After the first nine days of the girls basketball season the Georgetown Lady Eagles have evened their record at 3-3 by winning the last three of their four starts in the Eaton Varsity Tournament this past weekend in Fort Worth. With the momentum now going in their favor with consecutive wins over Fossil Ridge, Ponder and host Eaton, the Lady Eagles face potentially their biggest challenge to date in Vista Ridge, the 15th-ranked team in 6A, at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Eagle Gym.
“Vista Ridge will be extremely tough perhaps the best team we have played,” said GHS head coach Rhonda Farney of an opponent, which won its first five games before falling to 6A worthies Duncanville, 70-56, and Austin Westlake, 69-55, in its last two tournament starts on Saturday. The Rangers, who are the favorites in District 13-6A, own two of the area’s top players — 5-8 senior guard Victoria Baker and 6-1 junior post A.J. Marotte. Baker, who was ranked as the 34th-best senior prospect in the state by Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball magazine, has signed with the University of California-Irvine.
After falling to Fort Worth Haltom, 42-37, in the opening round at Eaton, the Lady Eagles downed Fort Worth Fossil Ridge, 51-35, in the consolation quarterfinals; Ponder, 49-38, in the consolation semifinals; and host Eaton, 54-32, in the consolation finals. “As for the tournament, we did not play well in the first game against Haltom,” Farney said. “We led until the end of the game and lost the lead with 3:30 left and couldn’t answer. We played a great game against a much tougher opponent in Fossil Ridge. We relaxed and played well across the board. “Next, we continued to improve against an excellent Ponder team. We handled their pressure and consistently beat their press. In the last game, we played excellent defense.”
Senior guard Kylie Ellsworth was named to the all-tournament team. “In the tournament, we got consistent play from (Graci) Harris, Ellsworth, (Kylee) Sander, (Ella) Vickers and (Hailey) Hanson at the guard positions and from (MacKenzy) Mouton, (McCall) Hampton, (Lauren) Woodard, and (Nia) Williams on the inside. “We had some growing pains, but after the first game, we had great leadership. There is something very special about this team. They genuinely like and respect each other. They have fun with each other on and off the court and so do the parents. Their goal is to play the game in a manner that is ‘no drama.’ “As a team, we have a lot to improve on but the desire and competitive spirit is there. all things considered, I think we are a little farther along at this stage as compared to last year. We have a huge test before us with the likes of Vista Ridge and (Austin) Westlake. It will be good for us to see where we are.”
The Eaton event was the first of three tournaments for the Lady Eagles as they will play in their own 41st annual Jack Frost Tournament on Dec. 5-7 and the Flowing Wells Holiday Shootout at Tucson, Az., on Dec. 27-28. In the loss to Halton, GHS was outscored 18-10 in the fourth period and had trouble getting its shots to go down as it made only 11 of 36 (30 percent) from the floor, while the Buffaloes hit on 42 percent of their shot 35 attempts. Ellsworth and Sander led GHS with nine and eight points, respectively, and the 5-6 Sander had a team-high six rebounds. In the win over Fossil Ridge, GHS jumped to a 26-13 halftime lead and stretched it out to 41-20 after three periods. Ellsworth and Hampton led the Lady Eagles with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Hampton had eight rebounds. Georgetown’s defense limited Fossil Ridge to just 29 percent shooting and stole the ball 15 times with Sander making eight steals. Lauren Woodard, a 5-11 junior, Ellsworth and 6-0 senior Mouton scored 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively, with Woodard and 6-3 sophomore Nia Williams each pulling down six rebounds. For the second straight game, GHS shot 42 percent from the floor. The defensive effort limited the 3A Lions to 32 percent shooting. In the consolation finals, the Lady Eagles outscored Eaton, 31-13, in the second half to claim the victory. GHS hit 52 percent of its 40 shots from the floor, while holding Eaton to 21 percent on its 42 attempts. Junior guard Harris and Ellsworth led Georgetown with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Vista Ridge contest will be the Lady Eagles only varsity game this week. The JV and Freshman Blue games on Tuesday are set for 5:30 p.m. The sub-varsity teams will be in action over the coming weekend as the JV and Freshman Blue will be in the East View Tournament on Thursday and Saturday. The Freshman White will be playing on the same days in the Cameron Yoe Tournament.
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EATON VARSITY TOURNAMENT
At Fort Worth, Nov. 14-16
THURSDAY’S FIRST ROUND
- WORTH HALTOM 42, GEORGETOWN 37
HALTOM (42) — Powell 4-9 1-3 11, Rogers 0-0 0-2 0, Fisher 2-5 5-9 9, Igiranezall 2-8 0-0 4, Rodgers 3-5 1-2 7, Palmer 2-4 0-0 4, Justice 1-3 2-2 5. Totals: 15-35 12-28 42.
GEORGETOWN (37) — Ella Vickers 1-3 1-2 4, Kylee Sander 2-4 4-6 8, McCall Hampton 2-9 1-6 5, Kylie Ellsworth 3-8 1-2 9, Graci Harris 0-4 1-4 1, MacKenzy Mouton 1-5 2-2 4, Lauren Woodard 1-2 2-2 4, Nia Williams 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 11-36 12-24 37.
Halftime: GHS, 22-17. 3-point shooting: HHS 3-7 (Powell 2-4, Igiraneall 0-2, Justice 1-1; GHS 3-11 (Vickers 1-3, Sander 0-1, Ellsworth 2-5, Harris 0-1, Hampton 0-1). Rebounds: HHS 21 (Palmer 5, Fisher 4, Igiranezall 4); GHS 23 (Sander 6, Woodard 5, Williams 4). Blocks: GHS 1 (Moutonm 1). Assists: GHS 6 (Sander 2, Ellsworth 2). Steals: HHS 8 (Powell 3); GHS 17 (Ellsworth 4, Harris 4, Hampton 3). Turnovers: HHS 10, GHS 20. Total fouls: HHS 21; GHS 20. Fouled out: GHS, Harris. Technical fouls: none. GHS record: 0-3.
THURSDAY’S CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
GEORGETOWN 51, KELLER FOSSIL RIDGE 35
FOSSIL RIDGE (35) — Kateba 3-10 2-4 9, Ferguson 1-3 0-0 2, Grajeda 0-0 1-1 1, Miller 0-2 1-2 1, Valforte 0-0 0-0 0, Masogayo 3-7 2-6 8, Brown 3-11 3-5 11, Enamorada 0-0 0-0 0, Stephens 0-0 0-0 0. Quintana 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 11-37 9-18 35.
GEORGETOWN (51) — Vickers 0-0 0-0 0, Sander 2-4 0-0 4, Hailey Hanson 0-1 0-0 0, Hampton 6-11 1-1 13, Ellsworth 5-14 3-5 15, Harris 3-10 0-0 7, Mouton 2-4 1-2 5, Woodard 3-5 1-2 7, Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-49 5-8 51.
Halftime: GHS, 26-13. 3-point shooting: FR 4-13 (Quintana 1-1, Kateba 1-3, Ferguson 0-2, Miller 0-1, Brown 2-6); GHS 4-16 (Woodard 1-2, Sander 0-1, Ellsworth 2-6, Harris 1-6, Hampton 0-1). Rebounds: FR 22 (Masogayo 8); GHS 24 (Hampton 8, Mouton 4, Harris 3, Woodard 3). Blocks: FR 1 (Masogayo 1); GHS 1 (Mouton 1). Assists: GHS 9 (Sander 4, Harris 3). Steals: FR 5 (Kasteba 3); GHS 15 (Sander 8, Harris 4). Turnovers: FR 8, GHS 10. Total fouls: FR 11, GHS 13. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. GHS record: 1-3.
FRIDAY’S CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
GEORGETOWN 49, PONDER 38
PONDER (38) — Moyghna 0-3 2-3 2, Akins 4-4 0-1 8, Wells 4-10 3-4 13, Ballard 1-3 1-3 3, Ivy 4-13 3-4 12, Crider 0-3 0-0 0, Hastings 0-4 0-0 0. Totals: 13-40 9-15 38.
GEORGETOWN (49) — Vickers 0-1 0-1 0, Sander 0-3 0-0 0, Hanson 1-3 0-0 2, Hampton 2-6 1-2 5, Ellsworth 4-11 0-0 11, Harris 2-5 0-0 4, Mouton 5-6 0-0 10, Robledo 0-4 0-0 0, Woodard 6-7 3-3 13, Williams 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 21-49 4-6 49.
Halftime: GHS, 28-13. 3-point shooting: PHS 3-15 (Moyghna 0-1, Wells 2-7, Ballard 0-1, Ivy 1-5, Crider 0-1); GHS 3-18 (Vickers 0-1, Sander 0-2, Hanson 0-2, Ellsworth 3-7, Harris 0-3, Robledo 0-3). Rebounds; PHS 14 (Wells 5); GHS 28 (Woodard 6, Williams 6, Hampton 5, Ellsworth 4). Blocks: none: Assists: GHS 10 (Harris 4, Woodard 2, Ellsworth 2). Steals: PHS 5 (Wells 3); GHS 12 (Sander 5, Ellsworth 2, Harris 2). Turnovers: GHS 13. Total fouls: PHS 11, GHS 21. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. GHS record: 2-3.
SATURDAY’S CONSOLATION FINALS
GEORGETOWN 54, FORT WORTH EATON 32
GEORGETOWN (54) — Vickers 1-3 1-2 4, Kylee Sander 3-6 1-2 7, McCall Hampton 3-6 1-2 8, Kylie Ellsworth 5-9 1-2 11, Harris 4-6 3-4 13, Mouton 3-5 1-2 7, Robledo 0-2 0-0 0, Woodard 1-2 0-0 2, Williams 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 21-40 8-14 54.
EATON (32) — McConnell 0-3 1-5 1, Lawson 0-2 0-0 0, Chandler 2-6 1-2 7, Zenon 3-9 1-2 9, Wilson 0-1 0-0 0, Hamilton 0-1, 0-0 0, Green 0-3 1-2 1, Thompson 0-2 0-0 0, Crites 3-8 0-0 9, Stanton 1-7 3-3 5. Totals: 9-42 7-14 32.
Halftime: GHS, 23-19. 3-point scoring: GHS 4-12 (Vickers 1-3, Sander 0-1, Ellsworth 0-2, Harris 2-3, Robledo 0-2, Hampton 1-1); EHS 7-26 (McConnell 0-1, Lawson 0-1, Chandler 2-6, Zenon 2-7, Wilson 0-1, Hamilton 0-1, Green 0-1, Ctites 3-8). Rebounds: GHS 23 (Ellsworth 7, Mouton 6, Hampton 5); EHS 21 (Stanton 5, Zenon 5). Blocks: Ellsworth 1. Assists: GHS 9 (Ellsworth 3, Harris 3). Steals: GHS 15 (Sander 4, Ellsworth 4, Harris 3, Hampton 3); EHS 3. Turnovers: GHS 12, EHS 7. Total fouls: GHS 11, EHS 9. Fouled out: GHS, Woodard. Technical fouls: none. GHS record: 3-3.
Note: Names and statistics provided by Lady Eagles Basketball.