It doesn’t take a tremendous amount of imagination to look at the remainder of the District 18-5A girls basketball race as a countdown. With five games and an open date remaining for each school, defending champion Georgetown and arch-rival East View are hoping to tick off four victories before meeting again in the final game of the regular season, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, at Eagle Gym. They both stand 6-1 in the race and have a two-game lead over Bastrop and Hutto and a three-contest edge on Manor. However, East View does have the edge with a 46-42 win over GHS last Friday that gives them the head-to-head tie-breaker. The Patriots lost to Hutto in the first round. The Lady Eagles and Patriots both started the second half of the race with victories over other playoff contenders. Georgetown started fast behind the lead of seniors Kylee Sander and McCall Hampton to best Bastrop (4-3) and East View survived a stern test against Manor (3-4) by a 60-56 count in overtime.
Both teams are expected to check off another countdown number at 7 p.m. Friday as the play the bottom two entries in the seven-school district. Georgetown goes to Elgin (0-6), which is coming off its open date and East View entertains Bastrop Cedar Creek (1-6). The actual feature game on Friday’s card sends Manor to Bastrop in what could be a survival battle for the Lady Mustangs.Throwing in a primer on the UIL’s 128-team Class 5A postseason playoffs that in seven rounds produces a state champion, the top four teams in 18-5A will play the top four squads from 17-5A in the opening round (bi-district) of the playoffs in reverse order of finish (first in 18-5A vs. fourth in 17-5A, second in 18-5A, vs. third in 17-5A, third in 18-5A vs. second 17-5A and fourth in 18-5A vs. first in 17-5A).” At the current time, Cedar Park (24-3) leads 17-5A with a 7-0 mark and is followed by Pflugerville Connally (6-1) and Marble Falls (4-3) with Pflugerville (3-4), Leander Glenn (2-4) and Leander Rouse (2-5) battling for the final spot. Cedar Park, currently ranked second in the state, probably faces its final true test in the 17-5A race when it visits Connally on Friday.
If the 18-5A champion makes it through to the Region III-5A quarterfinals (third round of the playoffs), it probably would meet the Timberwolves for a berth in the regional tournament at the Houston ISD’s Delmar Fieldhouse. “I’m pleased with the victory,” said Georgetown coach Rhonda Farney after the one-sided win over Bastrop, a team that pushed the Lady Eagles, 45-40, on its home court in the district opener. “That was a good team we played tonight and (coach) Megan (Norvil) is doing a good job there. “I was excited that we came out and played with a lot of energy and we did a much better job rebounding — especially on the backside.”Georgetown, now ranked 10th in the state and 21-8 for the season, jumped to an 18-5 lead with two minutes and 35 seconds remaining in the first quarter as Hampton scored six points and Sander buried back-to-back 3-pointers. However, Bastrop cut the mark to 18-11 by the end of the quarter on treys by Jaden Carter and Kewaysha Alsup. The Bears’ charge continued early in the second quarter as they cut the lead to 18-15 with 5:32 remaining in the half. Georgetown answered the challenge by scoring 18 of the next 22 points with Hampton and Sander again leading the charge along with Graci Harris, Kylie Ellsworth, Nia Williams and Lauren Woodard. In the third quarter the Lady Eagles advanced the lead out to 26 points at 57-31 with 1:15 to go on a field goal by Ellsworth. Bastrop shaved Georgetown’s lead to 17 points, but could get no closer as Farney found playing time for all 11 players on the active roster.
GHS also used an effective slow-down offense to kill the clock in the closing minutes. Georgetown made 24 of 46 shots from the floor (52 percent), while holding the Bears to 14 of 48 (29.2 percent) as their top point producers — Carter and Alsup — only made a combined seven of 30 from the floor. The Lady Eagles put four players in double figures with Sander and Hampton scoring 19 and 16, respectively, with Ellsworth and Harris each adding in 10. The Lady Eagles took a 29-22 edge on the boards with Hampton and the 6-3 Williams posting seven each. Williams also had three blocks. Sander added five assists to her worksheet and Harris had four of the GHS’ 12 steals. After playing Elgin on Friday, the Lady Eagles will have their open date on Tuesday and then return to action on Friday, Nov. 31, against Manor at Eagle Gym. GHS had to fight to the end to post a 47-42 win over the Mustangs at Manor in the first round. The Georgetown sub-varsity teams improved to 6-0 in 18-5A with one-sided wins over Bastrop. Guard Jacqui Spencer scored 21 points to pace coach Tosha Doherty’s JV to a 62-6 victory. Playing as the Freshman Blue the combined Freshman Blue and White rosters took a 47-17 win with Jane Butler having a team-high 10 points.
In an unusual sub-varsity schedule this weekend, the JV (14-8 on the year) will play the Elgin JV at 5:30 p.m., but since Elgin has dropped its freshman team, Katie Youngblood’s unbeaten GHS Blue (22-0) will play the Lampasas freshmen at 9:00 a.m. Saturday in Eagle Gym. The Freshman White (6-6 for the season) will host a four-team round-robin tournament on Saturday in the GHS auxiliary gym. Coach Corey Cunningham’s White will play Salado at 9 a.m., Belton at 11:45 a.m. and Jarrell at 3:45 p.m. (See a complete schedule below).
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DISTRICT 18-5A RACE AT A GLANCE
(As of Friday, Jan. 17)
Standings: East View*, 6-1; Georgetown, 6-1; Bastrop, 4-3; Hutto, 4-3; Manor, 3-4; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 1-6; Elgin, 0-6.
* — denotes East View has head-to-head tie-breaker win over Georgetown.
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’s results: Georgetown 62, Bastrop 43; East View 60, Manor 56 (OT); Hutto 79, Cedar Creek 41. Bye — Elgin.
Friday’s games: Georgetown at Elgin, 7 p.m.; Cedar Creek at East View, 7 p.m.; Manor at Bastrop, 7 p.m. Bye — Hutto.
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DISTRICT 17-5A AT A GLANCE
(18-5A plays 17-5A in bi-district)
Standings: Cedar Park, 7-0; Pflugerville Connally, 6-1; Marble Falls, 4-3; Pflugerville, 3-4; Leander Glenn 2-4; Leander Rouse, 2-5; Pflugerville Weiss, 0-7.
Tuesday’s results: Cedar Park 47, Marble Falls 19; Pflugerville 38, Rouse 26; Pflugerville Connally 42, Pflugerville Weiss 30. Bye — Leander Glenn.
Friday’s games: Cedar Park at Pflugerville Connally, 7 p.m.; Pflugerville at Marble Falls, 7 p.m.; Pflugerville Weiss at Leander Glenn, 7 p.m. Bye — Leander Rouse.
TUESDAY’S DISTRICT 18-5A GAME
At Eagle Gym
GEORGETOWN 62, BASTROP 43
BASTROP (43) — Ashauri Lewis 0-1 0-1 0, Andrea Leos 0-1 0-0 0, Jaden Carter 4-13 0-0 9, Kewaysha Alsup 3-19 8-12 16, Kareesa Cavazos 1-1 1-2 3, Sierra Brown 2-4 2-2 7, Tamara Ockelberry 0-0 0-0 0, Alexa Solis 2-2 0-0 4, Kayla Hola 2-7 0-1 4. Totals: 14-48 11-18 43.
GEORGETOWN (63) — Ella Vickers 0-1 0-0 0, Kylee Sander 6-8 4-5 19, Hailey Hanson 0-0 0-0 0, McCall Hampton 7-12 2-2 16, Kylie Ellsworth 5-14 0-0 10, Graci Harris 3-6 2-2 10, Mackenzy Mouton 1-1 1-2 3, Megan Herring 0-0 0-0, Mercedes Robledo 0-1 0=0 0, Lauren Woodard 1-3 0-1 2, Nia Williams 1-1 0-2 2. Totals: 24-46 9-14 62.
Halftime: GHS, 36-19. 3-point shooting: BHS 4-14 (Brown 1-2, Lewis 0-1, Carter 1-4, Alsup 2-7); GHS 5-17 (Hampton 0-1, Sander 3-4, Ellsworth 0-5, Harris 2-5, Robledo 0-1, Vickers 0-1). Assists: GHS 14 (Sander 5, Harris 3, Ellsworth 2, Hampton 2). Blocks: GHS 3 (Williams 3); BHS 3 (Hola 2). Rebounds: BHS 22 (Carter 8, Alsup 7); GHS 29 (Hampton 7, Williams 7, Ellsworth 4, Sander 4). Steals: BHS 2 (two with one each); GHS 12 (Harris 4, Hampton 3). Turnovers: BHS 12, GHS 10. Total fouls: BHS 12, GHS 14. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. Records: Bastrop, 4-3 in 18-5A, 11-15; Georgetown, 6-1 in 18-5A, 21-8.
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TUESDAY’S SUB-VARSITY GAMES
At Georgetown
GEORGETOWN JV 62, BASTROP JV 6 — Jacqui Spencer 21, Brooke White 8, Sam Folsom 2, Tanaya Smith 4, Morgan Larson 6, Shelia Lee 8, Vyctorya Lehr 7, Jordyn Stout 6, Lauren Cavanaugh 0. Halftime: GHS, 25-4. GHS record: 6-0 in 18-5A, 14-8.
GEORGETOWN FRESHMAN BLUE 47, BASTROP FRESHMAN 17 — Natalie Floriano 0, Erica Ramthun 8, Reagan Nelson 0, Natalie Rivera 4, Avery Lopez 3, Jane Butler 10, Elleigh McKinley 0, Taylor Meyners 5, Danielle Rodriguez 0, Payton Humphrey 0, Sarah Herrera 0, Amiya Gonzalez 4, Madelyne Furr 6, Abby Brent 0, Ainsley Pelczat 7. Halftime: GHS, 33-6. GHS record: 6-0 in 18-5A, 22-0.
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LADY EAGLES REMAINING GAMES
(Current record: 21-8 season, 6-1 district)
District 18-5A Games
Friday, Jan. 24 — at Elgin, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 28 — OPEN DATE.
Friday, Jan. 31 — Manor, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 4 — at Bastrop Cedar Creek 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 7 — Hutto, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 11 — East View, 7:30 p.m.
Note: The East View game is a doubleheader with the boys.
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LADY EAGLES SEASON TO DATE
(Current record: 21-8 season, 6-1 district)
November
8 — Round Rock Cedar Ridge (l) 38-44
11 — at Waco Midway (l) 28-52
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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
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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
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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
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10 — at Bastrop* (w) 45-40
13 — at Austin Westlake (l) 33-65
17 — Elgin* (w) 65-44
20 — Burnet (w) 70-35
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Flowing Wells Holiday Shootout (Tucson, Az.)
27 — Tucson Desert Christian (w) 79-26
27 — Tucson Empire (w) 65-28
28 — Sahuayo (l) 58-60
28 — Marana (w) 64-38
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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
* — denotes District 18-5A game.
GHS SEASON LEADERS
Points in a game — Hampton, 22 of his team’s 35 points vs. Lorena.
Rebounds in a game — Hampton, 16 vs. Manor
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FRESHMAN ROUND-ROBIN TOURNAMENT
Saturday, Jan. 25
At Georgetown (Auxiliary Gym)
9 a.m. — Salado vs. Georgetown White. 10:15 a.m. — Belton vs. Jarrell. 11:45 a.m. — Belton vs. Georgetown White. 1 p.m. — Salado vs. Jarrell. 2:30 p.m. — Salado vs. Belton. 3:45 p.m. –Georgetown White vs. Jarrell.