By: GALEN WELLNICKI
What does a coach say after her team bested a district rival 82-16 in a contest in which it led 57-4 with four minutes and two seconds remaining in the third quarter?
Georgetown coach Rhonda Farney had the following response after Tuesday night’s game at Eagle Gym that pushed the 12th-ranked Lady Eagles to 10-0 in District 19-5A action:
“I’m really excited about the way were playing,” Farney said with six games remaining in the regular season. “I really like Hutto coach Jennifer Hoffman. Our kids came out and played hard, and there is a difference between playing hard and running up the score. I think opponents respect you when you win by playing hard. I continue to be really proud of the leadership provided by our seniors.
“We’ll try to play hard again (at 7 p.m.) Friday when we play at Elgin (1-10), but then things are going to get real serious for us with consecutive games against Bastrop, East View, Rouse and Cedar Park.”
During the stretch drive to a probable playoff berth GHS will play Bastrop and Rouse at home and East View and Cedar Park on the road before closing the regular season at home against Bastrop Cedar Creek. Rouse and Cedar Park are deadlocked for second at 9-2 with the Raiders having won the first meeting between the two by one point. They collide again on this coming Tuesday on the Lady Timberwolves’ court.
In fact, Friday could be a big night for the Lady Eagles, providing a chance for them to clinch their 27th straight playoff appearance if they beat Elgin and East View (5-5) loses to Cedar Park at home. A win over the struggling Lady Wildcats also would give GHS its 28th-straight 20-win season as they will take the court with a 19-6 season mark.
The varsity victory was the keystone on a night in which the Lady Eagles bested the three Hutto teams — varsity, JV and freshman — by a 141-point margin. GHS, playing without three players, won the JV contest, 49-26, and the Freshmen Blue won 62-12. The two sub-varsities also are unbeaten in 19-5A. The JV is 9-0 and the Freshmen Blue is 10-0.
“We’re doing well at all levels,” Farney said.
The 66-point margin Tuesday night is the Lady Eagles’ second largest of the season — just behind a 67-point win (79-12) over Elgin during the first round of district action. In two games, GHS has beaten Hutto by 125 points, having won 78-19 at Hutto on Dec. 6. Georgetown has won its first 10 district starts by an average of 41.2 points a contest.
GHS built a 21-0 lead in the first 5:24 of the game en route to a 29-2 lead after one. The score was 47-4 at the half and 62-8 after three. The final mrgin was the longest lead of the game.
Defensive pressure was the Lady Eagles’ major weapon as Elgin had trouble getting the ball down court and retaining possession. GHS held the Lady Hippos to just 20 shots (six makes), stole the ball 30 times along with posting a 32-17 edge on the boards. The 30 steals is the second best mark of the campaign.
Offensively, Dee Day, a 6-1 senior post, posted a team season-high 27 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the floor, topping her previous sesson best by a point. She also had a team-high nine steals and four assists. Three other Lady Eagles scored in double-digits — Josie Weirich, 11; Taylor Elliott, 10; and Emily Jones, 10. Brooke Elliott and Jaelyn Knight each added nine points.
Freshman Emery Herman used her 6-1 frame to pull down a team-leading 10 rebounds and dished out a team-high eight assists. T. Elliott was second in steals with eight.
The victory over Hutto also marked the 10th time the Lady Eagles have held an opponent to 32 or fewer points and the 10th game in which the opponents’ top scorer has produced 10 or fewer points. Keyala Foster led the Lady Hippos with six points — all in the fourth period.
In the JV game, sophomore Ali Isbell made seven of Georgetown’s 10 3-pointers to finish with 21 points. The GHS varsity record for 3-pointers in a single game is eight. To fill the spots left vacant by the missing JV players, freshmen McCall Hampton and Kylie Ellsworth, performed well, logging significant playing time.
Mercedes Robledo scored 22 points and Keiana San Miguel added 10 points in the Freshman Blue victory.
In District 20-5A, which 19-5A will face in the first round of the playoffs, Tomball Memorial beat Huntsville, 50-28, to improve to 8-0, but second-place Magnolia (6-2) was upended 52-41, by Waller, which is now tied with Brenham for foruth at 4-4. Tomball is third at 5-3 after winning a low-scoring game with Willis.
College Station and Temple both posted one-sided victories to remain tied for the lead at 6-1 in 18-5A and, at least for the moment, Bryan Rudder (5-1) dropped out of the tie because of its bye in the seven team district. Bryan is fourth at 3-4.
Ennis (4-0) and Lindale (3-1) hold the top spots in six-team 17-5A.
DISTRICT 19-5A GIRLS BASKETBALL
Standings — Georgetown, 10-0; Cedar Park, 9-2; Rouse, 9-2; Bastrop, 6-5; East View, 5-5; Pflugerville Connally, 3-7; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 3-8; Hutto. 2-9; Elgin, 1-10.
Tuesday’s results — Georgetown 82, Hutto 16; Rouse 47, East View 34; Cedar Park 59, Bastrop 44; Cedar Creek 58, Elgin 35. Bye — Connally.
Friday’s games — Georgetown at Elgin, 7 p.m.; Cedar Park at East View. 7 p.m.; Cedar Creek at Bastrop, 7 p.m.; Connally at Hutto, 7 p.m. 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.
OTHER KEY REGION III-5A DISTRICTS
(Districts 19-5A could face in opening rounds of the playoffs)
17-5A — Ennis, 4-0; Lindale, 3-1; Jacksonville, 2-2; Nacogdoches, 2-2; Corsicana, 1-3; Whitehouse, 0-4. Tuesday’s results: Ennis 67, Nacogdoches 48; Lindale 57, Whitehouse 30; Jacksonville 34, Corsicana 33.
18-5A — College Station, 6-1; Temple, 6-1; Bryan Rudder, 5-1; Bryan, 3-4; Waco, 2-5; Waco University, 1-6; College Station A&M Consolidated, 1-6. Tuesday’s results — Temple 66, University 44; College Station 76, Bryan 57; A&M Consolidated 68, Waco 54. Bye — Rudder.
20-5A — Tomball Memorial, 8-0; Magnolia, 6-2; Tomball, 5-3; Brenham, 4-4; Waller, 4-4; Madnolia West, 2-6; Huntsville, 2-6; Willis, 1-7. Tuesday’s results — Memorisl 50, Huntsville 28; Waller 52, Magnolia 41; Tomball 30, Willis 21; Brenham 43, Magnolia West 42.
TUESDAY’S DISTRICT 19-5A GAMES
At Eagle Gym
GEORGETOWN 82, HUTTO 16
HUTTO (16) — Alex Torres 1-6 2-2 4, Riley Ferris 1-3 0-0 2, Shelby Hameister 0-1 2-2 2, Tamryn Burks 0-1 0-0 0, Whitney Camero 1-2 0-0 2, Codee Terry 0-1 0-0 0, Sarah Standard 0-0 0-0 0, Cheyeanne Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Keyala Foster 3-3 0-0 6, Cat Hosek 0-0 0-0 0, Shyniaa Haynes 0-1 0-0 0, Tierra Caldwell 0-0 0-0 0, Jasmine Arnold 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 6-20 4-4 16.
GHS (82) — Brooke Elliott 3-6 0-0 9, Josie Weirich 4-9 0-0 11, Taylor Elliott 3-6 3-4 10, Jaelyn Knight 3-8 3-4 9, Maddie Vickers 0-2 1-1 1, Emery Herman 2-6 1-1 5, Dee Day 13-18 1-1 27, Emily Jones 3-4 4-4 10. To tals: 31-59 13-18 82.
Halftime: GHS 47-4. 3-point shooting: HHS 0-2 (Camero 0-1, Arnold 0-1); GHS 7-17 (B. Elliott 3-6, Weirich 3-6, T. Elliott 1-3, Vickers 0-2). Rebounds: HHS 17 (Foster 4); GHS 32 (Herman 10, Vickers 5, Knight 5, T. Elliott 5). Assists: GHS 29 (Herman 8, B. Elliott 4, T. Elliott 4, Day 4, Vickers 3, Jones 3). Steals: GHS 30 (Day 9, T. Elliott 8, Weirich 4, Vickers 3). Blocks: GHS 0. Turnovers: GHS 4. Total fouls: HHS 15, GHS 10. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. Records: Hutto, 2-9 in 19-5A, 7-20; Georgetown, 10-0 in 19-5A, 19-6.
Sub-Varsity
(GHS scoring only)
GHS JV 49, HUTTO JV 26 — Gracie Speer 0, Moran Bruning 2, Ali Isbell 21, Samari O’Brien 3, Hailey Wickline 7, Kylie Ellsworth 5, Miranda Gil 2, McCall Hampton 9. Halftime: GHS, 24-6. GHS record: 9-0 in 19-5A, 14-3.
GHS FRESHMAN BLUE 62, HUTTO FRESHEN 12 — Hailey Hanson 9, Hailey Smith 8, Maya Perez 4, Kylee Sander 4, Mercedes Robledo 22, Keiana San Miguel 10, MacKenzy Mouton 4, Na’Keia Cook 1. Halftime: GHS, 31-8. GHS record: 10-0 in 19-5A, 17-1.
TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF BASKETBALL COACHES 5A POLL
(Released Monday)
- Amarillo (26-1). 2. Mansfield Timberview (24-2). 3. Mansfield Summit (20-6). 4. Canyon (18-2). 5. Tomball Memorial (20-4). 6. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill (22-4). 7. Saginaw Boswell (26-3). 8. Frisco Lone Star (18-5). 9. Frisco Liberty (19-6). 10. Kerrville Tivy (22-3). 11. The Colony (26-1). 12. Georgetown (18-6). 13. Dayton (22-2). 14. Austin SFA (23-4). 15. Colleyville Heritage (19-6). 16. Prosper (18-7). 17. College Station (20-6). 18. Mansfield Legacy (17-8). 19. El Paso Andress (21-3). 20. Sulphur Springs (20-3). 21. Corpus Christi Carroll (21-4). 22. Houston Madison (17-7). 23. Plainview (20-7). 24. Brownsville Veterans Memorial (21-7). 25. Laredo Cigarroa (22-7).
By region (in order):
Region 1 — Amarillo, Canyon, Boswell, Heritage, Andress, Plainview.
Region 2 — Timberview, Summit, Lone Star, F. Liberty, The Colony, Prosper, Legacy, Sulphur Springs.
Region 3 — Tomball Memorial, Barbers Hill, Georgetown, Dayton, College Station, Madison.
Region 4 — Tivy, SFA, Carroll, Veterans Memorial, Cigarroa.
TEXAS GIRLS COACHES ASSOCIATION 5A POLL
(Released Tuesday)
- Amarillo. 2. Mansfield Timberview. 3. Canyon. 4. The Colony. 5. Georgetown. 6. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill. 7. Frisco Lone Star. 8. Mansfield Summit. 9. Saginaw Boswell. 10. El Paso Andress. 11. Sulphur Springs. 12. Frisco Liberty. 13. Tomball Memorial. 14. Dayton. 15. Kerrville Tivy. 16. Austin SFA. 17. Laredo Cigarroa. 18. Plainview. 19. Colleyville Heritage. 20. Red Oak. 21. El Paso Riverside. 22. Corpus Christi Carroll. 23. Houston Madison. 24. Brownsville Veteran’s Memorial. 25. Seguin.