SAN ANTONIO — Win or lose, every player receives a medal after every game in the University Interscholastic League state basketball tournament.
When it came time for the Veterans Memorial girls to line up for their medal presentation Saturday at the Alamodome, senior forward Brenna Perez asked coach Christina Camacho to hang the keepsake around Perez's neck.
Camacho obliged, of course, and did the same for two other seniors, Vivian Castro and Sahara Jones, after the Patriots' 35-26 loss to Frisco Liberty in the Class 5A state final.
Given the strong bond they share, it was only fitting that Camacho share one more special moment on the court with three players who were freshmen when Veterans Memorial opened in 2016 and started for four seasons.
"She's been there the whole four years," Perez said of Camacho in the Pats' postgame session with the media. Her voice heavy with emotion as she fought back tears, Perez paused for a few seconds before continuing.
"She're more than just a coach to me," Perez said. "She's like a mom. She's been part of our family. We deserve the opportunity for her put the medals on us. I respect her so much. I know she respects us. I just love her so much. I wanted her to have the opportunity to have pride in putting the medals on us."
After playing a junior varsity schedule in 2016-17, the Pats have reached the state finals twice in their first three varsity seasons.
Sophomore guard Jazzy-Barnett Owens scored 14 points to lead Frisco Liberty to its first state championship in three trips to the state tournament. The Redhawks lost in the state final last year and in 2016.
Liberty's victory capped a 31-11 season and Veterans Memorial finished 32-8.
Owens-Barnett, who hit 3 of 10 field-goal attempts and was 8 of 10 from the free-throw line, was named the game's MVP.
Sophomore guard Maya Jain scored 10 points, including two three-pointers, and was the only other Liberty player in double figures.
Jones, who has signed with Texas A&M, led Veterans Memorial with a game-high 15 points and nailed 3 of 6 three-pointers. She also had a game-high eight rebounds. Perez (8) and Castro (3) were the only other Pats who scored.
Veterans Memorial was stifled by Liberty's defense, shooting only 30 percent (9-30) from the field. The Pats were 4 of 9 (44.4 percent) from the three-point line.
"We only took 10 shots in the first half (and made five)," Camacho said. "They slowed us down."
The state-tournament appearance was the sixth for Camacho, who led Wagner to the semifinals four times before she made the title game for the first time with the Pats two years ago.
"It hurts just as much as the first time," Camacho said, when she was asked how it fell to fall short of the title again. "I hurt more for these kids because I think they did everything they could tonight. The ball didn't go our way.
"It really hurts for them that they didn't get it, but I told them before the game, no matter the score, we did everything possible. I don't think there's anything we could have done any better. We just weren't the better team tonight on the court."
Both teams finished with nine made field-goal attempts, but the Redhawks converted 13 of 16 three throws compared to 4 of 10 by Veterans Memorial.
Liberty didn't shoot much better than the Pats, hitting 33.3 percent (9-17) of its attempts from the field.
Junior guard Zoe Junior drove the baseline and scored on a layup with 23 seconds left in the second quarter, capping 7-0 run that put Liberty up 15-13 at the break.
Jones led all scorers at the half with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2 of 3 from the three-point line. Her back-to-back threes gave Veterans Memorial an 11-6 lead after one quarter.
No player on either team finished the first half with double-digit scoring.
The Pats shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, hitting 5 of 10 attempts. They were 2 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Liberty shot 31.3 percent overall (5-16) and 33.3 percent (2-6) from three-point range.