In 2025, it took a buzzer-beating shot for the Brock girls basketball team to beat Lubbock Cooper Liberty 37-36 in the bi-district round of the Region I-4A Division II playoffs.

The stakes were much higher when the two sides met again on the hardwood Friday night at Merkel’s Badger Gym — but the result was the same as the No. 3 Lady Eagles claimed a 37-29 win in the Region I-4A Division II championship game to earn a berth in the state semifinals for the 23rd time in school history as they chase their 10th state championship.

While the state semifinals are no longer part of the state tournament in San Antonio, Brock coach Alex Stephenson said he doesn’t care where the Lady Eagles play Dallas Lincoln in the early part of the week.