Lady Eagles third in tournament

By GALEN WELLNICKI
After capturing third-place this past weekend at Burleson Centennial’s Lady Spartan Classic, Georgetown coach Rhonda Farney was pleased with the Lady Eagles’ performance as they won three of their starts by an average of 19 points per game.
“It was a big success,” Farney said of an event that enabled GHS to improve its record to 3-2 prior to Tuesday’s 7 p.m. road test against Class 6A Pflugerville, which has opened the season with a 6-1 record. THe Lady Panthers have won six straight since opening the campaign with a one-point loss to Vista Ridge.
“We are a long way ahead of where we were at this time last year,” Farney continued. “The defense is ahead of the offense.”
The Lady Eagles opend the tournament with a 57-42 win over Lubbock and bested 6A Leander, 51-28, in Friday morning’s quarterfinals. GHS hen dropped a 40-38 decision to 6A Waco Midway in Friday evening’s semifinals before dominating host Centennial, 46-27, in the third-place game on Saturday afternoon.
Georgetown senior point guard Brooke Elliott was named to the all-tournament team in the 14-school event.
Midway, which also posted a 64-57 win over the Lady Eagles in the season opener, lost to Keller, 45-44, in the championship game.
After the tournament, Farney pointed to the split nature of her eight-player roster — four varsity returnees from a regional finalist and four newcomers — three up from the JV ranks and another from middle school.
“The kids with experience played well,” she said. “Brooke and Taylor (Elliott) both played extremely well. Brooke is our offensive leader and Taylor established herself as the force on defense. Dee (6-foot-1 post Day) has stepped up and has become a good leader off and on the court. E.J. (sophomore post Jones) played well in spots as she’s still is not 100 percent coming off a shoulder injury.
“The kids up from the JV — Maddie (Vickers), Jaelyn (Knight) and Josie (Weirich) are in kind of a haze thinking about what they are doing in most situations, but are close to getting it down. Freshman Emery Herman (a 6-1 multi-talented performer) is currently learning the system after coming out of volleyball and we’re figuring out where she can make the best contribution. We think she’ll feel more comfortable after more time in the gym.”
Vickers and Weirich are juniors and Knight is a 5-11 sophomore.
The shooting statistics for the four tournament games show Georgetown’s defensive strength as the opponents managed just 43 field goals in 158 attempts — 27.2 percent.
The Elliott twins led GHS in scoring in the victory over the Lubbock Westerners with Taylor and Brooke scoring 15 and 12, respectively. The Lady Eagles swept the boards with Knight grabbing 10 rebounds and Day and Jones pulling down eight and six. GHS lead 29-21 at the half and outscored the Westerners by seven in the second half.
Against long-time rival Leander, the Lady Eagles held the Lady Lions to just seven successes in 36 shots from the floor. Day led GHS scorers with 12 points and added eight rebounds. Jones also had eight boards, while Herman adding seven.
GHS trailed 23-16 at the half against Midway, but rallied to outscore the Pantherettes 22-17 in the second half. B. Elliott led GHS with 17 points and Knight topped the rebounding chart with six. Midway’s Barbara Benson, who scored 23 points in the season opener, was held scoreless, missing all seven of her shots from the floor, includsing six 3-point efforrts. She also fouled out.
B. Elliott and Day finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively, in a third-place game in which Georgetown build a 30-12 halftime advantage. Day also dominated the rebounding chart with 11. The Spartans made only 11 of 45 shots.
LADY SPARTAN CLASSIC
At Burleson Centennial
First Round
GEORGETOWN 57, LUBBOCK 42
GHS (57) — Brooke Elliott 3-6 0-0 12. Josie Weirich 1-3 0-2 3, Taylor Elliott 6-11 1-2 15, Jaelyn Knight 4-5 0-2 8, Maddie Vickers 1-5 2-6 4, Emery Herman 1-3 4-5 6, Dee Day 2-2 1-2 5, E.J. Jones 1-3 2-4 4. Totals: 21-38 10-23 57.
LUBBOCK (42) — Keaira Garcia 4-9 4-4 15, Jaiden Eaton 1-3 2-3 5, Alexis Jamie 0-2 0-0 0, Amyriah Perez 2-4 1-3 6, Allyah Flores 0-1 0-0 0, Gabi Villarreal 1-8 1-3 3, Connie Garcia 1-1 0-0 2, Jizelle Eaton 0-2 2-2 2, Clarissa Francis 3-6 3-6 9. Totals: 12-36 13-21 42.
Halftime score: GHS, 29-21. 3-point shooting: GHS 5-14 (B. Elliott 2-3, Weirich 1-3, T. Elliott 2-5, Vickers 0-2, Herman 0-1); LHS 5-15 (K. Garcia 3-5, Ja. Eaton 1-3, Jamie 0-1, Perez 1-3, Flores 0-1, Villarreal 0-2). Rebounds: GHS 35 (Knight 10, Day 8, Jones 6, Vickers 4); LHS 15 (K. Garcia 4). Assists: GHS 11 (T. Elliott 6, Vickers 4). Steals: GHS 17 (T. Elliott 9, Knight 3). Blocks: GHS 4 (Knight, Herman, Day, Jones). Turnovers: GHS 12. Team Fouls: GHS 12; LHS 15. Fouled out: none. Records: GHS, 1-1; Lubbock, 0-2.
Quarterfinals
GEORGETOWN 51, LEANDER 28
GHS (51) — B. Elliott 1-6 5-7 7, Weirich 1-3 2-2 5, T. Elliott 3-5 3-4 9, Knight 2-9 1-2 5, Vickers 0-3 0-0 0, Herman 1-3 2-2 4, Day 4-7 4-6 12, Jones 4-7 1-2 9. Totals: 16-43 18-25.
LEANDER (28) –Tyla Dixon 1-8 3-4 5, Mikaela Noe 4-14 4-6 12, Kassadie Sanders 2-6 2-3 8, Morgan Worthy 0-0 1-3 1, Alicia Molina 0-6 2-3 2, Peighton Smith 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 7-36 12-19 28.
Halftime score: GHS, 29-9. 3-point shooting: GHS 1-11 (B. Elliott 0-4, Wierich 1-3, T. Elliott 3-4, Knight 1-2, Hermsn 2-2, Day 4-6, Jones 1-2); LHS 2-20 (Dixon 0-4, Noe v0-8, Sanders 2-5, Moolina 0-5). Rebounds: GHS 39 (Day 8, Jones 8, Herman 7, B. Elliott 5); LHS 12 (Smith 3). Assists: GHS 6 (Hermsn 2, four others with one each). Steals: GHS 10 (T. Elliott 2, Vickers 2, Herman 2, Jones 2). Blocks: GHS 4 (Jonrd 2, Herman 1, Knight 1). Turnovers: GHS 4. Total fouls: GHS 16; LHS 16. Fouled out: GHS, Jones. Records, GHS, 2-1; Leander 1-2.
Semifinals
WACO MIDWAY 40. GEORGETOWN 38
GHS (38) –B. Elliott 6-13 3-4 17, Weirich 0-1 0-0 0, T. Elliott 2-6 0-4 5, Knight 1-3 2-3 4, Vickers 1-6 0-0 2, Herman 1-21 0-0 2, Day 1-7 6-10 8, Jones 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 12-38 11-21 38.
WACO MIDWAY (40) — Keziah Bachert 0-0 2-2 2, Elise Tate 3-5 0-0 9, Kyra Webster 0-2 1-2 1, Madison Burns 0-1 2-2 2, Janalya Davis 2-2 0-0 4, Barbara Benson 0-7 0-0 0, Chelsey Harris 2-4 2-2 7, Jailene Gutierrez 1-2 0-0 2, Kayla White 0-0 0-0, Celeyah Burrell 0-3 0-0 0, Shaurmeyun Isaac 4-5 0-0 8, Regganae Allen 0-1 2-2 2, Gillian Crain 0-1 0-0 0, Ashlynn Gorrell 0-1 0-0m 0, Madison Wagner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-41 10-12 40.
Halftime score: WMH, 23-16. 3-point shooting: 3-14 (B. Elliott 2-5, Weirich 0-1, T. Elliott 1-4, Vickers 0-3, Day 0-1); WMH 4-10 (Tate 3-3, Webster 0-1, Burns 0-1, Benson 0-1, Harris 1-2, Allen 0-1, Crain 0-1). Rebounds: GHS 5 (Knight 6, Herman 5, B. Elliott 4, Jones 4); WMH 23 (Isaac 5, White 4). Assists: GHS 4 (four players with one each). Steals: GHS 8 (Day 3, B. Elliott 2, T. Taylor Elliott 2). Blocks: GHS 0. Turnovers” GHS 5, Total fouls: GHS 18, WMH 23. Fouled out: MHS, Benson. Records: GHS, 2-2; Midway, 4-0.
Third-Place Game
GEORGETOWN 46, BURLESON CENTENNIAL 27
GHS (46) — B. Elliott 9-13 0-2 15, Weirich 1-4 2-2 5, T. Elliott 2-5 2-4 7, Knight 0-0 0-0 0, Vickers 0-3 0-0 0, Herman 1-2 1-1 3, Day 4-8 5-12 14, Jones 1-1 0-1 2. Totals: 15-36 10-22.
CENTENNIAL (27) — Karly Burson 1-9 0-0 3, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Brea Gustin 1-9 0-0 2, McCalla 4-7 0-0 8, Benson 3-7 2-2 10, McCalla 1-4 0-0 2, Waits 1-2 0-0 2, AdyMize 0-5 0-2 0. Totals: 11-45 2-4 27.
Halftime: GHS, 30-12. 3-point shooting: GHS 6-17 (B. Elliott 3-5, Weirich 1-4, T. Elliott 1-3, Vickers 0-3, Herman 0-1, Day 1-1); BCH 3-16 (Burson 1-8, Williams 0-1, Gustin 0-3, Benson 2-4). Rebounds: GHS 29 (Day 11, Jones 5, Herman 4, T. Elliott 4); BCH: 21 (Benson 9, Mize 5). Assists: GHS 9 (Knight 3, T. Elliott 2). Steals: GHS 12 (Day 5, T. Elliott 3). Blocks: GHS 1 (Day). Turnovers: GHS 11. Total fouls: GHS 12, BCH 17. Fouled out: none. Records: GHS, 3-2; Centennial, 3-2.
Source: GHS basketball staqtistics.