Three questions must be answered before the exact bi-district schedule between Districts 17-5A and 8-5A can be solidified for Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 17-18. Two of those — both in 17-5A — should be answered in head-to-head meetings Tuesday night. The other, in 18-5A, could require a playoff later in the week, if things go as expected Tuesday night. We know three things after 13 rounds of competition in both seven-team alignments — second-ranked Cedar Park (11-0, 28-3) and Pflugerville (5-7, 14-18) have clinched first and fourth places in 18-5A and Bastrop (7-5, 14-16) has nailed down third place in 17-5A. In the featured meeting on “Showdown Tuesday” seventh-ranked Georgetown (10-1, 25-8) and East View (10-1, 25-5) will meet in the 7:30 nightcap of a boys-girls doubleheader on “Fill The Gym Night” at Eagle Gym. The winner will claim the 17-5A title and face Pflugerville in bi-district and the loser will be the runner-up and play the third-place team from 18-5A — either Plfugerville Connally or Marble Falls.
The Patriots won the first meeting with the Lady Eagles, 46-42, on Jan. 17, breaking a streak of 14 consecutive losses over seven seasons to GHS. The above mentioned Lady Cougars (23-11) and Lady Mustangs (15-13) appear to be headed for a playoff game as both teams are tied at 8-3 and are heavy favorites despite playing on the road Tuesday night. Connally tackles Leander Glenn (3-8, 10-21) and Marble Falls plays a call on Pflugerville Weiss (1-10, 3-20). The eventual survivor will play Bastrop in bi-district. The loser will go against either East View or Georgetown, which beat Marble Falls last year in the opening round of the 128-team 5A playoffs. Connally and Marble Falls split road wins earlier in the 18-5A race. Connally won, 62-53, at Marble Falls, which rebounded with a 55-54 win at Connally. The other contest will determine fourth place in 17-5A and a bi-district opponent for the highly ranked Lady Timberwolves as Manor (5-6, 9-12) goes to Hutto (5-7, 13-23). The loser will be eliminated from possible playoff competition. The Mustangs won the first meeting 64-47 on its home court.
Coach Rhonda Farney’s Lady Eagles and Dave Walla’s Patriots are both coming off one-sided wins on Friday. GHS thrashed Hutto, 61-31, on Cancer Warrior Night at Eagle Gym and East View went down State Highway 95 to bounce Elgin, 52-26. Georgetown has won six straight since losing to East View and the Patriots have won two consecutive games since dropping a 36-31 non-district decision to Class 6A Round Rock Cedar Ridge. Both the Lady Eagles and Patriots count heavily on their defensive prowess. GHS has outscored the opposition, 625-366 its first 11 district starts (a 33.3 defensive yield per game, while EV shows a 538-380 reading (a 34.54 defensive yield per game). The Patriots have held seven district opponents under 35 points, while the Lady Eagles have accomplished that feat five times. Georgetown’s district winning margin is 29.2 points a game, while East View’s is 12.4 points a game.
“I’m not going to worry about what will happen or could happen in the playoffs,” Farney said after the strong showing against Hutto. “We’ll deal with what happens and be successful.”
As for the 30-point win over the Lady Hippos, Farney said, “I was really excited about the way we played. We came out strong and didn’t let up. We played good defense. No. 22 (Dashia Williams) scored on us early (12 of her 19 points in the first half), but we tightened up in the second half. We also were able to hold down No. 14 (Manuella Shomba) and I think our superior conditioning is beginning to really show at this point in the season.” Georgetown took an 18-10 lead in the first period and expanded it to 37-20 at the half. After Williams scored the first basket of the second half for Hutto, GHS hung up 11 straight points and took a 48-24 edge going into the final period. With non-starters logging a majority of the playing time in the second half to 30 points on a basket by sophomore Ella Vickers at 59-29 with 1:31 to play.
The Lady Eagles’ defense continued to cause problems for opponents as they limited Hutto to 24 percent shooting (13 of 53, including one of 10 beyond the arch. GHS recorded 14 steals, including five by senior guard Kylee Sander and was credited with five blocks (two each by junior Graci Harris and senior post Mackenzy Mouton). GHS shot 48 percent from the floor (25 of 52) and took a 28-25 edge on the boards. With 10 of the 11 active players scoring, Sander topped the chart with 13 points, while junior Lauren Woodard and McCall Hempton had eight points each and sophomore guard Jacqui Spencer and Mouton each contributing six points. Woodard, Mouton and Hampton had six, five and four rebounds, respectively. Senior guard Kylie Ellsworth was credited with three assists.
The Lady Eagles’ sub-varsity team improved to 10-0 in district with the JV (20-6 for the season) winning 52-17 and the undefeated Freshman Blue claimed a 48-18 win. Shelia Lee led the JV with 12 points and Ainsley Pelczar and Taylor Meyners led the Blue with 19 and 11 points, respectively. The sub-varsity teams will close out their seasons against East View. The Freshman Blue will play the EV freshmen at 6 p.m. Monday in Eagle Gym, while the JV will go against the young Patriots at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the GHS Auxiliary (lower) Gym.
THANK YOU FROM COACH FARNEY: “Thank you, Roxanne Youngblood and Melinda Folsom, for planning and executing a beautiful night honoring the cancer warriors in our lives. These brave warriors embody “Eagle Fight Never Dies” as they battle this terrible disease daily. It is also a time for us to remember those who fought the good fight but are gone. Also,thank you, Matt and Meredith Morrow, for sponsoring our Cancer Warrior shirts. It’s families like the Morrow’s and Youngblood’s that make living in Georgetown and attending GHS truly special!”
Farney also passed out thank yous to the scoring table crew of Curtis Parker (announcer music) Lynn Krog (official scorer), Suzanne Isbell (clock operator) along with Galen Wellnicki (reporter), Russell Rinn (photographer), Bobby Fredrickson (videographer), Vanessa Redeaux (athletics trainer), Chad Hennessey (athletics trainer), Abigail Lamas (student trainer), Kaitlyn Watkins (student trainer), Allysa Stock (student trainer), assistant coaches Tosha Doherty, Katie Youngblood and Corey Cunningham and SHN broadcast personnel Travis Banks, Robb Hipp and Nathan Hight.
***
GHS VS. EAST VIEW VARSITY SERIES
(GHS leads, 14-1)
Year — Game 1 Game-2
2012-2013 — 61-18 58-24
2013-2014 — 49-28 71-38
2014-2015 — 45-29 50-26
2015-2016 — 44-34 35-32
2016-2017 — 47-42 51-33
2017-2018 — 44-43 (OT) 52-36
2018-2019 — 38-33 45-18
2019-2020 — 42-46 ????
***
DISTRICT 18-5A RACE AT A GLANCE
(Through games of Friday, Feb. 11)
Standings: East View*, 10-1; Georgetown**, 10-1; Bastrop**, 7-4; Hutto, 5-6; Manor, 5-6; Elgin, 1-10; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 1-11.
* — denotes East View has a head-to-head tie-breaker win over Georgetown and has clinched a state playoff berth.
** — denotes Georgetown and Bastrop have claimed playoff berths.
Tuesday (Dec. 10) results: Georgetown 45, Bastrop 40; East View 63, Manor 38; Hutto 82, Cedar Creek 29. Bye — Elgin.
Tuesday (Dec. 17) results: Georgetown 65, Elgin 44; East View 51, Cedar Creek 21; Bastrop 63, Manor 60. Bye — Hutto.
Thursday (Dec. 19) results: Bastrop 75, Cedar Creek 25.
Friday (Dec. 20) results: Hutto 45, East View 36; Manor 57, Elgin 37. Bye — Georgetown.
Tuesday (Jan. 7) results: Georgetown 47, Manor 42; Cedar Creek 33, Elgin 29; Bastrop 51, Hutto 46, 7p.m. Bye — East View.
Saturday (Jan. 11) results: Georgetown 71, Cedar Creek 7; East View 52, Bastrop 34; Hutto 59, Elgin 32. Bye — Manor.
Tuesday (Jan. 14) results: Georgetown 48, Hutto 27 ; East View 32, Elgin 21; Manor 80, Cedar Creek 42. Bye — Bastrop.
Friday (Jan. 17) results: East View 46, Georgetown 42; Manor 64, Hutto 48; Bastrop 46, Elgin 44. Bye — Cedar Creek.
(End of first round)
Tuesday (Jan. 21) results: Georgetown 62, Bastrop 43; East View 60, Manor 56 (OT); Hutto 79, Cedar Creek 41. Bye — Elgin.
Friday (Jan. 24) results: Georgetown 42, Elgin 26; East View 52, Cedar Creek 25; Bastrop 56, Manor 42. Bye — Hutto.
Tuesday (Jan. 28) results: East View 49, Hutto 27; Bastrop 67, Cedar Creek 25; Manor 67, Elgin 35. Bye — Georgetown.
Friday (Jan. 31) results: Georgetown 73, Manor 36; Bastrop 68, Hutto 40; Elgin 49, Cedar Creek 23. Bye — East View (lost non-district game to 6A Cedar Ridge, 36-31).
Tuesday (Feb. 4) results: Georgetown 69, Cedar Creek 24; East View 45, Bastrop 33; Hutto 58, Elgin 35. Bye — Manor.
Friday’s results: Georgetown 61, Hutto 31; East View 52, Elgin, 26; Manor 63, Cedar Creek 26. Bye — Bastrop.
Tuesday’s games: East View at Georgetown, 7:30 p.m.; Manor at Hutto, 7 p.m.; Elgin at Bastrop, 7 p.m. Bye — Cedar Creek.
***
DISTRICT 17-5A AT A GLANCE
(18-5A plays 17-5A in bi-district)
Standings: Cedar Park*, 11-0; Pflugerville Connally*, 8-3; Marble Falls*, 8-3; Pflugerville*, 5-7; Leander Glenn 3-8; Leander Rouse, 3-8; Pflugerville Weiss, 1-10.
* — clinched playoff berth.
Tuesday (Jan. 24) results: Cedar Park 62, Leander Glenn 35; Pflugerville Connally 50, Pflugerville 48; Marble Falls 39, Rouse 30. Bye — Pflugerville Weiss.
Friday (Jan. 27) results: Pflugerville 59, Leander Glenn 47; Cedar Park 49, Pflugerville Weiss 11; Pflugerville Connally 46, Leander Rouse 36. Bye — Marble Falls.
Tuesday (Feb. 4) results: Marble Falls 55, Pflugerville Connally 54; Pflugerville 54, Pflugerville Weiss 35; Leander Rouse 46, Leander Glenn 34. Bye — Cedar Park.
Friday’s results: Cedar Park 56, Pflugerville 42; Marble Falls 48, Leander Glenn 36; Pflugerville Weiss def. Leander Rouse, na. Bye — Pflugerville Connally.
Tuesday’s games: Leander Rouse at Cedar Park, 7 p.m.; Pflugerville Connally at Leander Glenn, 7 p.m.; Marble Falls at Pflugerville Weiss, 7 p.m. Bye — Pflugerville.
(End of regular season)
***
FRIDAY’S DISTRiCT 18-5A GAME
At Eagle Gym
GEORGETOWN 61, HUTTO 31
HUTTO (31) — Sincere McAlister 0-4 0-0 0, Aleesha Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Heaven Jones 0-6 0-0 0, Manuella Shumba 2-9 3-4 8, Jadaiya Norman 0-2 0-0 0, Emilee West 0-1 0-0 0, Dashia Williams 9-11 1-1 19, Yetzi Correa 1-6 0-0 2, Alana Banderas 0-0 0-0 0, Mikayla Smith 0-8 0-0 0. Totals: 13-53 4-5 31.
GEORGETOWN (61) — Ella Vickers 2-5 0-2 4, Kylee Sander 4-9 4-4 13, Jacqui Spencer 3-4 0-0 6, Hailey Hansen 0-1 0-0 0, McCall Hampton 3-6 2-2 8, Kylie Ellsworth 2-8 0-0 4, Graci Harris 1-3 0-0 3, Makenzy Mouton 3-4 0-0 6, Mercedes Robledo 2-3 0-0 5, Lauren Woodard 3-6 2-2 8, Nia Williams 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 25-52 8-10 61.
Halftime: GHS, 37-20. 3-point shooting: HHS 1-10 (McAlister 0-3, Johnson 0-2, Correa 0-2, Shomba 1-2, Williams 0-1); GHS 3-16 (Vickers 0-2, Sander 1-5, Hanson 0-1, Ellsworth 0-4, Harris 1-2, Robledo 1-2). Assists: GHS 9 (Ellsworth 3, Harris 2, Hampton 2). Blocks: HHS 1 (Shumba 1), GHS 5 (Mouton 2, Harris 2, Williams 1). Rebounds: HHS 25 (Shomba 11, Smith 6); GHS 28 (Woodard 6, Mouton 5, Hampton 4, Williams 3, Ellsworth 3). Steals: HHS 8 (Shomba 4); GHS 14 (Sander 5, Ellsworth 3, Hampton 3). Turnovers: HHS 7, GHS 11. Total fouls: HHS 6, GHS 10. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none: Records: Hutto, 5-6 in 18-5A, 13-23; Georgetown, 10-1 in 18-5A, 25-8.
Note: Statistics supplied by Lady Eagles Basketball.
***
FRIDAY’S SUB-VARSITY GAMES
At Eagle Gym
(GHS scoring only)
GEORGETOWN JV 52, HUTTO JV 17 — — Brooke White 9, Sam Folsom 9, Tanaya Smith 1, Morgan Larson 6, Shelia Lee 12, Vyctorya Lehr 5, Jordyn Stout 3, Lauren Cavanaugh 7. Halftime: GHS, 30-7. GHS record: 10-0 in 18-5A, 20-6.
GEORGETOWN FRESHMAN BLUE 48, HUTTO FRESHMAN 18 — Erica Ramthun 7, Avery Lopez 5, Jane Butler 7, Taylor Meyners 11, Amiya Gonzalez 6, Madelyne Furr 8, Abby Brent 2, Ainsley Pelczar 19. GHS record: GHS, 10-0 in 18-5A, 27-0.
***
LADY EAGLES REMAINING GAMES
(Current record: 25-8 season, 10-1 district)
District 18-5A Games
Tuesday, Feb. 11 — East View, 7:30 p.m.
Note: The East View game is a doubleheader with the boys.
(End of regular season)
***
LADY EAGLES SEASON TO DATE
(Current record: 25-8 season, 10-1 district)
November
8 — Round Rock Cedar Ridge (l) 38-44
11 — at Waco Midway (l) 28-52
***
Eaton Varsity Tournament (Ft. Worth)
14 — Ft. Worth Haltom (l) 37-42
14 — Keller Fossil Ridge (w) 51-35
15 — Ponder (w) 49-38
16 — Eaton (w) 54-32
***
19 — Vista Ridge (l) 40-55
25 — Victoria East (w) 48-43
26 — at Lorena (w) 35-27
30 — Vandegrift (w) 42-31
December
2 — Kyle Lehman (w) 80-19
***
Jack Frost Tournament (Georgetown)
5 — Austin Akins (w) 55-30
5 — Killeen (w) 52-39
6 — S.A. Incarnate Word (w) 52-37
7 — Ponder (w) 49-39
7 — Cedar Park (l) 34-61
***
10 — at Bastrop* (w) 45-40
13 — at Austin Westlake (l) 33-65
17 — Elgin* (w) 65-44
20 — Burnet (w) 70-35
***
Flowing Wells Holiday Shootout (Tucson, Az.)
27 — Tucson Desert Christian (w) 79-26
27 — Tucson Empire (w) 65-28
28 — Sahuaro (l) 58-60
28 — Marana (w) 64-38
***
January
7 — at Manor* (w) 47-42
11 — Bastrop Cedar Creek* (w) 71-7
14 — at Hutto* (w) 48-27
17 — at East View* (l) 42-46
21 — Bastrop* (w) 62-43
24 — at Elgin* (w) 42-26
28 — OPEN DATE
31 — Manor* (w) 73-36
February
4 — at Bastrop Cedar Creek* (w) 69-24
7 — Hutto* (w) 61-31
* — denotes District 18-5A game.
GHS SEASON LEADERS
Points in a game — Hampton, 22 of her team’s 35 points vs. Lorena.
Rebounds in a game — Hampton, 16 vs. Manor.
GHS 18-5A JV GAME-BY-GAME
(10-0 record in district)
42 — Bastrop 9
74 — Elgin 6
68 — Manor 21
Cedar Creek — canceled
55 — Hutto 7
52 — East View 16
62 — Bastrop 6
75 — Elgin 5
71 — Manor 18
81 — Cedar Creek 2
52 — Hutto 17
***
GHS 18-5A FRESH. BLUE GAME-BY-GAME
(10-0 record in district)
58 — Bastrop 14
71 — Elgin 2
57 — Manor 9
Cedar Creek — canceled
53 — Hutto 14
79 — East View 23
47 — Bastrop 17
Elgin — forfeit
63 — Manor 11
Cedar Creek — forfeit
48 — Hutto 18