It may have been four nights before old St. Nick was expected to slither down the chimney at Eagle Gym, but the legendary Jolly Old Elf gave the Georgetown Lady Eagles an early present, while putting a large chunk of coal in the Manor Lady Mustangs’ proverbial stocking. The 53-40 victory, in which GHS shut down Manor scoring whiz with the efforts of Santa’s defensive elves, moved coach Rhonda Farney’s Lady Eagles back into a first-place tie with arch rival East View in the District 18-5A race at 3-0. The loss dropped the Mustangs to 2-2 and fourth place in the race — also behind 2-1 Hutto.
With senior Samari O’Brien using her quickness to led the way, Georgetown was able to disrupt Manor’s De’maya Young’s usual deadly shooting touch as the Lady Eagles held the leading scorer in 18-5A to a season-low 11 points. She made only three of her 16 shots for a team that was held to 25 percent from the floor.In one of the most memorable plays of the contest, GHS sophomore point guard Graci Harris swiped the ball from Young with the skill of a London pickpocket in the times of Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim in Charles Dickens’ famous 1843 Christmas novella. Almost needless to say, Farney was overjoyed with her team’s performance on a Friday evening when the Lady Eagles’ 2010-2011 Class 5A semifinalists were honored at halftime. “I was very proud of our players,” Farney said as GHS raised its season mark to 13-7. “We were able to perform well on the boards, keeping them from second shots, and we were able to handle their press. Also, It was a strange week for the kids — exams, weird schedule (two contests in seven days that were basically day games and an open date on Tuesday) and the celebration for the honor team.”She also pointed to other areas.
“Ali (senior guard Isbell) and Graci also played good defense and Jaelyn (senior post Knight) and McCall (junior post Hampton) applied pressure inside,” Farney added. However, GHS also may have received another big present on Saturday after Hampton felt that she might have re-injured a knee Friday that kept her off the court for a third of her sophomore year. “Consensus is that it was scar tissue she felt,” a relieved Farney said late Saturday. “So thankful!” The victory over Manor, now 9-9 on the year, started a 14-day break from 18-5A action for Georgetown, which will resume district play at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4, at seventh-place Bastrop Cedar Creek, windless in four league tests and 2-21 on the season. Between now and then, GHS will travel to Nashville for three games in the showcase-format State Farm Classic on the campus of Riverdale High School. The Lady Eagles will play Dickson County at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Knoxville Bearden at 4:30 p.m. Friday and Houston at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
All three of Georgetown’s opponents in the tournament are Class AAA teams in Tennessee’s classification system. Houston (12-1) was ranked second in AAA and third in the state prior to this past week’s 62-56 loss to No. 15 Breaden (9-1). In the state’s ranking system, Dickson County (9-3) was listed 35th in the latest AAA poll. GHS will face two of the highest scoring guards in the state in 5-foot-9 Dickson junior Olivia Rienhart (22.2 points and 4.3 rebounds a game) and 5-10 Houston senior Jayla Hemingway (23.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game). Houston, with three other double-digit scorers in the lineup, is averaging 71.5 points and 36.1 rebounds a game with an overall shooting percentage of 44.0. The Mustangs’ average victory margin is 27.8 points a game. They have scored more than 70 points nine times with the largest output being 86 in a 45-point win over Mitchell, Tenn.
In Georgetown’s win over Manor, the Mustangs took a 9-4 lead on three of their nine 3-pointers, but field goals by Hampton and Knight and a free throw by Isbell evened the count 9-9 after one. The Lady Eagles then scored 16 of the next 18 total points to go up 25-11. After Manor’s Kenna Gilbert-Walker’s three-pointer with four minutes and 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Mustangs went 16:23 without a making a field goal, allowing the Lady Eagles to take a 25-11 edge. Regina Duke’s field goal with 3:57 remaining in the third quarter ended the Manor drought and woke up the Mustangs’ offense. GHS led 37-23 at the end of three periods after leading by as much as 17 earlier in the period. In the fourth quarter, Manor did cut the Lady Eagles’ lead to eight at 42-34 with 3:35 to go, but could get no closer as Georgetown posted an 11-6 edge over the final minutes of the game. Nine of GHS’ final 11 points came on free throws.
GHS, which only shot 35 percent (17 of 48) was led by Hampton with 16 points and Harris with 10. Knight put in eight. The Lady Eagles took a 33-26 edge on the boards, including a 9-5 edge off the offensive glass, with Hampton, Knight and Isbell posting a 10, 8 and 6 rebounds, respectively. Isbell top the assist chart with four and Harris kicked in five steals. Jade Smith, a 6-0 senior post, and Harris each were credited with a block. With Young being held in check, Gilbert Walker led Manor scoring with 14, points 12 coming on four 3-pointers. Young and Gilbert-Walker each had six rebounds. Manor was charged with 24 fouls, while GHS only was whistled down 10 times, drawing considerable ire from the Manor coaching staff. Manor made seven of 10 free throws, while Georgetown made 17 of 32.
On the sub-varsity level against Manor, the Georgetown JV and Freshman Blue each posted one-sided victories. The JV improved to 16-2 with a 57-24 win and the Blue took a 73-24 victory to improve to 15-2. Lauren Woodard, Jordan Stout and Mercedes Robledo led the JV with 14, 13 and 12 points, respectively. For the Freshman Blue, Kristin Lott scored 18, Jacqui Spencer 12, Lauren Cavanaugh 10 and Dylann Jones 10. The Freshman White won two non-district games to improve to 6-3, beating Copperas Cove, 28-24, on Monday, Dec. 17, and Austin Bowie, 33-32, on Friday. Emryis Mins had 10 in the win over Cove and Morgan Larson had 11 against Bowie.
The 2010-2011 honor team, posted a 34-4 record en route to beating Alief Elsik in the state semifinals and losing to Irving MacArthur, 71-58, in the finals at the Erwin Center, The consensus season highlight of the personnel on hand was beating Pflugerville three times, including in the regional finals at Baylor. Personnel attending were assistant coaches Kellye Richardson and Kristin Curtis and players Emily Johnson, Katie Youngblood, Amanda Bizzell, Megan White, Lorrie Santoy and Kristin Walla.
FRIDAY’S DISTRICT 18-5A GAMES
At Eagle Gym
Varsity GEORGETOWN 53, MANOR 40
MANOR (40) — Kenna Gilbert-Walker 5-11 0-0 14, Daisha Hornsby 0-3 0-0 0, Debra’ann Baynard 0-4 4-5 4, De’maya Young 3-16 3-5 11, Regina Duke 2-7 0-0 6, Ke’aja Mathis 0-0 0-0 0, Rachele Piccirello 0-0 0-0 0, Averi Gee 2-2 0-0 5, Alaysia Prosser 0-0 0-0 0, Ciera Beachum 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 12-47 (25 percent) 7-10 (percent) 40.
GHS (53) — Maya Perry 0-1 0-0 0, Kylee Sander 0-0 2-2 2, Ali Isbell 0-3 4-6 4, Hailey Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Samari O’Brien 2-4 1-2 5, Kylie Ellsworth 2-6 1-2 6, Graci Harris 2-4 5-7 10, MacKenzy Mouton 0-1 0-1 0, Jaelyn Knight 4-13 0-0 8, Jade Smith 1-4 0-0 2, McCall Hampton 6-12 4-10 16, Alicia King 0-0 0-2 0. Totals: 17-48 (35 percent) 17-32 (53 percent) 53.
Halftime: GHS, 22-11. 3-point shooting: MHS 9-27 (Gilbert-Walker 4-10, Baynard 0-3, Young 2-7, Duke 2-5, Gee 1-1, Prosser 0-1); GHS 2-9 (Perry 0-1, Isbell 0-2, Ellsworth 1-2, Harris 1-3, Hampton 0-1). Rebounds: MHS 26/5 offensive (Gilbert-Walker 6, Young 6); GHS 33/9 offensive (Hampton 10, Knight 8, Isbell 6, O’Brien 5.). Assists: GHS 10 (Isbell 4, O’Brien 2, Harris 2). Steals: MHS 4, GHS 10 (Harris 5, Isbell 2). Blocks: MHS 0, GHS 2 (J. Smith 1, Harris 1). Turnovers: MHS 15, GHS 10. Total fouls: MHS 24, GHS 10. Fouled out: MHS, Young (4th, :28); Baynard (4th, :17). Technical fouls: none. Records: Manor, 2-2 in 18-5A, 9-9; Georgetown, 3-0 in 18-5A, 13-7.
Sub-Varsity (GHS scoring only)
GHS JV 57, MANOR JV 24 — Jordan Stout 13, Bailey Miller 4, Hailey Hanson 3, Reece Johnson 3, Grace Kearney 1, McKenna Jansen 0, Vyctorya Lehr 3, Mercedes Robledo 12, Megan Herring 4, Lauren Woodard 14, Maddie LaCour 0. Halftime: GHS, 39-17. GHS record: 3-0 in 18-5A, 16-2.
GHS FRESHMAN BLUE 74, MANOR FRESHMEN 23 — Samantha Folsom 2, Jacqui Spencer 12, Ella Vickers 5, Kristin Lott 18, Lauren Cavanaugh 10, Sheila Lee 2, Brielle Maxwell 9, Baylie Foster 6, Dylann Jones 10. Halftime: GHS, 34-13. GHS record: 3-0 in District 18-5A, 15-2.
FRIDAY’S NON-DISTRICT GAME
Sub-Varsity(GHS scoring only)
GHS FRESHMAN WHITE 33, AUSTIN BOWIE FRESHMAN 32 — Kylie Neu 0, Folsom 3, Morgan Larson 11, Abigail Rutledge 2, Aryana Hill 6, Talaya Roston 5, Sheila Lee 6. Halftime: GHS, 21-20. GHS record: 6-3.
MONDAY’S NON-DISTRICT GAME
Sub-Varsity
(GHS scoring only)
GHS FRESHMAN WHITE 28, COPPERAS COVE FRESHMAN 24 — Neu 0, Avery Tisdell 0, Larson 8, Rutledge 5, Hill 0, Roston 5, Emyris Mims 10. Halftime: CC, 14-10. GHS record: 5-3.
Note: Names and statistics provided by Lady Eagles Basketball.
UPCOMING LADY EAGLES SCHEDULE
State Farm Classic
Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 27-29
At Riverdale High School, Nashville, Tenn.
(Showcase Format)
Thursday, Dec. 27 — Dickson County, 6:15 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28 — Bearden, 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29 — Houston, 4:30 p.m.
Single Games
Friday, Jan. 4 — at Bastrop Cedar Creek (18-5A), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8 — Hutto (18-5A), 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 11 — East View (18-5A), 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15 — at Bastrop, 7 p.m.
DISTRICT 18-5A RACE AT A GLANCE
Standings
Georgetown, 3-0; East View, 3-0; Hutto, 2-1; Manor, 2-2; Elgin, 1-2; Bastrop, 1-3; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 0-4.
Thursday’s results: Elgin 53, Cedar Creek 30.
Friday’s results: Georgetown 53, Manor 40; , 5:30 p.m.; Hutto 72, Bastrop 64. Bye– East View.
Friday (Jan. 4) games: Georgetown at Cedar Creek, 7 p.m.; Bastrop at East View, 7 p.m.; Elgin at Hutto, 7 p.m. Bye — Manor.
District Point Differential
Georgetown. 176-117; East View, 139-93; Hutto, 188-139; Manor, 207-167; Elgin, 113-140; Bastrop, 236-248; Cedar Creek, 100-255.
COMPLETE DISTRICT 18-5A SCHEDULE
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, Dec. 4 — Georgetown 72, Bastrop 46; East View 37, Manor 35; Hutto 70, Bastrop Cedar Creek 27. Bye — Elgin.
Tuesday, Dec. 11 — Georgetown 51, Elgin 31; East View 54, Cedar Creek 12; Manor 73, Bastrop 48. Bye — Hutto.
Friday, Dec. 14 — East View 48, Hutto 46; Manor 59, Elgin 29; Bastrop 78. Cedar Creek 31. Bye — Georgetown.
Thursday/Friday, Dec. 20/21 — Georgetown 53, Manor 40; Hutto 72, Bastrop 64; Elgin 53, Cedar Creek 30. Bye — East View.
Friday, Jan. 4 — Bastrop at East View, Georgetown at Cedar Creek, Elgin at Hutto. Bye — Manor.
Tuesday, Jan. 8 — Cedar Creek at Manor, East View at Elgin, Hutto at Georgetown. Bye — Bastrop.
Friday, Jan. 11 — Elgin at Bastrop, Manor at Hutto, East View at Georgetown, Bye — Cedar Creek.
SECOND ROUND
Tuesday, Jan. 15 — Cedar Creek at Hutto, Georgetown at Bastrop, Manor at East View. Bye — Elgin.
Friday, Jan. 18 — Elgin at Georgetown, East View at Cedar Creek, Bastrop at Manor. Bye — Hutto.
Tuesday, Jan. 22 — Hutto at East View, Manor at Elgin, Cedar Creek at Bastrop. Bye — Georgetown.
Friday, Jan. 25 — Georgetown at Manor, Bastrop at Hutto, Elgin at Cedar Creek. Bye — East View.
Tuesday, Jan. 29 — East View at Bastrop, Cedar Creek at Georgetown, Hutto at Elgin. Bye — Manor.
Friday, March 1 — Manor at Cedar Creek, Elgin at East View, Georgetown at Hutto. Bye — Bastrop.
Tuesday, March 5 — Bastrop at Elgin, Hutto at Manor, Georgetown at East View. Bye — Cedar Creek.
TEXAS GIRLS COACHES ASSOCIATION
CLASS 5A TOP 20
(Released Tuesday, Dec. 18)
- Fort Bend Hightower. 2. Mansfield Timberview. 3. San Antonio Veterans Memorial. 4. Amarillo. 5. Manvel. 6. Kerrville Tivy. 7. Cedar Park. 8. Birdville. 9. Royse City. 10. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial. 11. Waller. 12. Austin Crockett. 13. Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway. 14. Saginaw Boswell. 15. Pflugerville. 16. Lubbock Cooper. 17. College Station. 18. Richmond Foster. 19. Mansfield Legacy. 20. (tie) GEORGETOWN and Midlothian.
CLASS 5A TOP 25
(Released Monday, Dec. 17)
- Fort Bend Hightower (19-0). 2. Mansfield Timberview (17-1). 3. Amarillo. 4. Manvel. 5. Kerrville Tivy. 6. San Antonio Veterans Memorial. 7. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial. 8. Cedar Park. 9. Birdville. 10. Waller. 11. Royse City. 12. Austin Crockett. 13. Saginaw Boswell. 14. Crowley. 15. Mansfield Legacy. 16. Frisco Lone Star. 17. College Station. 18. Lubbock Cooper. 19. Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway. 20. Richmond Foster. 21. Pflugerville. 22. Georgetown. 23. Red Oak. 24. Midlothian. 25. Frisco Liberty.