Magnolia West wasn’t a good match up for Georgetown from the opening tip off until the final buzzer in Friday night’s Region III-5A area playoff game at Hearne. The Lady Mustangs were taller — three 6-1 starters — quicker, skilled, disciplined and on a mission after having to forfeit three district games that cost them the 19-5A championship.The Georgetown Lady Eagles played the first half on a near-even keel, trailing by only four points, 23-19, after the initial 16 minutes, and it could have been only a two-point deficit if the officials had ruled that a last-second shot by senior Jade Smith had been launched prior to the buzzer. A faulty operating game clock added to the confusion at that moment, drawing unwarranted vocal criticism for the clock operator.
But the clock incident soon became academic as the Lady Mustangs roared out of the dressing room, outscoring GHS, 13-2, in the third period to take a 36-23 lead after three periods en route to a 55-31 victory. What proved to be the game-winning rally was ignited by three 3-pointers by sophomore Kamari Portalis. West posted a 19-10 advantage in the final quarter. “It was amazing,” Portalis told the Houston Chronicle of the second half explosion. “In the locker room (at halftime), Coach (Sarah Simmons) was telling us to keep doing the same thing we were doing, just taking our time out there. So we just came out and got the win.” The victory improved Magnolia West’s record to 26-7 and advanced the Lady Mustangs to a 6:30 p.m. Tuesday showdown in Waller with Bryan Rudder, which shocked sixth-ranked Cedar Park, 50-48, on a last-minute shot. The loss ended Georgetown’s season at 23-11. “I thought we did a good job until halftime,” GHS coach Rhonda Farney said. “We couldn’t find an answer for No. 4 (Portalis) in the third quarter and No. 30 (senior Hannah Eggleston) in the fourth quarter.
“I was really proud of our seniors (Jaelyn Knight, Samari O’Brien, Ali Isbell, Jade Smith and Alicia King). It was one of the hardest-working groups we’ve had. It was a team that got stronger as time went along.” Magnolia West’s Simmons told the Houston Chronicle of its ability to hold its two playoff opponents to 38 and 31 points: “There’s offensive chemistry, and tonight, somewhere, they found defensive chemistry. Georgetown, which had its 10-game victory streak snapped, used the scoring of 5-11 Jaelyn Knight and 6-1 Jade Smith to stay alive in the first half. Knight scored eight of her team-high 11 points prior to halftime and Smith scored all of her points in the initial 16 minutes. While Portalis and Eggleston were taking liberties with the GHS defense in the second half, the Lady Eagles only made four of their 20 shots in the final two quarters. The Lady Eagles’ only points in the disastrous third quarter was a field goal by junior Hailey Smith with 3:04 remaining in the period and West leading 29-19.
Georgetown’s failure to stay within range of Lady Mustangs was its inability to construct a consistent inside game against the taller opponent and to find the range on its long-range shooting attack. Nine of the Lady Eagles’ 12 points in the second half came on four field goals by its guards. West held GHS’s usually productive post McCall Hampton, a 5-9 junior, to no field goals and just two free throws. The Lady Eagles managed just a single 3-pointer in 12 second-half efforts and its was the only three in 19 attempts in the game. The only 3-pointer of the game was by Isbell in the closing minute. Another factor that kept GHS from cutting the final margin was 6-1 Eggleston scoring 14 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth period. She also had a game-high eight rebounds as Magnolia West used its inside dominance to post a 34-22 rebounding edge, including 15 offensive boards. J. Smith led Georgetown with four boards and one block. The Lady Mustangs blocked five GHS shots. For the game, GHS shot just 23 percent, making 11 of 46 including the dismal reading beyond the arch. Isbell and J. Smith were the Lady Eagles’ No. 2 scorers with five points each. Sophomore Graci Harris had four assists and Knight had three steals. Friday’s losses by Georgetown and East View, a 51-31 victim of College Station, eliminated the final two teams from 18-5A in the playoffs. Hutto and Manor had lost in the bi-district round. It also dropped both the Lady Eagles (No. 9) and Lady Timberwolves (No. 6) from the Texas Girls Coaches Association 5A Playoff Top 10. Pflugerville at No. 9 was the only Austin area team remaining in the top 10.
PLAYOFF NOTES: Friday night’s area game in Hearne was preceded by a lengthy aerodynamic display by a solo bat before the interloper was netted –literally — by a Hearne ISD staffer. . . . In a Monday Region III-5A quarterfinal doubleheader at Sugar Land’s Wheeler Field-house favorites Manvel and Fort Bend Hightower punched their tickets to the regional tournament with victories. Manvel topped Pearland Shadow Creek, 61-45, and Hightower downed Richmond Foster, 64-44. The Region III Tournament is scheduled Friday at the Aldine ISD’s M.O. Campbell Center. Tuesday’s two Region III-5A quarterfinals send Pflugerville against College Station at Waco Midway and Magnolia West against Bryan Rudder at Waller. Both games are set for 6:30 p.m.
FRIDAY’S REGION III-5A AREA GAME
At Hearne
MAGNOLIA WEST 55, GEORGETOWN 31
GHS (31) — Maya Perry 1-2 0-0 2, Kylee Sander 1-3 0-0 2, Ali Isbell 2-4 0-0 5, Hailey Smith 1-5 0-1 2, Samari O’Brien 1-6 0-1, Kylie Ellsworth 0-6 0-0 0, 0, Graci Harris 0-5 0-0 0, MacKenzy Mouton 0-1 0-0 0, Jaelyn Knight 3-7 5-6 11, Jade Smith 2-3 1-2 5, McCall Hampton 0-5 2-2 2, Alicia King 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-46 (23 percent) 8-12 (67 percent) 31.
MAGNOLIA WEST (55) — Alyssa May 2-7 2-4 7, Kamari Portalis 6-7 0-2 16, Megan Donnelly 0-2 0-0 0, Courtney Keith 0-0 0-0 0; Kendall May 2-6 2-4 16, Hannah Eggleston 7-13 3-4 20, Lizzy Lofton 0-2 0-0 0, Kamryn Jones 3-8 2-3 8. Totals: 20-45 (44 percent) 9-17 (52 percent) 55.
Halftime; MW, 23-19. 3-point shooting: GHS, 1-18 (Perry 0-1, Sander 0-2, Isbell 1-3, H. Smith 0-1, O’Brien 0-3, Ellsworth 0-4, Harris 0-4); MW, 6-11 (May 1-3, Portalis 4-4, Donnally 0-2, Eggleston 1-1, Lofton 0-1). Rebounds: GHS, 22/7 offensive (J. Smith, 4, Hampton 3, Knight 3, O’Brien 3, Hassis 3, Ellsworth 3); MW 34/15 offensive (Eggleston 8, Jones 7, K. May 6, A. May 5). Assista: GHS, 7 (Harris 4). Steals: GHS, 8 (Knight 3. H. Smith 2); MW, 9 (K. May 2, A. May 2, Portalis 2). Blocks: GHS 1 (J. Smith 1). MW, 5. Turnovers: GHS, 12, MW, 6. Total fouts: GHS 16, MW, 10. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. Records: GHS, 23-11; MW, 26-7.
REGION III-5A BI-DISTRICT
(In bracket order)
Waller 52, Huntsville 46
Pflugerville 80, Hutto 46
College Station 63, Willis 40
Georgetown East View 35, Leander Rouse 30
Manvel 82, Houston Northside 18
Friendswood 42, Port Arthur Memorial 32
Pearland Shadow Creek 91, Houston Madison 48
Galveston Ball 60, Port Neches Groves 44
***
Georgetown 52, Marble Falls 37
Magnolia West 73, Tomball 38
Cedar Park 53, Manor 46
Bryan Rudder 59, Kingwood Park 53
Baytown Goose Creek 79, Dayton 33
Richmond Foster 67, Houston Sterling 17
Crosby 72, Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill 70
Fort Bend Hightower 82, Houston Waltrip 19
REGION III-5A AREA RESULTS
(In bracket order)
Pflugerville 60, Waller 45
College Station 51, East View 31
Manvel 65, Friendswood 33
Pearland Shadow Creek 59, Galveston Ball 47
***
Magnolia West 55, Georgetown 31
Bryan Rudder 50, Cedar Park 48
Richmond Foster 63 Goose Creek Memorial 53
Fort Bend Hightower 91, Crosby 47
REGION III-5A QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
(In bracket order)
Pflugerville vs. College Station, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Waco Midway.
Manvel 66, Pearland Shadow Creek 51.
***
Magnolia West vs. Bryan Rudder, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Waller.
Fort Bend Hightower 64, Richmond Foster 44.
OTHER 5A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS
(In bracket order)
Region I
Aledo vs. Amarillo, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sweetwater.
The Colony 70, Mansfield Legacy 65.
Lubbock Cooper vs. Plainview, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Abernathy High School.
Mansfield Timberview 68, Saginaw Boswell 46.
Region II
Frisco Liberty vs. Frisco Centennial, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Frisco Reedy.
North Forney vs. Texarkana Texas, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Tyler Lee.
Wylie East vs. Frisco Lone Star, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Richardson Pearce.
Red Oak vs. Mesquite Poteet, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Duncanville.
Region IV
San Antonio Sam Houston vs. San Antonio Veterans Memorial, 6 p.m., Hardin Athletic Complex, San Antonio.
Corpus Christi Carroll vs. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Corpus Christi King High School.
Kerrville Tivy vs. Dripping Springs, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Llano High School.
Victoria West vs. Corpus Christi Flour Bluff, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sinton High School.
CLASS 5A STATE RANKINGS
TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF BASKETBALL COACHES
(Released Monday, Feb. 11)
(Records through Feb. 9 provided by TABC)
FINAL CLASS 5A
- Mansfield Timberview (34-1). 2. Amarillo (30-4). 3. Kerrville Tivy (32-1). 4. Manvel (33-3). 5. Fort Bend Hightower (33-2). 6. Cedar Park (29-3). 7. San Antonio Veterans Memorial (27-6). 8. Royse City (31-3). 9. GEORGETOWN (22-10). 10. Frisco Liberty (26-10). 11. Frisco Lone Star (24-8). 12. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (29-5). 13. Pflugerville (24-10). 14. Austin Crockett (31-5). 15. Lubbock Cooper (26-5). 16. Birdville (25-7). 17. Richmond Foster (30-7). 18. College Station (31-4). 19. Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (26-5). 20. Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway (26-5). 21. Lufkin (26-5). 22. Mansfield Legacy (25-8). 23. Dallas South Oak Cliff (22-9). 24. Wylie East (22-10); 25. El Paso Andress (29-4).
TEXAS GIRLS COACHES ASSOCIATION
(Released Monday, Feb. 18)
(NOTE: TGCA poll reduced from 25 teams to 10 for the playoffs)
Class 5A
- Mansfield Timberview. 2. Amarillo. 3. Kerrville Tivy. 4. Manvel. 5. Fort Bend Hightower. 6. College Station. 7. Frisco Lone Star. 8. Red Oak. 9. Pflugerville. 10. San Antonio Veterans Memorial.