Length is the determining factor in such athletic disciplines as the shot put, discus, javelin, hammer and horizontal jumps (long and triple) and that also can extend to basketball where skilled length can be a crucial element, if the scale is tipped too far in one direction or the other. That scale was tipped too far in Austin Westlake’s favor Friday night when the host Chaps, currently ranked No. 5 in 6A, dominated Georgetown, No. 22 in 5A, 65-33, in a non-district contest. With 6-foot future Texas Longhorn Shay Holle, versatile 5-11 Bailee Chynoweth and 6-2 Alexia Zurovec on the floor along with several teammates of similar heights, shuttling in and out, the Chaps, now 15-5, gave the Lady Eagles a multitude of problems.
Georgetown, which tumbled to 12-6 on the season, had one central problem, getting off enough accurate shots to be effective. In fact, the Lady Eagles launched only 33 shots, making 12 and having six blocked. The lengthy limbs of the Chaps resulted in 27 rebounds (13 on the offensive glass) and played a big role in forcing 25 turnovers. “They are a good basketball team,” GHS coach Rhonda Farney said. “Their length was a major problem for us. We did some good things. McCall (5-9 senior forward) Hampton was a warrior and Graci (5-7 junior point guard) Harris showed that she was getting her mojo back.” Friday’s loss was the Lady Eagles’ second one-sided defeat of the week as they had dropped a 61-34 decision to Cedar Park, the No. 2 team in 5A, in last Saturday’s finals of the 41st annual Jack Frost Tournament. For Westlake the win was a welcome change after dropping three-straight games to Colorado teams (Cherry Creek, Valor Christian and Grandview) in the She Got Game Classic in Dallas on the previous weekend. Georgetown, the defending 18-5A champion, will try to get back on the winning path at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Elgin, which will make its district debut after having the first-round bye. In its district opener last Tuesday, the Lady Eagles came from behind to beat Bastrop, 49-39. The Lady Wildcats will come to Georgetown with a 3-16 record. They are coming off a 54-32 victory over Class 2A North Zulch in the Snook Tournament. Elgin’s other wins have been over 6A Houston Northbrook and 5A Bastrop in a non-district tournament game.
In addition to district basketball, Tuesday night will be highlighted by a celebration of the Lady Eagles’ 2012-2013 Class 4A State Championship team that fashioned a 34-4 record that included a 44-30 win over San Antonio Brennan in the state semifinals and 65-60 over Dallas Lincoln in the title game. Most of the coaches, players and support personnel from that team are scheduled to be on hand for the halftime ceremony and post-game reception. Georgetown was down 28-4 after the first 10 minutes and 30 seconds of the Westlake game with senior Mackenzy Mouton hitting a field goal and adding two free throws. The Chaps pushed the lead over 30 points with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. The Lady Eagles did cut the Westlake lead to 29 points twice late in the fourth quarter. Georgetown scored in single digits in each of the first three quarters — four, eight and five points — before finishing with 16 points in the fourth period. Both teams substituted freely with Westlake playing all 18 players on its roster and Georgetown using 10 players.
The Lady Eagles did play without 5-11 junior post Lauren Woodard, who sustained a leg injury earlier in the day at the shoot-around. Hampton and Harris paced GHS scoring with eight points each and Hampton pulled down 11 of the Lady Eagles’ 26 rebounds. Georgetown had three blocks with 6-3 sophomore Nia Williams swatting down a pair of Westlake shots and Hampton derailing the other. For Westlake, Holle scored 16 points and Chynoweth, who is still on the recruiting market with several Division I offers, added 13 points, including 11 in the first quarter. Thirteen different players scored for the Chaps. The Lady Eagles will close out their pre-Christmas schedule at 2:30 p.m. Friday when they face Burnet, which is picked to finish third in District 27-4A behind Liberty Hill and Salado.
In sub-varsity action Friday night at Westlake, the Georgetown JV and Freshman Blue rolled over the young Chaps. The Blue improved its record to 16-0 with a 44-22 victory as Taylor Meyners and Madelyne Furr scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, for coach Katie Youngblood’s crew. Jacqui Spencer led the ball-hawking JV with 11 points as Tosha Doherty’s team improved to 10-7. Jordyn Stout added nine points and Sam Folson contributed seven. The GHS JV and Blue will play at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in District 18-5A action against Elgin.
***
Pairings have been announced for the 16-team Flowing Wells Holiday Shootout in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 27-28. The Lady Eagles will open play against Desert Christian at 10:30 a.m. Friday. Pending how they fare, GHS will play either Nogales, Ariz., or Tucson Empire at 4:30 p.m. in the winner’s bracket or 3 p.m. in the loser’s bracket. Georgetown is the only non-Arizona team in the tournament. Other first-round pairings (in bracket order): Tucson Sahuaro vs. Yuma Kofa, Tucson Rincon vs. Tucson Amphitheater, Tucson Flowing Wells vs. Tucson Catalina Foothills, Tucson Marana vs. Thatcher, Ariz., Sahuarita Walden Grove vs. Sierra Vista Buena, and Tuscon Sunnyville vs. Tucson Palo Verde. The final two rounds of the tournament will be played on Saturday. The championship game is set for 7:30 p.m.
***
DISTRICT 18-5A AT A GLANCE
(As of Monday, Dec. 16)
Standings: Georgetown, 1-0; East View, 1-0; Hutto, 1-0; Elgin, 0-0; Bastrop, 0-1; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 0-1; Manor, 0-1.
Tuesday’s results: Georgetown 45, Bastrop 40; East View 63, Manor 38; Hutto 82, Cedar Creek 29. Bye — Elgin.
Tuesday (Dec. 17) games: Elgin at Georgetown, 7 p.m.; East View at Cedar Creek, 7 p.m.; Bastrop at Manor, 7 p.m. Bye — Hutto.
Tuesday (Jan. 7) games: Georgetown at Manor, 7 p.m.; Elgin at Cedar Creek, 7 p.m.; Bastrop at Hutto, 7p.m. Bye — East View.
***
FRIDAY’S NON-DISTRICT GAME
At Austin Westlake
AUSTIN WESTLAKE 65, GEORGETOWN 33
GEORGETOWN (33) — Ella Vickers 1-2 0-1 2, Kylee Sander 1-2 1-2 3, Hailey Hanson 0-0 1-2 1, McCall Hampton 3-8 2-6 8, Kylie Ellsworth 2-11 1-2 5, Graci Harris 3-6 2-4 8, Mackenzy Mouton 1-2 2-2 4, Megan Harring 0-0 0-2 0, Mercedes Robledo 0-0 0-0 0, Nia Williams 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 12-33 9-21 33.
WESTLAKE (65) — Peyton Freiermuth 1 0-0 3, Laquayla Chambers-Wells 0 0-0 0, Presley Bennett 2 0-0 5, Bailee Chynoweth 5 0-0 13, Ana Mia Gaston 1 0-0 2, Syona Mandyam 0 0-0 0, Shay Holle 6 2-3 16, Emily Seghers 1 0-0 2, Pace Rickard 3 0-0 7, Alice Apple 1 2-2 4, Emily Marquis 1 1-1 3, Natalie Endres 0 0-0 0, Nora Bame 0 0-0 0, Riley Webster 0 0-0 0. Gwen Gilmore 1 0-0 2, Malena De Lascurain 0 2-2 2, Alexia Zurovec 1 1-2 3, Janie Hudson 1 1-2 3. Totals: 24-61 9-12 65.
Halftime: WHS, 35-12. 3-point shooting: GHS 0-5 (Ellsworth 0-3, Harris 0-1, Sander 0-1); WHS 8-30 (Freiermuth 1, Bennett 1, Chynoweth 3, Holle 2, Rickard 1). Assists: GHS 2 (). Blocks: GHS 3 (Williams 2, Hampton 1); WHS 6. Rebounds: GHS 26 (Hampton 11, Herring 4, Harris 3); WHS 27 (13 offensive). Steals: GHS 12 (Willimas 2, Harris 2, Ellsworth 2, Sander 2); WHS 10. Turnovers: GHS 25, WHS 15. Total fouls: GHS 10; WHS 18. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. Records: Georgetown, 12-6; Austin Westlake 15-5.
Note: Complete Westlake individual stats unavailable.
***
FRIDAY’S SUB-VARSITY GAMES
(GHS scoring only)
GEORGETOWN JV 51, AUSTIN WESTLAKE JV 25 — Jacqui Spencer 11, Brooke White 4, Sam Folsom 7, Tanaya Smith 0, Talaya Roston 0, Morgan Larson 4, Shelia Lee 5, Brielle Maxwell 1, Vyctorya Lehr 6, Aryana Hill 0, Jordyn Stout 9, Lauren Cavanaugh 4. Halftime: GHS, 16-9. GHS record: 10-6.
GEORGETOWN FRESHMAN BLUE 44, AUSTIN WESTLAKE FRESHMAN 22 — Erica Ramthun 7, Natalie Rivera 0, Avery Lopez 3, Jane Butler 5, Taylor Meyners 11, Amiya Gonzalez 0, Madelyne Furr 10, Abby Brent 0, Ainsley Pelzcar 8. Halftime: GHS, 17-12. GHS record: 16-0.