Crunch time can have a little in common with lunch time — athletic teams can implode to defeat or explode to victory. It’s kind of like attacking a lunch of aging canned potted meat or enjoying a more-satisfying and tasty repast such as fresh gourmet lasagna or chubby stuffed enchiladas. In Tuesday night’s game with Bastrop in the Lady Bears’ lair a run of 12 consecutive points by the hometown favorites erased a six-point Georgetown lead and built a 36-30 advantage at the end of three quarters in the District 18-5A opener for both schools. It was literally crunch time for the defending champion Lady Eagles — bounce back or be crunched. And they bounced high enough to claim a 45-40 victory as they answered the challenged by outscoring the Lady Bears, 12-2, over the first four minutes and 18 seconds of the fourth period to go up 42-38.
The leader of the rally was senior guard Kylee Sander, who scored seven consecutive points on two buckets and a 3-pointer. For most of the contest, she was the heart of the Georgetown effort — scoring and darting around the court causing Bastrop more problems than a host of biting black flies. Sander said her efforts were motivated by her teammates. The victory improved Georgetown’s season record to 12-5 prior to facing one — if not the biggest — test of its season to date at 7 p.m. Friday when they visit Austin Westlake, which stands 14-5 on the year and is ranked fifth in 6A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. The Chaps are led by preseason all-stater Shay Holle, a 6-0 senior headed to the University of Texas, and 5-10 senior Bailee Chynoweth.
Georgetown came out of the district opener tied with East View and Hutto for the 18-5A lead. The Patriots and Lady Hippos both posted one-sided wins. East View drilled Manor, 63-38, and Hutto dominated Bastrop Cedar Creek, 82-29. Manor currently is playing without returning district MVP De’Mya Young, who is recovering from injury. “It was a great win against arguably the best team in the district and one of the toughest gyms to shot in in the district,” Georgetown coach Rhonda Farney said. “Defense and rebounding were the keys for us. “I’m really proud of the girls and the way they rallied after we fell behind by six points (after having led by three at the half).” The game-winning rally was triggered when junior guard Graci Harris, scoreless to that point, hit a 3-pointer 31 seconds into the fourth quarter. It was followed by Sander’s run and a field goal by senior post/forward McCall Hampton, who scored all nine of Georgetown’s points in the third quarter. With the defense tightening the screws in the fourth quarter, Bastrop could only score four of six free throws and no field goals.
In the final minutes, Georgetown’s delay game frustrated the Lady Bears and kept the ball out of their hands. Bastrop waited too late to start fouling in an attempt to get the ball back and interrupt the Lady Eagles effective game of keep-away that featured guards Kylie Ellsworth, Sander and Harris. It was not a good shooting night for either team. GHS hit 17 of 52 (33 percent) and Bastrop made 14 of 44 (32 percent). The Lady Eagles and Lady Bears combined for just five successes on 37 3-point attempts. Hampton and Sander led the GHS attack with 17 and 15 points, respectively. With the 5-foot-9 Hampton grabbing 14, Georgetown finished the game with 34 rebounds, nine more than Bastrop. The Lady Eagles had 15 steals — five by Sander — and forced 23 turnovers.
Georgetown dominated both sub-varsity contests as the Lady Eagles extended their 18-5A domination to a combined 41 consecutive wins by the varsity, JV, Freshman Blue and Freshman White teams. The JV prevailed by a 45-9 count behind 14 points by Megan Herring and the Freshman Blue won 58-14 as Madelyne Furr, Ainsley Pelzcar and Jane Butler scored 15, 14 and 13 points, respectively. The Blue now stand 15-0 on the season. While the varsity was playing in the 41st annual Jack Frost Tournament last weekend, the JV and Freshman Blue were competing in the Pflugerville ISD’s Nancy Walling Tournament at Hendrickson. The Freshman marched through three games to win their division and the JV reached the third-place game. The Blue defeated Vista Ridge, 36-29, in the championship game with Meyners and Furr scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively. The JV and Freshman Blue games Friday at Westlake are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
After playing the Chaps Friday, the Lady Eagles will return to 18-5A competition when they play host to Elgin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Georgetown’s 2012-13 state championship team will be honored that night with most of the personnel from that 34-4 squad are returning for the ceremony..GHS will conclude pre-Christmas action when it entertains Class 4A Burnet at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 20.
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DISTRICT 18-5A AT A GLANCE
(As of Wednesday, Dec. 11)
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.
TUESDAY’S DISTRICT 18-5A GAME
At Bastrop
GEORGETOWN 45, BASTROP 40
GEORGETOWN (45) — Ella Vickers 0-2 0-0 0, Kylee Sander 7-16 0-1 15, Hailey Hanson 0-0 0-0 0, McCall Hampton 6-17 5-7 17, Kylie Ellsworth 1-5 3-5 6, Graci Harris 1-5 0-1 2, Mackenzy Mouton 2-5 0-0 4, Lauren Woodard 0-2 0-0 0, Nia Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-52 8-14 45.
BASTROP (40) — Jaden Carter 3-9 2-2 9, Kawaysha Alsup 3-13 2-7 8, Alexa Solis 0-1 0-0 0, Kareesa Cavazos 1-1 0-1 2, Jaleah Colter-Womack 1-11 2-5 5, Kayla Hola 6-9 4-6 16. Totals: 14-44 10-20 40.
Halftime: GHS, 21-18. 3-point shooting: 2-21 (Carter 1-3, Alsup 0-8, Colter Womack 1-10); GHS 3-16 (Vickers 0-2, Sander 1-5, Hampton 0-1, Ellsworth 1-4, Harris 1-4). Blocks: BHS 1 (Hola 1); Assists: GHS 11 (Hampton 4, Harris 3, Sander 2, Ellsworth 2). Rebounds: GHS 34 (Hampton 14, Ellsworth 6, Mouton 4, Ellsworth 3, Sander 3); BHS 25 (Carter 10, Hola 7). Steals: BHS 6; GHS 15 (Sander 5, Ellsworth 3, Hampton 3). Turnovers: GHS 16; BHS 23. Total fouls: BHS 15; GHS 18. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. Records: Georgetown, 1-0 in 18-5A, 12-5; Bastrop, 0-1 in 18-5A, 5-10).
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TUESDAY’S SUB-VARSITY GAMES
(GHS scoring only)
At Bastrop
GEORGETOWN JV 45, BASTROP JV 9 — Jacqui Spencer 2, Brooke White 5, Sam Folsom 4, Tanaya Smith 0, Talaya Rolston 0, Morgan Larson 3, Shelia Lee 4, Megan Herring 14, Brielle Maxwell 0, Vyctorya Lehr 0, Aryana Hill 1, Jordyn Stout 6, Lauren Cavanaugh 6. Halftime: GHS, 20-2. GHS record: 1-0 i 18-5A, 9-6.
GEORGETOWN FRESHMAN BLUE 58, BASTROP FRESHMEN 14 — Erica Rsamthun 7, Avery Lopez 2, Jane Butler 13, Taylor Meyners 2, Amiya Gonzalez 5, Madelyne Furr 15, Ainsley Pelczar 14. Halftime: GHS, 19-7. GHS record: 1-0 in 18-5A, 15-0.
NANCY WALLING TOURNAMENT
(GHS scoring only)
At Pflugerville Hendrickson, Dec. 5-7
Junior Varsity Division
First Round
GEORGETOWN 9, PFLUGERVILLE WEISS 8 — Spencer 0, Folsom 0, Herring 5, Lehr 2, Stout 2. GHS record: 8-4. Note: Because of a schedule problem the GHS Freshman Blue played the first three quarters of the game and led, 28-22, when the mistake was discovered.
Semifinals
ALLEN 31, GEORGETOWN 17 — Spencer 0, White 1, Folsom 2, Roston 0, Lee 0, Herring 6, Maxwell 0, Lehrv 2, Stout 6, Cavanaugh 0. Halftime: Allen, 11-10. GHS record: 8-5.
Third Place
VISTA RIDGE 31, GEORGETOWN 25 — Spencer 8, White 0, Folsom 0, Smith 0, Larson 0, Lee 2, Herring 8, Maxwell 2, Lehr 2, Hill 0, Stout 3, Cavanaugh 0. Halftime: 17-17. GHS record:8-6.
Freshman Division
First Round
GEORGETOWN BLUE 28, HUTTO 13 — Ramthun 0, Lopez 1, Butler 7, Meyners 5, Gonzalez 0, Furr 11, Pelczar 4. Halftime: GHS, 17-9. GHS record, 12-0.
Semifinals
GEORGETOWN BLUE 49, ROUND ROCK STONY POINT 14 — Ramthun 0, Lopez 7, Butler 6, Meyners 8, Gozalez 2, Furr 15, Pelczar 9. Halftime: GHS, 25-7. GHS record: 13-0.
Championship Game
GEORGETOWN BLUE 36, VISTA RIDGE 29 — Ramthun 1, Lopez 0, Butler 3, Meyners 14, Gonzalez 2, Furr 12, Pelczar 4. Halftime: GHS, VR, 17-12. GHS record: 14-0.
Note: Names and scoring provided by Lady Eagles Basketball.
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TEXAS GIRLS COACHES ASSOCIATION
CLASS 5A RANKINGS
(Released Tuesday, Dec. 10)
- Amarillo (14-0). 2. Waller (14-0). 3. Wichita Falls Rider (11-0). 4. El Paso El Dorado (8-0). 5. Cedar Park (17-2). 6. Denton Braswell (11-1). 7. Lubbock Monterey (11-1). 8. Georgetown East View (13-2). 9. Bryan Rudder (9-1). 10. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill (13-2). 11. Fort Bend Hightower (13-2). 12. Kerrville Tivy (10-2). 13. Fort Bend Hightower (ranked twice by source). 14. El Paso Chapin (15-3). 15. Alvin Shadow Creek (11-2). 16. Corpus Christi Carroll (13-3). 17. El Paso Eastwood (13-3). 18. Fort Worth Arlington Heights (10-1). 19. Lake Dallas (9-1). 20. Red Oak (12-3). 21. Frisco Reedy (10-3). 22. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (16-5). 23. West Mesquite (9-3). 24. Magnolia West (12-4). 25. (tie) San Antonio Harlan (13-5); Castroville Medina Valley (15-6); and Little Elm (9-4).
Note: Records provided by TGCA.