It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t pretty, but Georgetown’s 27-23 win over Bastrop Tuesday night on the Lady Bears’ homecourt captured the Lady Eagles’ 28th-consecutive state playoff berth and 29th-straight 20-win season under head coach Rhonda Farney.
And things are not expected to get any easier over the next three games for the Lady Eagles, including Friday’s 7:30 p.m. battle with cross-town rival East View, which is coming off a 56-19 victory over Bastrop Cedar Creek. Georgetown escaped East View with 44-43 victory in overtime on Dec. 15 during the first round of District 19-5A competition.
After facing the Patriots (4-8 in 19-5A), the Lady Eagles (10-2 in 19-5A, 20-8 on the season) will visit Rouse at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and then entertain front running Cedar Park at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2. Going into this Friday’s second half of a boys-girls doubleheader with East View, GHS shared second place with Rouse, which fell to Cedar Park, 50-36, on Tuesday. The Lady Timberwolves (12-0 in 19-5A) own a two-game lead over Georgetown and Rouse.
If Georgetown finishes second in 19-5A it will play the third-place team from 20-5A in bi-district, but if it ends up third it will play the runner-up from that district. With four games remaining, five teams are in the race for the four -playoff spots from 20-5A — Magnolia West (8-2), Tomball Memorial (7-3), Huntsville (7-3), Willis (6-4) and Waller (5-5).
In Tuesday’s battle at Bastrop, Georgetown came off the court at halftime down 15-13 as the Lady Eagles had only made five of 14 shot attempts from the floor. The Lady Bears added two points to their lead 15 seconds into the third quarter on a basket by Akhiri Breanna Lester, the game’s eventual leading scorer with 10 points.
Both offenses remained stagnant for the next three minutes and 48 seconds before GHS senior guard Maddie Vickers made a pair of free throws to end the drought. Junior guard Ali Isbell hit a 3-pointer to put GHS ahead to stay at 18-17 with 3:05 to go in the third period. Fifty-nine second latter senior guard Josie Weirich hit her third trey of the game to put GHS up by four, but another bucket by Lester ended the quarter with GHS holding a 21-19 edge.
Back-to-back baskets by junior forward Jaelyn Knight put the Lady Eagles up by six at 25-19 with 6:07 to play. Pairs of free throws by Lester and Peniha Waites closed the gap to 25-23 with 2:03 remaining. After a span dominated by turnovers, Isbell hit a free throw to make the score 26-23 with 1:07 left on the clock.
Then the roof virtually collapsed on the Lady Bears. With Georgetown maintaining possession of the ball, moving it around the court, Bastrop coach Chris Hicks was yelling for his team to foul, but they never responded, chasing the ball and playing for a steal. With just seconds remaining, Hicks was charged with a technical foul as he called a sixth timeout — one over the limit. Knight sank the first of the two free throws to make it 27-23 — a two possession game with little time remaining to mount a comeback.
“I’m really proud of the kids,” Farney said. “I don’t think we played great, but they (Bastrop)played really well against us. When you get to this stage of the season you just have to grind it out. I think our conditioning was a positive factor for us. It’s something our kids really take pride in.
“We’re in a real tough part of our schedule. We have East View on Friday and then Rouse and Cedar Park next week.”
The Lady Eagles bested Bastrop, 68-8, in the first meeting in Georgetown on Dec. 12, but three key Lady Bears missed that contest with illness.
Tuesday marked one of the rare games this season where the Lady Eagles were outrebounded (26-19) and made more turnovers than the opposition (20-16). Vickers and Knight paced GHS on the boards with eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
The GHS defense did hold the Lady Bears to 24 percent from the floor (9 of 37, including just one of 16 beyond the arc). It was the fourth straight game that the Lady Eagles had held an opponent to a shooting percent of 25 percent or less.
Weirich and Knight paced GHS scoring with nine points each, marking the fifth time this year that the Lady Eagles’ scoring leader had failed to reach double digits. Vickers had a team-hit three assists and shared the team steals lead of four with Weirich.
Both GHS sub-varsity teams posted one-sided victories, improving to 23-2 on the season. The Freshmen Blue lead the district yearling race with a 12-0 mark, while the JV is second to Cedar Park at 11-1.
The JV sprinted to a 61-21 victory with four players in double digits — Alicia King and Maya Perry with 14 points each, Hailey Smith with 13 and Mercedes Robledo with 10.
The Freshman Blue prevailed 51-11, allowing just two points in the second half after shutting out Elgin in their previous start, 47-0. Gracie Harris led GHS scoring with 10 points as 10 Lady Eagles put point totals in the scorebook.
Friday’s sub-varsity games with East View will be played at different times than usual. The JV will play at 6 p.m. Friday in the lower gym and the freshman games will be stage at 9 and 10:30 on Saturday.
LADY EAGLES NOTEBOOK: By virtue of having swept the season series with Pflugerville Connally, Georgetown can clinch 19-5A’s third playoff position with one win in its final four games our one loss by the Lady Cougars. . . . Connally (7-5) can clinch the district’s other playoff spot Friday if it beats Bastrop (5-8) and GHS takes the measure of East View.
If Georgetown places second or third in 19-5A it will go on the same side of the Region III-5A bracket with the District 18-5A and 17-5A champions — probably Temple and Ennis, who are both unbeaten in their districts. Finish second in 19-5A and get past the third-place team in 20-5A and then the Lady Eagles probably would face Temple in the area round. A third-place finish and a win over the 20-5A runner-up probably would net a game with Ennis or the fourth-place team from 18-5A (probably College Station or possibly Bryan Rudder). . . . Oh, defending regional champion Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill is also on that side of the bracket. Those Lady Eagles and 6-foot-5 Texas signee Charlie Collier are 12-0 in District 21-5A entering Friday’s play.
GEORGETOWN VS. BASTROP
At Bastrop, Tuesday, Jan. 23
VARSITY
GEORGETOWN 27, BASTROP 23
GHS (27) — Ali Isbell 1-4 1-2 3, Josie Weirich 3-5 0-0 9, Samari O’Brien 0-0 0-0 0, Kylie Ellsworth 1-2 0-0 2, Mackenzy Mouton 0-1 0-0 0, Jaelyn Knight 4-8 1-2 9, Maddie Vickers 0-3 2-3 2, Jade Smith 0-3 1-2 1. Titals: 9-26 5-9 27.
BASTROP (23) — Akhiri Breanna Lester 4-18 2-2 10, Kewaysha Alsup 1-6 0-0 3, Demonaye Rector 3-6 0-0 6, Felicity Kelly 0-1 0-0 0, Peniha Waites 1-5 2-2 4, Lauren Odom 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 9-37 4-4 23.
Halftime: BHS, 15-13. 3-point shooting: GHS 4-10 (Isbell 1-3, Weirich 3-5, Ellsworth 0-1, Vickers 0-1); BHS 1-16 (Lester 0-6, Alsup 1-6, Rector 0-1, Waites 0-3). Rebounds: GHS 19 (Vickers 8, Knight 7); BHS 26. Assists: GHS 8 (Vickers 3, Mouton 2, Smith 2). Steals: GHS 14 (Weirich 4, Vickers 4, Smith 2). Blocks: GHS 6 (Smith 4, Knight 2); BHS 1. Turnovers: GHS 20, BHS 16. Total fouls: GHS 11, BHS 10. Fouled out: BHS, Waites. Technical fouls: BHS coach, called sixth timeout in final minute of fourth quarter. Records: Georgetown, 10-2 in 19-5A, 20-8; Bastrop, 5-8 in 19-5A, 15-16.
DISTRICT 19-5A RACE AT A GLANCE
(Through games of Jan. 23)
Standings: x-Cedar Park, 13-0; x-Rouse, 10-2; x-Georgetown, 10-2; Pflugerville Connally, 7-5; Bastrop, 5-8; East View, 4-8; Hutto, 3-9; Elgin, 2-11; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 2-11.
x — clinched playoff berth.
Tuesday’s results — Georgetown 27, Bastrop 23; Cedar Park 50, Rouse 36; Connally 54, Elgin 41; East View 56, Bastrop Cedar Creek 19. Bye: Hutto.
Friday’s games — East View at Georgetown, 7:30 p.m. (doubleheader with boys); Bastrop at Connally, 7 p.m.; Rouse at Cedar Creek, 7 p.m.; Elgin at Hutto, 7 p.m. Bye: Cedar Park.
Tuesday’s games — Georgetown at Rouse, 7 p.m.; Connally at East View, 7 p.m.; Cedar Creek at Cedar Park, 7 p.m.; Hutto at Bastrop, 7 p.m. Bye: Elgin.
AROUND THE REGION
(Through games of Jan. 23)
Standings
District 20-5A — Magnolia West, 8-2; Tomball, Memorial, 7-3; Huntsville, 7-3; Willis, 6-4; Waller, 5-5; Magnolia, 3-7; Tomball, 3-7, Brenham, 1-9.
Friday’s games — Magnolia at Magnolia West, 6:30 p.m.; Willis at Tomball Memorial, 6:30 p.m.; Waller at Huntsville, 6:30 p.m.; Tomball at Brenham, 6:30 p.m.
***
District 18-5A — x-Temple, 9-0; Waco University, 6-3; Bryan Rudder, 5-3; College Station, 4-5; Waco, 3-5; College Station A&M Consolidated, 3-6; Bryan, 0-8.
x-clinched playoff berth.
Friday’s games — Temple at Waco, 6:30 p.m.; Bryan at A&M Consolidated, 6:30 p.m.; College Station at Bryan Rudder, 6:30 p.m. Bye: Waco University.
***
District 17-5A — x- Ennis, 6-0; Nacogdoches, 5-1; Lindale, 3-3; Corsicana, 2-4, Whitehouse, 1-5; Jacksonville, 1-5.
x– clinched playoff berth.
Friday’s games — Lindale at Ennis, 6 p.m.,; Jacksonville at Whitehouse, 6 p.m.; Nacogdoches at Corsicana, 6 p.m.
SUB-VARSITY GAMES
(GHS scoring only)
GHS JV 61, BASTROP JV 21 — A’Brielle Abrams 0, Kylee Sander 6, Hailey Hanson 3, Hailey Smith 13, Maya Perry 14, Mercedes Robledo 10, SueEllen Albrecht 0, Alicia King 14. Halftime: GHS 35-13. GHS record: 11-1 in 19-5A, 23-2.
GHS FRESHMAN BLUE 53, BASTROP FRESHMAN 11 — Megan Wolf 0, Graci Harris 10, Natalie Hutchens 0, Reece Johnson 2, Jordayn Stout 6, Lizette Rodriguez 0, McKenna Jenson 0, Vyctorya Lehr 4, Grace Kearney 3, Megan Herring 4, Lauren Woodard 9, Cheynne Garcia 0, Abigail Salinas 2, Skylar Neugent 8, Leia Crissman 4, Maddie LaCour 0. Halftime: GHS, 30-9. GHS record: 12-0 in 19-5A, 23-2.
Source: Lady Eagles Basketball.
— By GALEN WELLNICKI