When 14 of the 16 schools in the girls division of the 40th annual Jack Frost Tournament qualified for either the University Interscholastic League or Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state playoffs, the question arose about the overall quality of this past season’s field. With the season complete, let’s take a look at what was accomplished by the “Frosters” on a statewide basis, throwing out the two playoff non-qualifiers — Class 6A entries Austin Akins and Belton. There was one state champion in Class 4A Argyle, which beat Hardin Jefferson, another of this past season’s Jack Frost entries, by a 49-41 count in the title game. There was one state semifinalist — San Antonio Incarnate Word, which lost in the 6A semifinals to Houston Village School, 62-42. Going down the ladder to the regional level there were two teams that fell in their regional finals — 4A Liberty Hill and TAPPS 6A Houston St. Agnes — and one in the regional semifinals — 5A The Colony. Liberty Hill lost to Burnet, 52-36, and St. Agnes fell 55-53 to Incarnate Word.
In the regional semifinals, eventual 5A state champion Amarillo edged The Colony, 68-66. Corpus Christi Flour Bluff fell in the regional quarterfinals to Victoria West, 50-48, and Saginaw Boswell departed at the same level to then No. 1 Mansfield Timberview, 68-46. Timberview finished the season as the 5A state runner-up. Teams bumped from the playoffs in the area round included Georgetown which ended its two-round stay with a 55-31 loss to Magnolia West. Other Jack Frost competitors bowing out at the area level were 5A Crowley (to The Colony, 86-59) and 6A Fort Worth Trimble Tech (to Amarillo Tascosa, 59-51). Bi-district casualties were 6A Killeen (to Rockwall, 49-33), 6A San Antonio Reagan (to San Antonio Brandeis, 53-26) and 6A Flower Mound Marcus (to Denton Guyer, 54-34).
Looking back at the 40th annual Jack Frost Invitational — The Colony won the gold bracket 52-50 over Marcus, Boswell downed Flour Bluff, 56-44, for the silver bracket crown and Trimble Tech downed St. Agnes, 47-40. to win the bronze bracket. Argyle, the 4A state champion, lost to Marcus, 34-30, in the gold semifinals as did Georgetown, 69-50, to The Colony.
***
PLAINVIEW TO MARSHALL: After playing on an NAIA national semifinalist as a sophomore at Wayland Baptist University, 5-foot-11 guard Kendrick Clark, a consensus all-state choice as a senior at Georgetown in 2016, found continued success after transferring to East Texas Baptist University for her junior season. After helping lead the Tigers to a second-place finish in the American Southwest Conference Eastern Division and coming within a hand-full of points of potentially qualifying for the NCAA Division III’s national tournament, Clark collected a number of individual rewards for her efforts. She was named to the overall All-ASC team and was selected as the conference’s Newcomer of the Year. Also she was first-team All-ASC East and selected to the All-ASC East defensive team. She was named the ASC Player of the Week on Jan. 22.
During the Tigers’ 23-4 season that ended with a two-point loss to Mary-Hardin Baylor in the semifinals of the ASC Tournament, Clark led team with 381 points, including 25 vs. Texas Lutheran (11/16/18); grabbed 81 rebounds, including eight at UMHB (11/29/18); dished 36 assists, including four at Schreiner (11/10/18) and LeTourneau (12/13/18); second for ETBU with 64 steals, including five vs. Howard Payne (12/10/18); blocked six shots, including two vs. Howard Payne (2/21/19); led team with 63 3-pointers, including five vs. McMurry (1/3/19), at Texas Dallas (1/10/19), and at LeTourneau (2/12/19); made 26 free throws, including six at UMHB (11/29/18) and finished with 14.1 points, three rebounds and 1.3 assist per game. The daughter of Kelly and Cheryl Clark averaged 10.6 points and five rebounds as a sophomore at Wayland Baptist, a member of the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Queen’s lost 56-54 to Westmont College, Calif., in the 2018 national semifinals, finishing their season at 27-7. She is majoring in psychology at ETBU.
***
ELLIOTT ADVANCES: Former Georgetown standout point guard Brooke Elliott scored two points, grabbed two rebounds, handed out three assists and made a steal in 15 minutes playing time off the bench as 12th-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor defeated No. 16 UT-Dallas, 66-57, in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday night at Richardson. The win improved the Cru’s record to 27-3 and advances them into the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Mary Hardin-Baylor’s next opponent will be No. 19 Washington-St. Louis University, Mo., at 4 p.m. (CST) on Friday, March 8. at Crestview Hills, Ky. Washington-St. Louis (21-7) advanced to the sectionals with an 86-78 win over George Fox University (Ore.). The second semifinal will send top-seeded and undefeated Thomas More (29-0) against Transylvania (27-2) at 6 p.m. (CST). The finals are at 5:30 p.m. (CST) on Saturday., Thomas More is the host team. The NCAA tournament win by UMHB reversed a 63-58 loss to the UT-Dallas Comets on Saturday, Feb. 23, in the American Southwest Conference finals on the Belton school’s court. Mary Hardin-Baylor had reached the second round of the 32-team tournament by beating Rhodes College (Tenn.) , 70-56, in Friday’s opening round at UT-Dallas. For the season to date, Elliott, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, has scored 79 points (2.7 ppg.), grabbed 56 rebounds, made 79 assists and 26 steals. She was a consensus all-state pick as a Lady Eagles’ senior in 2017.
***
AMANDA JOHNSON PASSES MILESTONE: Houston Baptist University senior Amanda Johnson, a 2015 graduate of Georgetown and a consensus all-state selection, surpassed the 1,000-point career milestone with 14 points in a 97-49 loss to Lamar University on Wednesday, Feb. 27. iThat performance gave her 1,004 points and made her the 11th woman in HBU history to surpass the barrier. She added 18 points to raise her four-year career level to 1,022 points with two regular-season conference games remaining in Saturday’s 72-67 loss to McNeese. The showing against McNeese moved the 6-foot-1 Anderson into 10th place on the Houston Baptist career scoring list. HPU, currently 7-19 for the season, will finish the regular season on the road, playing at The University of the Incarnate Word on Wednesday and at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday. Anderson also has been named to the Google Cloud Academic first team for NCAA Division I players and makes her eligible for to be selected an academic All-American.
BOGARD HELPS COACH WAYLAND BAPTIST TO TITLE: On Saturday, runner-up Wayland Baptist defeated regular-season champion Oklahoma City University, 68-62, in the finals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament at Abe Lemons Arena in Oklahoma City. Both the Flying Queens (25-5) and Stars (29-4) qualified for the NAIA Division 1 national tournament in Billings, Mont,, on March 13-19. The first-round national tourney pairings will be announced Wednesday, March 6. Also, both schools have a connection with Georgetown as Brianna Bogard, one of the most-decorated players in Lady Eagles’ history, serves Queens head coach Alesha Ellis as a graduate assistant and senior Taylor LaCour, a 6-1 graduate of GHS in 2015, was a standout performer on the court for the Stars. A two-time All-SAC choice, LaCour produced 9.3 points and 4.5 rebounds a contest for OCU this season. She notched a double-double at Langston, Okla.. on Jan. 26 with 16 points and 10 rebounds. LaCour turned in a season-best 23 points against LSU-Shreveport on Nov. 10. She reeled in SAC Player of the Week for Nov. 5-11. As a Lady Eagle, LaCour was a two-time all-district selection and a TSGA Academic All-State player. Bogard, a 2011 graduate and member of that season’s Class 5A state semifinals, was an all-state, all-district, district MVP and Austin American-Statesman All-Centex Player of the Year along with setting several school records as a Lady Eagle.. She is third in school history with 118 wins.
***
REMEMBER TENNESSEE: If you remember Georgetown’s 0-3 venture to the State Farm Classic in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in late December, you may be interested in how those teams are currently faring in the Volunteer State Class 3A playoffs. Germantown Houston, which took a 64-28 victory over the Lady Eagles in their third game in Tennessee, has qualified for the Class 3A State Tournament, beating Dryer, 64-47, in a sectional game Saturday, and Riverdale, the State Farm Classic’s host school, beat Stone Memorial, 65-45, to earn its state ticket. Riverdale is shooting for its fourth consecutive state 3A title. Dickson County, a 55-40 winner over GHS in the State Farm opener, was eliminated in the West sectionals, 74-61, by Mt. Juliet, one step short of a trip to state. Bearden, which took a 60-37 win from Georgetown in the second State Farm game, was eliminated early 50-43, by Oak Ridge in the East Regional Semifinals. The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Division I State Tournament runs from Wednesday to Saturday this week. See a complete look at Georgetown’s Tennessee rivals in their state playoff campaigns below.
***
UIL STATE GIRLS TOURNAMENT
At Alamodome, San Antonio
Class 1A
Semifinals — Dodd City 52, Moulton 33; Nazareth 48, Hermleigh 17.
Championship — Nazareth 54, Dodd City 33.
Class 2A
Semifinals — Martin’s Mill 44, Panhandle 41; Grapeland 61, Mason 54.
Championship –Martin’s Mill 60, Grapeland 56.
Class 3A
Semifinals — Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill 53, Wall 49 (OT); Woodville 68, Poth 48.
Championship — Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill 55, Woodville 46.
Class 4A
Semifinals — Hardin-Jefferson 49, Burnet 44; Argyle 53, Dallas Lincoln 51.
Championship — Argyle 49, Hardin-Jefferson 41.
Class 5A
Semifinals — Frisco Liberty 34, Kerrville Tivy 28; Amarillo 64, Fort Bend Hightower 53.
Championship — Amarillo 47, Frisco Liberty 42.
Class 6A
Semifinals — Converse Judson 58, Allen 47; DeSoto 58, Humble Summer Creek 49.
Championship — Converse Judson 49, DeSoto 46.
***
CLASS 5A REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS
(In bracket order)
Region III-5A
Semi Finals — Manvel 70, College Station 59; Fort Bend Hightower 37, Magnolia West 27.
Finals — Fort Bend Hightower 47, Manvel 39,
Region I-5A
Semifinals — Amarillo 68, The Colony 56; Mansfield Timberview 64, Lubbock Cooper 50.
Finals — Amarillo 47, Mansfield Timberview 45.
Region II-5A
Semifinals — Frisco Liberty 39, Forney North 25; Frisco Lone Star 55, Red Oak 40.
Finals — Frisco Liberty 43, Frisco Lone Star 39.
Region IV-4A
Semifinals — San Antonio Veterans Memorial 63, Corpus Christi Carroll 46; Kerrville Tivy 70, Victoria West 62.
Finals — Kerrville Tivy 44, , San Antonio Veterans Memorial 34.
***
CLASS 5A REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
Region III-5A
(In bracket order)
College Station 75, Pflugerville 74.
Manvel 66, Pearland Shadow Creek 51.
***
Magnolia West 58, Bryan Rudder 32.
Fort Bend Hightower 64, Richmond Foster 44.
Region I
Amarillo 60, Aledo 39.
The Colony 70, Mansfield Legacy 65.
Lubbock Cooper 43, Plainview 30.
Mansfield Timberview 68, Saginaw Boswell 46.
Region II
Frisco Liberty 42, Frisco Centennial 32.
North Forney 54, Texarkana Texas 47.
Frisco Lone Star 58, Wylie East 39.
Red Oak 69, Mesquite Poteet 51.
Region IV
San Antonio Veterans Memorial 58, San Antonio Sam Houston 36.
Corpus Christi Carroll 50, Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial, 45.
Kerrville Tivy 69, Dripping Springs 26.
Victoria West 50, Corpus Christi Flour Bluff 48.
***
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 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 Memorial 79, Dayton 33; Richmond Foster 67, Houston Sterling 17; Crosby 72, Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill 70; Fort Bend Hightower 82, Houston Waltrip 19.
***
TAPPS GIRLS STATE BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
State Tournament
At Robinson/West
Class 6A
Semifinals — Dallas Bishop Lynch 70, Plano Prestonwood 67; Houston Village School 62, San Antonio Incarnate Word 42.
Finals: Dallas Bishop Lynoh 81, Houston Village School 62.
Regional Round
S.A. Incarnate Word 55, Houston St. Agnes 53.
Area Round
S.A. Incarnate Word 49, Tomball Christian 40; Houston St. Agnes 68, Austin St. Dominic Savio 23.
***
TENNESSEE STATE 3A PLAYOFFS
WEST SECTION
Germantown Houston
Regional quarterfinals: beat Memphis East, 77-49. Regional semifinals: beat Memphis Central, 73-53. Regional final: beat Whitehaven, 66-47. Sectional: beat Dryer, 64-47.
Dickson County
Regional quarterfinals: beat McGavock, 74-49. Regional semifinals: beat Page, 63-62. Regional finals: beat Whitehaven, 66-47. Sectional: lost to Mt. Juliet, 74-61.
EAST SECTION
Bearden
Regional quarterfinals:beat Powell, 59-26. Regional semifinals: lost to Oak Ridge, 50-45.
Riverdale
Regional quarterfinals: beat Franklin County. 71-37. Regional semifinals: beat Coffee County, 57-48. Regional finals: beat Oakland, 48-35. Sectional: beat Stone Memorial, 65-45.
***
NCAA DIVISION III NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
At UT-Dallas
First Round: Mary Hardin-Baylor 70, Rhodes 56; UT-Dallas 62, Texas Lutheran University 51.
Second Round: Mary Hardin Baylor 66, UT-Dallas 57.