By GALEN WELLNICKI
Leading 33-0 with five minutes remaining in the first half is not a bad thing in basketball or any other sport for that matter. It was especially good for the Georgetown Lady Eagles, who posted a 74-17 victory over Bastrop on the Bears’ home court on Tuesday night.
But more importantly, the one-sided victory over a team ranked 20th in 5A by the Texas Girls Coaches Association coupled with Rouse’s one-point upset of Cedar Park left the Lady Eagles as the only unbeaten team in District 19-5A after five playing dates.
Georgetown, which had its open-date in the nine-team alignment on the first night of district action, stands 4-0, leaving it ahead of Cedar Park (4-1), Rouse (3-1) and Bastrop (3-2) in the run for the district’s four berths in the 128-team Class 5A state playoffs.
In reaching the 4-0 status, the Lady Eagles, 14th ranked in the eyes of the TGCA, have downed their four district opponents by a total of 220 points by margins of 37, 59, 67 and 57 points, averaging 78 points a game and recording three defensive performances—19, 14 and 17 points—that have earned a home in the GHS record book.
However, the road should be more challenging over the next three starts—at home at 5:30 p.m. Friday against cross-toll-road rival East View, 1-3 in district but already having played Rouse and Cedar Park; Rouse at the Raiders digs at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday; and then Cedar Park at home after the holiday break on Tuesday, Jan. 3. They will conclude the first-round of the 19-5A derby at Bastrop Cedar Creek on Friday, Jan. 6.
Friday’s Georgetown-East View battle will have the visiting Patriots, under former GHS assistant Dave Walla, looking for their first-even win over the Lady Eagles. East View will be coming off its first district win—48-29 victory over Cedar Creek. The Patriots had their open date on the second night for the district campaign.
Looking at Tuesday’s victory over a Bastrop squad that now stands 13-5 on the season, GHS head coach Rhonda Farney said, “The kids played really well, started strongly and played great defense. The win came over a team that had a lot more wins than we did. I’m very pleased.”
Defensively, although no mark is listed in the school record book, GHS may have turned in one of the school’s best performances ever with 31 steals, including nine by 6-foot-1 freshman Emery Herman, which ties her for fourth all-time on the school record’s list. Senior Taylor Elliott had seven. The Lady Eagles held a Bastrop team that often had trouble maintaining possession of the ball to just five baskets in 29 attempts (17 percent), including an 0-of-8 showing beyond the
3-point line.
With GHS hitting 63 percent of its 44 shots, the team record 29 assists, including 12 by senior guard Brooke Elliott, which ties her for the third-best performance in the school record’s listing. The Lady Eagles also had a healthy 34-15 edge on the boards with B. Elliott grabbing seven and 6-1 senior Dee Day and sophomore Emily Jones each collecting six.
With Day, sliding to the basket to score 18 of her game-high 23 points, in the first quarter, GHS took a 28-0 lead and then Day’s 19th and 20th points of the contest gave the Lady Eagles’ the 33-0 advantage. Georgetown led 44-10 at the half and 58-11 after three quarters. A basket by Herman with 5:24 remaining in the game pushed the lead over 50 where it resided for the rest of the contest.
Day was joined in double figures by junior guard Josie Weirich, who added 10 points on a perfect shooting night from the field. Herman and sophomore Jaelyn Knight each added nine and T. Elliott and Jones had eight each.
The two sub-varsity games foreshadowed the varsity game with both posting one-sided wins and improving their district marks to 4-0.
The JV expanded a 31-10 halftime lead to an eventual 67-16 victory with Shelby Jones and Samari O’Brien scoring 16 and 15 points, respectively.
The GHS Freshman Blue took a 51-2 victory after leading 34-1 at the half. Maya Perry and MacKenzy Mouton led the way with 11 and 10 points.
DISTRICT 19-5A GIRLS BASKETBALL
Standings—Georgetown, 4-0; Cedar Park, 4-1; Rouse, 3-1; Bastrop. 3-2; Pflugerville Connally, 2-2; East View, 1-3; Hutto. 1-3; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 1-4; Elgin, 1-4.
Tuesday’s results—Georgetown 74, Bastrop 17; East View 48, Cedar Creek 29; Rouse 43, Cedar Park 42; Connally 68. Elgin 35. Bye—Hutto.
Friday’s games—East View at Georgetown, 5:30 p.m.; Elgin at Hutto, 5:30 p.m.; Rouse at Cedar Creek, 7 p.m.; Bastrop at Connally, 7 p.m. Bye—Cedar Park.
Tuesday’s games — Georgetown at Rouse, 1:30 p.m.; Cedar Creek at Cedar Park, 2:30 p.m.; Hutto at Bastrop, 1:30 p.m.; Connally at East View, 7 p.m. Bye—Elgin.
TUESDAY’S 19-5A GAMES
At Bastrop
Varsity
GEORGETOWN 74, BASTROP 17
GHS (73)—Brooke Elliott 2-4 0-0 5, Josie Weirich 3-3 2-2 10, Taylor Elliott 2-7 4-6 8, Jaelyn Knight 4-5 1-2 9, Maddie Vickers 1-1 0-1 2, Emery Herman 4-6 1-1 9, Dee Day 10-13 3-8 23, Emily Jones 2-5 4-4 8. Totals: 28-44 15-24 74.
BASTROP (17)—Akhiri Lester 2-4 2-4 6, Erin Malone 0-0 0-0 0, Rhaneahqua Higgins 0-3 1-2 1, Kewaysha Alsup 0-0 0-0 0, Ashlynn Watley 0-2 0-0 0, Felicity Kelly 1-3 2-4 4, LaDeja Womack 0-1 0-0 0, Carley Soules 0-1 0-0 0, Peniah Waites 2-8 1-1 5, Mariah Weeks 0-0 0-0 0, Kya Tarver 0-7 1-2 1.
Totals: 5-29 7-13 17.
Halftime: GHS, 44-10. 3-point shooting: GHS 3-8 (B. Elliott 1-3, Weirich 2-2, T. Elliott 0-3); BHS 0-8 (Higgins 0-3, Watley 0-2, Tarver 0-3). Rebounds: GHS 34 (B. Elliott 7, Day 6, Jones 6, Herman 5, Vickers 4); BHS 15 (Kelly 7). Assists: GHS 29 (B. Elliott 12, Herman 5, T. Elliott 4). Steals: GHS 31 (Herman 9, T. Elliott 7, Day 5, B. Elliott 4). Blocks: GHS 12 (Jones, Herman). Turnovers: GHS 5. Total fouls: GHS 16, BHS 21. Fouled out: Lester. Records: Georgetown, 4-0 in 19-5A, 11-5; Bastrop, 3-2 in 19-5A, 13-5.
Sub-Varsity
(GHS scoring only)
GHS JV 67, BASTROP JV 16—Speer 9, Morgan Bruning 4, Ali Isbell 8, Samari O’Brien 15, Hailey Wickline 2, Shelby Jones 18, Miranda Gil 3, Emili Harris 6, Jade Smith 2. Halftime: GHS, 31-10. GHS record: 4-0 in 19-5A, 8-3.
GHS FRESHMAN BLUE 51, BASTROP FRESHMAN 2—Hailey Hanson 2, Na’Keia Cook 0, Hailey Smith 0, A’Brielle Abrams 0, Maya Perry 11, Kylie Ellsworth 9, Kylee Sander 2, Mercedes Robledo 5, Keiana San Miguel 8, Keyla Perez 2, McCall Hampton 2, MacKenzy Mouton 10. Halftime: GHS, 34-12. GHS record: 4-0 in 19-5A, 10-1.
TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF BASKETBALL COACHES 5A RANKINGS
(Released Dec. 12)
1. Mansfield Timberview. 2. Canyon. 3. Amarillo. 4. Dayton. 5. Frisco Liberty. 6. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill. 7. El Paso Burges. 8. Kerrville Tivy. 9. Red Oak. 10. Dripping Springs. 11. Tomball Memorial. 12. Waxahachie. 13. Mansfield Summit. 14. Saginaw Boswell. 15. The Colony. 16. Frisco Lone Star. 17. Austin SFA. 18. Plainview. 19. College Station. 20. Colleyville Heritage. 21. Mansfield Legacy. 22. Cedar Park. 23. Houston Madison. 24. Brownsville Veterans Memorial. 25. Rio Grande City.
TEXAS GIRLS COACHES ASSOCIATION 5A RANKINGS
(Released Dec. 12)
Class 5A
1. Mansfield Timberview. 2. Canyon. 3. Amarillo. 4. Dayton. 5. The Colony. 6. Red Oak. 7. Kerrville Tivy. 8. Frisco Liberty. 9. El Paso Burges. 10. Saginaw Boswell. 11. Cedar Park. 12. Dripping Springs. 13. Rio Grande City. 14. Georgetown. 15. Tomball Memorial. 16. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill. 17. Laredo Cigarroa. 18. Austin SFA. 19. Mansfield Summit. 20. (Tie) Brownsville Veterans Memorial, San Antonio Harlandale, Plainview, Frisco Lone Star, Bastrop.