By GALEN WELLNICKI
Twelfth-ranked Georgetown iced down several things with Friday’s 74-21 victory over Elgin at the Wildcats’ digs, including themselves as assistant coach Kellye Richardson took a half dozen ice bags into the dressing room following the highly physical, if one-sided, encounter.
Most importantly, Georgetown combined its victory over Elgin with losses by Bastrop (6-6) and East View (5-6) to clinch its 27th consecutive trip to the state playoffs under head coach Rhonda Farney. The win also improved the Lady Eagles record to 11-0 in District 19-5A and 20-6 for campaign, giving GHS its 28th straight 20-win season.
In fact, Bastrop Cedar Creek’s 42-35 win over Bastrop insures the Lady Eagles no worse than a third-place finish in district. Since neither the Lady Bears or East View can catch Georgetown with five playing dates remaining in the race.
Georgetown will face once-contending Bastrop at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Eagle Gym. The Lady Bears finished the first half of the race at 6-2, but have lost their first four starts during the second round, falling to East View, 38-35; Rouse, 51-37; Cedar Park, 59-44; and Cedar Creek. The Lady Eagles bested Bastrop, 74-17, in the first meeting on Dec. 13.
However, the marquee matchup on Tuesday’s 19-5A menu will send Cedar Park (10-2) against Rouse (9-2) on the Lady Timberwolves’ hardwoods. Cedar Park is coming off a come-from-behind 58-56 win over East View, while Rouse was idle on Friday. The Raiders won the first meeting 43-42 at home.
“It wasn’t our best game,” Farney said after a game in which several players logged significant floor time. “It was good to get out of here with a winning and, hopefully, everybody healthy.”
After Saturday’s prctice, she added, “Our gals were very sore because the game was extremely physical.”
Referring to her team’s next four games in a back-loaded district schedule in which the Lady Eagles will play the other four playoff contenders, Farney said, “For the next two weeks it gets real tough.”
In addition to playing Bastrop on Tuesday, GHS will visit East View at 8 p.m. Friday and then entertain Rouse on Tuesday, Jan. 31, and visit Cedar Park on Friday, Feb. 3. They will close the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at home against Cedar Creek. The playoffs open on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 13-14.
The game with East View is the second half of a boys-girls varsity doubleheader.
The 53-point victory over the ninth-place Lady Wildcats continued a four-game stretch in which the Lady Eagles have outscored their opponents by 218 points (310 to 92). For GHS it was the 12th time an opponents was held to 34 or fewer points and ninth occasion in which the opponents’ top scorer failed to reach double digits.
Again, defense was a key factor for Georgetown as it held Elgin to just five baskets in 33 attempts, inclding an 0-of-6 showing beyond the arch. With freshman Emery Herman and senior Taylor Elliott each posting six and seniors Brooke Elliott and Dee Day each having five, the Lady Eagles also recorded 31 steals.
Georgetown built a 44-12 halftime lead, scoring 22 points in each of the first two quarters, before slamming the hammer down with an 18-2 edge in the third period as they scored the first 16 points of the second half.
Offensively, GHS made 30 of its 45 shot attempts against, at times, a virtually non-existant Elgin defense. The inside combination of the 6-foot-1 Day and 5-11 sophomore Emily Jones scored 20 and 16 points, respectively, while sophomore Jaelyn Knight had 11 — all in the first half. Herman and T. Elliott each added nine. The Lady Eagles also recorded 29 assists as B. Elliott had seven and Herman six.
The Lady Eagles also took a 29-17 edge on the boards with Day and B. Elliott each having six rebounds.
In sub-varsity action at Elgin, the GHS JV improved to 10-0 in 19-5A with a 66-28 victory over the young Lady Wildcats. Playing without two regulars –guard Ali Isbell and post Jade Smith — the Lady Eagles built a 31-10 halftime lead en route to improving their season mark to 15-3. McCall Hampton, up from the Freshman Blue, scored 20 points, while Shelby Jones and Samari O’Brien added 11 and 10, respectively.
The Freshman Blue, with two of its best performers playing up on the JV, rolled to a 50-13 win over Elgin to make their record 11-0 in 19-5A and 18-1 for the season. MacKenzy Mouton scored 16 points for the first-year Lady Eagles and Keiana San Miguel added 10 points.
State-ranked Tomball Memorial continued to roll in 20-5A with a 44-28 win over Magnolia West to go 9-0 in district. However, things contined to shift dramatically in the race for the other three playoff positions. Second-place Magnolia (6-3) was upset 29-28 by Tomball (6-3), which pulled into a tie for the No. 2 spot. Waller (5-4) surprised Brenham (4-5) by a 51-45 count to move into sole possesion of fourth.
The four playoff qualifiers from 19-5A will play their counterparts from 20-5A in inverse order in the bi-district round of the 128-team UIL Class 5A playoffs.
The status quo held in 18-5A with College Station (7-1), Temple (7-1) and Bryan Rudder (6-1) besting the bottom three teams in the seven-school alignment. However, things should change Tuesdaywhen Temple and Rudder collide on the Rangers’ court. The Wildcats won the first meeting 49-41 in Temple in mid-December.
In 17-5A, Ennis (5-0) and Lindale (4-1) top the chart at the midpoint of the six-team race. Nacogdoches, Jacksonville and Corsicana are in playoff contention at 2-3 with Whitehouse standing 0-5. Ennis goes against Corsicana on Tuesday and Lindale faces Jacksonville.
DISTRICT 19-5A GIRLS BASKETBALL
Standings — Georgetown, 11-0; Cedar Park, 10-2; Rouse, 9-2; Bastrop, 6-6; East View, 5-6; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 4-8; Pflugerville Connally, 3-8; Hutto, 3-9; Elgin, 1-11.
Friday’s results — Georgetown 74, Elgin 21; Cedar Park 58. East View 56; Cedar Creek 42, Bastrop 35; Hutto 62, Connally 55. Bye — Rouse.
Tuesday’s games — Bastrop at Georgetown, 7 p.m.; East View at Cedar Creek, 7 p.m.; Rouse at Cedar Park, 7 p.m.; Elgin at Connally, 7 p.m. Bye — Hutto.
Friday’s games — Georgetown at East View, 8 p.m.; Hutto at Elgin, 7 p.m.; Cedar Creek at Rouse, 7 p.m.; Connally at Bastrop, 7 p.m. Bye — Cedar Park.
OTHER KEY REGION III-5A DISTRICTS
(Districts 19-5A could face in opening rounds of the playoffs)
17-5A — Ennis, 5-0; Lindale, 4-1; Jacksonville, 2-3; Nacogdoches, 2-3; Corsicana, 2-3; Whitehouse, 0-5. Friday’s results: Ennis 56, Jacksonville 15; Lindale 67, Nacogdoches 41; Nacogdoches 48; Corsicana 35, Whitehouse 31.
18-5A — College Station, 7-1; Temple, 7-1; Bryan Rudder, 6-1; Bryan, 3-4; Waco, 2-6; Waco University, 1-7; College Station A&M Consolidated, 1-7. Friday’s results — Temple 52, A&M Consolidated 44; College Station 60, University 44; Rudder 63, Waco 60. Bye — Bryan.
20-5A — Tomball Memorial, 9-0; Magnolia, 6-3; Tomball, 6-3; Waller, 5-4; Brenham, 4-5; Huntsville, 3-6; Magnolia West, 2-7; Willis, 1-8. Friday’s results — Memorial 44, Magnolia West 28; Tomnall 29, Magnolia 28; Waller 51, Brenham 45; Huntsville 35; Willis 34.
FRIDAY’S DISTRICT 19-5A GAMES
At Elgin
Varsity
GEORGETOWN 74, ELGIN 21
GHS (74) — Brooke Elliott 3-5 0-0 6, Josie Weirich 1-2 0-0 2, Taylor Elliott 4-6 1-4 9, Jaelyn Knight 5-9 1-1 11, Maddie Vickers 0-1 1-4 1, Emery Herman 4-6 1-2 9, Dee Day 7-9 6-13 20, Emily Jones 6-7 4-6 16. Totals: 30-45 14-29 74.
ELGIN (21) — Tiffany Abernathy 1-5 1-2 3, Kenshavia Knighten 0-1 0-1 0, Shanice Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Atyanna Freeman 1-6 1-2 3, Hope Dybus 0-1 1-2 1, Andrenique Roberson 0-3 2-2 2, Rebekah Prinz 0-9 2-2 2, Briahanna Aquirre 1-5 4-4 6, Victoria Ward 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 5-33 11-15 21.
Halftime: GHS, 44-12. 3-point shooting: GHS 0-4 (B. Elliott 0-2, T. Elliott 0-1, Vickers 0-1); EHS 0-6 (Freeman 0-1, Prinz 0-5). Rebounds: GHS 29 (B. Elliott 6, Day 6, Herman 5); EHS 17 (Roberson 5). Assists: GHS 29 (B. Elliott 7, Herman 6, T. Elliott 5). Steals: GHS 31 (Herman 6, T. Elliott 6, B. Elliott 5, Day 5, Jones 4). Blocks: GHS 4 (Day 2, Herman, T. Elliott); EHS 1 (Freeman). Turnovers: GHS 4. Total fouls: GHS 16, EHS 20. Fouled out: EHS, Roberson (1:59, 4th). Records: Geworgetown, 11-0 in 19-5A, 20-6; Elgin, 1-11 in 19-5A, 4-20.
Sub-Varsity
(GHS scoring only)
GHS JV 65, ELGIN JV 28 — Gracie Speer 9, Morgan Bruning 2, Samari O’Brien 10, Ashley Wickline2, Kylie Ellsworth 7, Shelby Jones 11, Miranda Gil 7, McCall Hampton 20. Halftime: GHS, 31-10. GHS record: 10-0 in 19-5A, 15-3.
GHS FRESHMAN BLUE 50, ELGIN FRESHMAN 13 –Hailey Hanson 3, Hailey Smith 4, Maya Perry 8, Kylee Sander 4, Mercedes Robledo 5, Keiana San Miguel 10, MacKenzy Mouton 16. Halftime: GHS, 28-6. GHS record: 11-0 in 19-5A, 18-1.