Here’s a quick look at Thursday night’s Class 4A semifinal matchups…

Mansfield Timberview (35-2, Region I) vs. Cibolo Steele (34-4, Region IV)

Mansfield is a suburban community south of Fort Worth; Cibolo is a suburban community on the east side of San Antonio.

Timberview (TABC No. 1) and Steele (TABC No. 6) face off in a clash of 4A titans that is also a rematch of last year’s state semifinal. Timberview defeated Steele, 67-46, before losing in the state championship game to Waco Midway, 50-27. Thirteen players from that game (six from Steele, seven from Timberview) returned to their teams’ rosters in 2009-2010.

In that game, poor field goal shooting plagued Steele. They shot just 14-of-67 (20.9%) from the field, including 0-of-11 from the three-point line.

The Knights (34-4) return three starters from the 2009 team. Guards Meighan Simmons and Olivia Patterson and forward Taylor Calvert scored 30 of Steele’s 46 points in last years meeting and return for 2010.

Steele, winners of District 27-4A, are the highest scoring team among the semifinalists, averaging over 69 points per game. Timberview, District 8-4A champions, have allowed opponents an average of 38.1 points per game.

Timberview (35-2) has two returning starters from last year. Seniors Keena Mays and Maegan Conwright will be counted on again to send the Wolves back to the state championship game.

Steele, making their third consecutive tournament appearance, will be looking to win their first tournament game. In 2008, they entered the tournament as the top-ranked 4A team with a record of 37-1 but lost to Dallas Lincoln in the semifinal.

Timberview is currently on a 22-game winning streak; Steele has won 12 in a row.

As last year’s game showed, the two teams are very similar and the game could easily again come down to which team shoots best on Thursday evening.

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Del Valle (36-2, Region III) vs. Frisco Wakeland (29-6, Region II)

Del Valle is approximately 10 miles east of downtown Austin near Bergstrom Airport; Frisco is a northern suburban community in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Del Valle should bring a bit of a ‘home court advantage’ into the Erwin Center on Thursday, thanks to their close proximity to Austin. The Lady Cardinals (36-2) also will bring the best record of the remaining 4A teams. This will be their first tournament appearance in 29 years.

Wakeland (29-6) could be considered the Cinderella story of the tournament. The Wolverines were the runner-up in District 9-4A behind district sister school Frisco. Interestingly, Wakeland defeated District 9-4A third-place finisher McKinney North in the Region II championship to earn a spot in the state tournament.

After a 21-point bidistrict win over Dallas Highland Park, Wakeland has been challenged in every playoff game, winning by margins of one, four, two and six. Del Valle’s lone scare in the Region III playoffs was a 47-45 win in the quarterfinal round over Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill.

Del Valle has averaged 50 points per game and Wakeland has averaged 55.5. Defensively, the Lady Cardinals allow 31.8 points while the Wolverines give up 41.4 per game.

Wakeland is making their first-ever tournament appearance. Because of Del Valle’s long absence from the big stage too, the game may come down to which team better handles the bright lights of the Erwin Center and the nerves that go along with it.