At first thought, it might be a matter of topography — Cedar Ridge, Fossil Ridge and Vista Ridge. But Georgetown’s three losses this season to the Ridge triplets have more to do with barriers to basketball success than physical outcroppings.And the Lady Eagles’ 62-48 loss to Class 6A Vista Ridge on Tuesday night on the Rangers’ court is a prime example — a point GHS head coach Rhonda Farney made just minutes after a loss that dropped her 20th-ranked 5A team to a 4-3 season mark.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Farney said. “They are not a team you want to get in a free-throw-shooting contest. “We need to get off to a better start than we did tonight. We dug a hole for ourselves early and couldn’t get out of it.”Georgetown trailed only 16-14 after the first quarter, but fell behind 29-20 at the half. Vista Ridge, now 4-4 on the season, took a 16-point advantage with five minutes and 16 seconds remaining in the third period on a 3-pointer by Victoria Baker.The Lady Eagles outscored the Rangers, 14-6, to cut the host’s lead to eight points at 44-36 with 7:22 to go in the fourth quarter, but could get no closer as Vista Ridge scored nine of the next 10 points.
The stats sheet told the story of the game. The Lady Eagles were virtually non-existent on the offensive boards in the first half and posted only five offensive boards in the game. They shot a dismal 25.6 percent (11 of 43) from the floor with only three success in 15 tries from beyond the arc. Nearly half of their 48 points came from the line where they were 23 of 38. For the game, the Rangers posted a hefty 37-24 edge on the boards and GHS turned the ball over 14 times.
In the second half, in which they were outscored by only seven points, GHS managed just five baskets and two of those were treys by senior Ali Isbell in the final 2:05 of the game. Examples of the shooting drought were a 3-of-13 showing by 5-foot-11 senior forward Jaelyn Knight and a 0-for-5 result for team-scoring leader McCall Hampton. However, they did combine for a 19-of-23 performance at the line.
Statistically, accurate shooting has been a problem for the Lady Eagles during most of the early season. Georgetown is shooting 37.8 percent (118 of 312) for the season, but there is a major BUT in that calculation. Subtract the 37-of-59 showing in a 82-10 win over struggling Dallas Oak Cliff Life and the season figure falls to 32 percent.Actually, Vista Ridge really didn’t singe the nets either. The Rangers shot 39 percent (19 of 48) from the floor, including an errant four of 20 on 3-pointers. They put down 65 percent of their free throws (21 of 32). Another factor in the contest — that affected both teams — was the officiating from an Austin-based crew that prevented the Rangers and Lady Eagles from settling comfortably into their execution as 49 personal fouls and one technical foul resulted in 70 free throws in 32 minutes of playing time. Twenty-four fouls were called on GHS and 25 on Vista Ridge.
Knight led all-scorers with 17 points, while junior guard Kylee Ellsworth, Hampton and Isbell each added eight points for Georgetown. Knight also topped the rebound and steals charts with seven boards and six thefts. Hampton grabbed six boards and Ellsworth added four. Zion Neat and A.J. Marotte led Vista Ridge with 13 points each and Neat had a game-high eight rebounds. The Lady Eagles will be trying to get back on track at 6 p.m. Friday when they travel to Burnet to play the Lady Bulldogs, who are picked to finish second in District 27-4A behind Liberty Hill. Burnet, which is coming off a 24-10 record, dropped a 48-24 decision to GHS last season at Eagle Gym. The Bulldogs are led by 5-8 seniors Emma Lewis and Tryandee Greenwell, a pair of all-district returnees. Georgetown will face a tough Thanksgiving week. The Lady Eagles will travel south to play Victoria East at 1:30 p.m. Monday and then return home to face state-ranked 6A power Pflugerville Hendrickson at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Eagle Gym. The Hawks are ranked fifth and seventh in the state, pending a person’s choice in major state polls. GHS bested East, 43-22, last year at home.
In sub-varsity action at Vista Ridge, the Georgetown Freshman Blue improved its season record to 3-0 with a 49-39 victory over the Rangers’ Freshman A. Dylann Jones and Brielle Maxwell led the Lady Eagles with 15 and 13 points, respectively. “The Freshmen Blue played a really good Vista Ridge team and won,” Farney said. Vista Ridge prevailed in the JV and Freshman B games. The GHS JV lost its first game in three starts, falling 42-36 in a contest that was tied 18-18 at the half. The Freshman White was edged out 36-35 by the Vista Ridge Freshman B. Morgan Lawson had 10 points for the White. Georgetown’s three sub-varsity teams will be competing in the East View Tournament on Thursday and Saturday.
TUESDAY’S NON-DISTRICT GAMES
At Vista Ridge
Varsity
VISTA RIDGE 62, GEORGETOWN 48
GHS (48) — Maya Perry 1-1 0-0 2, Ali Isbell 2-2 2-2 8, Hailey Smith 1-7 0-0 3, Samari O’Brien 0-1 0-2 0, Kylee Ellsworth 3-8 2-5 8, Graci Harris 0-1 0-0 0, MacKenzy Mouton 1-3 0-2 2, Jaelyn Knight 3-13 11-13 17, Jade Smith 0-2 0-4 0, McCall Hampton 0-5 8-10 8, Alicia King 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-43 (25.6 percent) 23-38 (61.0 percent) 48.
VR (62) — Ansley Herrin 2-10 0-0 6, Brit. Stewart 0-0 0-2 0, Kayli O’Riley 0-2 4-5 4, A.J. Marotte 3-6 6-6 13, Jazra Williams 2-3 0-0 4, Victoria Baker 4-9 2-7 11, Zion Neat 3-8 7-9 13, Weade Adellakay 2-3 1-1 5, Bri. Stewart 3-6 1-2 7, Riley Leedholm 0-1 0-0 0, Jasmyn Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-48 (39 percent) 21-32 (65 percent) 62.
Halftime: VR, 29-20. 3-point shooting: GHS, 3-15 (Isbell 2-2, H. Smith 1-3, O’Brien 0-1, Ellsworth 0-2, Harris 0-1, Knight 0-4, Hampton 0-2); VR, 4-20 (Herrin 2-8, O’Riley 0-1, Marotte 1-3, Williams 0-1, Baker 1-4, Neat 0-3). Rebounds: GHS 24 (Knight 7, Hampton 6, Ellsworth 4, J. Smith 2, Isbell 2); VR 37 (Neat 8, Marotte 7, Baker 6, O’Riley 4, Herrin 3, Adellakay 3, Bri. Stewart 3). Assists: GHS 5 (O’Brien 2, Perry 1, Harris 1, Mouton 1). Steals: GHS 18 (Knight 6, H. Smith 3, Ellsworth 3, Harris 2). Blocks: GHS 0. Turnovers: GHS 14. Total fouls: GHS 25, VR 24. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: VR, Coach Keith Allen. Records: Georgetown, 4-3; Vista Ridge, 4-4.
Sub-Varsity Games
(GHS scoring only)
VISTA RIDGE JV 42, GEORGETOWN JV 36 — Jordan Stout 0, Kaytie Sander 0, Bailey Miller 0, Hailey Hanson 2, Reece Johnson 2, Grace Kearney 0, Natalie Hutchens 0, McKenna Jansen 0, Vyctorya Lehr 8, Mercedes Robledo 7, Megan Herring 9, Lauren Woodard 7, Maddie LaCour 0. Halftime: 18-18. GHS record: 2-1.
GEORGETOWN FRESHMAN BLUE 49, VISTA RIDGE FRESHMAN A 39 — Samantha Folsom 0, Jacqui Folsom 7, Ella Vickers 2, Kristin Lott 7, Lauren Cavanaugh 4, Sheila Lee 1, Brielle Maxwell 13, Baylie Foster 0, Dylann Jones 15. Halftime: GHS, 27-17. GHS record: 3-0.
VISTA RIDGE FRESHMAN B 36, GEORGETOWN WHITE 35 — Kylie Neu 0, Avery Tisdell 0, Morgan Larson 10, Sydney Henderson 0, Abigail Rutledge 6, Aryana Hill; 4, Talaya Roston 7, Judith Luna 0, Emma Miller 2, Emyris Mims 6. Halftime: VR, 22-15. GHS record: 0-2.
UPCOMING LADY EAGLES SCHEDULE Friday, Nov. 16 — at Burnet 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19 — at Victoria East, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24 — Pflugerville Hendrickson, 1:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26 — at Kyle Lehman, 7 p.m.
Jack Frost Tournament
At Eagle Gym
Thursday, Nov. 29 (Pool Play) — Austin Akins, noon; Killeen, 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30 (Pool Play) — San Antonio Incarnate Word, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 — Schedule depends on outcome of pool competition.
TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF BASKETBALL COACHES
CLASS 5A TOP 25
(Released Monday, Nov. 12)
- Mansfield Timberview. 2. San Antonio Veterans Memorial (3-0). 3. Fort Bend Hightower. 4. Corpus Christi Flour Bluff. 5. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial. 6. Amarillo. 7. Manvel. 8. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill. 9. Kerrville Tivy. 10. Pflugerville. 11. Frisco Lone Star. 12. Birdville. 13. Mansfield Legacy. 14. Denison. 15. Cedar Park. 16. Dallas South OaK Cliff. 17. Midlothian. 18. College Station. 19. Crowley. 20. GEORGETOWN. 21. Princeton. 22. Austin Crockett. 23. Magnolia West. 24. The Colony. 25. Lubbock Cooper.
TEXAS GIRLS COACHES ASSOCIATION
CLASS 5A TOP 25
(Released Tuesday, Nov. 13)
- Mansfield Timberview. 2. San Antonio Veterans Memorial. 3. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial. 4. Manvel. 5. Pflugerville. 6. Fort Bend Hightower. 7. Amarillo. 8. Kerrville Tivy. 9. Cedar Park. 10. Corpus Christi Flour Bluff. 11. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill. 12. College Station. 13. Austin Crockett. 14. Denison. 15. (tie) GEORGETOWN and Frisco Lone Star.
Note: Georgetown state rankings used in articles will be from the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll unless otherwise stated.