AUSTIN -- When the inevitable finally happened, there was no fist pump, no yell and no jump for joy. Joe Lombard simply clapped quietly, turned to give his wife a kiss and hugged his children.

For a coach who just secured his 1,000th career victory with his 14th state championship, Lombard celebrated with quiet dignity.

"I feel like an average Joe," Lombard said after his Canyon Eagles defeated Kennedale, 59-43, on Saturday in the Class 3A final. "Obviously it's a special day. I feel honored. I was called to this profession."

Lombard is just the fifth girls coach nationally to reach the 1,000-win milestone and has done it with astonishingly few losses. In 30 seasons coaching in the small towns of Canyon and Nazareth, his career record is 1,000-92.

Ironically, Lombard's first game was a loss, making for a miserable drive home in the dark in West Texas. Actually, he lost twice that night at Hartley. His junior varsity squad lost as well.

"That was a long night," Lombard said.

There have been very, very few like that one ever since.

Located in the ranchland and rugged terrain of the Panhandle, Canyon is just a few miles south of Amarillo. The Eagles have won eight state titles in 25 seasons under Lombard, six since 2000. His 2002-2003 team was ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today.

The current players were determined to make their mark in such a proud history.

"We didn't win all 1,000 of them, but to be on the team to give him this one is pretty incredible," said senior Jade Tinner, who scored 19 points Saturday.

Sensing his current players might be feeling the pressure, Lombard assured them that he'd return next season -- he's only 54 -- and they can just as easily get the win in the fall.

But there was no chance the Eagles were leaving Austin without it.

The Eagles roared to a 20-3 lead, hitting eight of their first 10 shots. Defensively, they shut down Kennedale's McDonald's All-American point guard Destini Hughes, blocking her first shot and forcing her spin into a defender in the lane for a turnover.

"We knew it would be an uphill battle," Kennedale coach Vance Hughes said. Hughes tried to keep the focus off of Lombard's legacy. His team was playing it its first state tournament.

"We tried not to think about it. We were going for our first [championship]," he said.

Canyon led 23-5 in the second on Brittany Hampton's 3-pointer before the Eagles finally started making mistakes. Two turnovers, four missed shots and a pair of 3-pointers by Destini Hughes and Desiree Scott cut the lead to 23-15.

Soon, Kennedale's offensive strategy was plainly simple: Get the ball to the talented Hughes and let her get to the basket any way she could. She had 10 points in the first two quarters but Canyon still led 30-20 by halftime.

Foul trouble would soon scuttle Kennedale's strategy.

In the third, Kennedale cut the lead to 34-26 before Hughes picked up two fouls -- her third and fourth -- in a 20-second span and had to go to the bench with 4:21 left in the quarter.

She returned in the fourth, but had to be tentative on defense and couldn't drive to the basket with authority. Canyon finally seized the opportunity, taking a 47-32 lead when Tinner hit an uncontested layup.

Canyon just had to hold on from there.

"They were playing good defense, but I thought the referees were kind of cheating us," said Destini Hughes, who finished with 17 points. "I guess I let down my team with the fouls."

Canyon went into its typical time-chewing clinic, working off valuable minutes before dumping the ball inside to Tinner who converted four strong moves in the post into easy layups.

The game was all but over when Hughes finally fouled out with Canyon leading 55-39 and Eagles fans started putting on bright green t-shirts printed with "1,000 for the Old Man."

Lombard marveled at the timing of getting the historic win the same day he won another state title, laughing off a joke that he's been calculating it since that first game back in 1978.

Senior Lauren McClintock said she and her father have been tracking the countdown to 1,000 since she was in the seventh grade.

"We figured I would be on [this] team," McClintock said. "I'm glad I got to be a part of it. I wasn't going to be happy if I wasn't."

CLASS 4A

Dallas Lincoln 50, Dickinson 47

AUSTIN -- Steal, layup.

Steal, layup.

Win.

Trailing by one with 35 seconds left, Dallas Lincoln forced two turnovers, turning both into layups and a 50-47 win over Dickinson on Saturday in the girls Class 4A state championship.

Lincoln trailed 47-46 when Breanna Johnson stripped the ball from Brianna Hypolite, leading to a tough baseline layup by Kimetria Hayden, giving Lincoln its first lead since the first quarter.

Ten seconds later, another steal by Chynna Brown led to a fastbreak basket by Britney Gowans. Given one last chance with the ball with four seconds left, Dickinson's inbounds pass was swiped by Gowans and Lincoln finished off its second state championship title in five years.

Hayden finished with 22 points and nine rebounds and Gowans had 16 points for Lincoln (29-4).

Marissa Ashton scored 14 to lead Dickinson (35-5), which lost in the final for the second straight year.

The quick turnaround stunned Dickinson, which led by eight early in the fourth. Even when Lincoln had whittled the lead to 47-44, Dickinson still seemed to be in control until Lincoln turned up the defensive pressure.

Dickinson had led 19-10 after the first quarter and was up by 33-23 at halftime behind a defense that shut down Lincoln on the perimeter. Lincoln's Taylor Morrow, who tied a tournament record with seven 3-pointers in the semifinals, made just one in the final.

But Dickinson's couldn't sustain the fast start. The Gators scored just 14 points in the second half, struggling to find the run that could have put the game away. The Gators managed just five field goals in the second half. Hypolite had eight of Dickinson's 15 turnovers.

CLASS 2A

Tuscola Jim Ned 65, Poth 49

AUSTIN -- Poth had the tournament experience. Tuscola Jim Ned had the defense.

Defense easily won the day.

Shelby Easterling scored 21 points Saturday and Jim Ned raced to big early lead behind a stifling defense before coasting to a 65-49 win over defending champion Poth in the Class 2A girls' state championship.

Jim Ned (33-5), best known as the alma mater of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, led 17-0 in the first quarter, attacking Poth ballhandlers in the backcourt and challenging every pass from basket to basket.

Jim Ned forced 27 turnovers, turning them into 27 points and quickly turning the game into a rout. Rita Day added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Renee O'Dell scored 11 points for Jim Ned.

Poth, which had advanced to the tournament for a fifth straight year and won a rugged double-overtime championship game in 2007, should have been ready for anything. Instead, the Pirettes looked rattled from the start and resorted to throwing wild passes and dropping on what should have been simple plays.

Jim Ned led 19-4 by the end of the first quarter and 36-17 at halftime. Jim Ned's 36 points in the half were more than Poth allowed in 15 games this season.

It never got better for Poth. Four turnovers in the first six possessions of the third ended any chance of rally as the Pirettes were a step slow and an inch to short to intercept passes or grab rebounds. The Indians pushed the lead as high as 64-40 by late in the fourth.

Kasey Harlos scored 20 to lead Poth (27-8), but was 6-of-21 shooting, including 3-of-13 on 3-pointers in a desperate bid to rally. Several Poth players were fighting back tears in the final minutes and one collapsed to the floor at the final horn as Jim Ned players celebrated on their bench.

CLASS A DIVISION I

Martin's Mill 48, Sudan 43

AUSTIN -- Jordan Barncastle leaped into her coach's arms for a hug. Martin's Mill had finally won its state championship.

Barncastle, who has signed to play in college at Texas Tech, scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds, leading Martin's Mill to a 48-43 victory over Sudan in Saturday's Class A Division I state championship after two straight years of losing in the semifinals.

The 6-foot-3 post player fought through double- and triple-teams to score seven straight points at the end of the third quarter, pulling Martin's Mill from behind to a 35-33 lead going into the fourth.

Taylor Daniel, who also scored 18 points for Martin's Mill, did the work in the fourth with six points in the final period. The 5-5 senior snagged a rebound, slalomed through the Sudan defense the length of the court and finished the break with a layup that made it 46-39 with two minutes to play.

Daniel also made two free throws with seven seconds left for the critical five-point lead after Sudan had rallied to within 48-43.

Brittany Williams scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Sudan (34-5) but got little scoring help. No other Sudan player scored more than seven.

Jacey Davison, who scored 26 points and set a 1A tournament record with 16 free throws, scored seven points in the final on 2-of-14 shooting and fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Sudan was 25-of-29 shooting free throws in its semifinals victory, but was 8-of-16 shooting in the final. Martin's Mill shot 50 percent for the game but also turned the ball over 22 times. The Mustangs hit one 3-pointer after making 8 of 9 in the semifinals.

CLASS A DIVISION II

Follett 71, Kennard 51

AUSTIN -- Follett traveled farther than any other team to get to the state tournament. Winning a state title will make the trip home a heck of a lot more fun.

Brittani Blau scored 27 points Saturday night, leading Follett, to the Class 1A Division II state championship with a 71-51 victory over Kennard. Blau hit five of her team's eight 3-pointers and Kalan Lamberson scored 15 points.

Follett (31-2), tucked way up in the Northeastern corner of the Panhandle, traveled 560 miles to get to its first state tournament since 1973. It was also the tiniest school in the tournament with only 59 students.

Felicia Skinner scored 28 points in a spectacular individual performance for Kennard (31-6). She was 8-of-10 from the field and 10-of-10 shooting free throws.

Follett led 34-23 at halftime before Kennard made its only push to get back in the game. An 8-2 run cut the lead to 36-31 when Ariel Momphrey tipped a pass to herself, beat two defenders to the ball and dribbled through three more for a layup.

It had little effect in slowing down Follett. Blau hit a 3-pointer at the other end -- one of four Follett 3-pointers in the quarter -- and the lead was quickly back up to 53-39. When Skinner was whistled for a technical foul after the quarter, Blau made both free throws and Follett led by 16 to start the fourth.

Skinner's frustration was boiling to the surface in a game in which she had scored 26 of her team's 39 points up to that point yet was still facing a huge deficit with time running short. Erica Adair added 12 points for Kennard.