GHS—PFLUGERVILLE CONNALLY11-29-16
By GALEN WELLNICKI

pflugerville

 

“The kids just needed to play,” Georgetown Lady Eagles head coach Rhonda Farney said Tuesday night. “Tonight helped us tremendously. . . . Very proud of our defense.”

And play they did, getting the District 19-5A race off to a hot start by sweeping all three games from Pflugerville Connally on the Cougars’ court by one-sided margins. The varsity capped the evening’s exercises with an 81-44 victory that evened its season record at 4-4. In earlier games, the JV prevailed 72-24 and the Freshman Blue dominated, 47-3.
That’s a combined victory margin of 129 points.

However, things could get much tougher Thursday when the Lady Eagles open pool action in the 38th annual Jack Frost Tournament at Eagle Gym. They will open play against Leander at noon and then face unbeaten San Antonio Wagner, the state’s second-ranked 6A team at 6 p.m. The will complete pool play against Lubbock Coronado at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Wagner stands 8-0 on the season after beating San Antonio Lee, 54-44, on Tuesday night, getting 21 points each from his backcourt combination of Kiana Williams and Angel Hastings. GHS bested Leander, 51-28, earlier in the season and will be playing Lubbock Coronado for the first time.

Pending how things progress in pool action, the Lady Eagles probably will play either Cibolo Steele, the fourth-ranked 6A team, or Liberty Hill, the third-ranked 4A team, in either the gold or silver semifinals on Saturday.

Tuesday’s victory over Connally was one-sided from the start. The Lady Eagles were up 22-10 after the first quarter, 42-22 at the half and 58-29 at the end of the third period. Georgetown was continually able to take the ball inside, making 31 of its 54 shots (57 percent) off of 30 assists. Farney’s three primary post performers combined to score 47 points—22 by Dee Day, 13 by E.J. Jones and 12 by Jaelyn Knight. The threesome also was a combined 21 of 30 from the floor.

Another bright spot for GHS was free-throw shooting. The Lady Eagles made 14 of 15 from the line after just a 21 of 45 showing in last week’s six-point loss to 6A Killeen Ellison. Back-to-back losses to state-ranked Pflugerville and Ellison dropped Georgetown out of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 rankings where they stood 11th prior to the loss to Ellison.

The Lady Eagles also played well on defense holding Connally to just 15 successes in 40 shots from the floor and forcing numerous turnovers. In at least one instance, a GHS defender flat took the ball away from a Lady Cougar. Connally, which fell to 0-2 in district, also hurt itself by making only 10 of its 21 free throws. Connally received 16 points from E’nisha Fowler, who continually tried to take the ball to the hoop.

“Day (a 6-foot-1 senior) was outstanding at both ends of the floor,” Farney said. “Our young kids — Emery (Herman), Jaelyn, Maddie (Vickers) and E.J. did well. They got a lot of minutes. We did much better with our free throw shooting and we pushed the ball well in transition.”
Another positive factor for the Lady Eagles was having senior point guard Brooke Elliott back on the court after missing most of the Pflugerville game and all of the Ellison game because of an injury. She and Herman had six assists each, while Vickers and Taylor Elliott had five each.
The rebounding was balanced with Day, Herman and B. Elliott each pulling down five.
In the JV victory, point guard Ali Isbell scored a team-high 17 points, while Jade Smith and Shelby Jones added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Coach Kellye Richardson, one day removed from her birthday, saw her team build a 39-17 halftime bulge.

Defense was the name of the game for the Freshman Blue as Kristin Curtis’ squad held the first-year Cougars to two points in the first half and one in the second. With 10 players scoring, McCall Hampton led the way with 10 points.

GHS will return to 19-5A action at 7 p.m. next Tuesday in Hutto, which stands 1-1 in district after beating Bastrop Cedar Creek, 36-32, on Tuesday night.
DISTRICT 19-5A GIRLS BASKETBALL
Standings—Bastrop, 2-0;  Cedar Park, 2-0; Georgetown, 1-0; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 1-1; Hutto, 1-1; Rouse, 1-1; East View, 0-1; Elgin, 0-2; Pflugerville Connally, 0-2.
Tuesday’s results—Georgetown 81, Connally 44; Hutto 36, Cedar Creek 32; Bastrop 38, Rouse 34; Cedar Park 71, Elgin 34. Bye—East View.
Next Tuesday’s games — Georgetown at Hutto, 7 p.m.; Rouse at East View, 7 p.m.; Cedar Park at Bastrop, 7 p.m.; Cedar Creek at Elgin, 7 p.m. Bye—Connally.
TUESDAY’S DISTRICT 19-5A GAMES
At Pflugerville Connally
Varsity
GEORGETOWN 81, CONNALLY 44
GHS (81)—Brooke Elliott 3-5 0-0 8, Ali Isbell 0-0 2-2 2, Josie Weirich 1-4 2-2 5, Taylor Elliott 0-4 2-2 2, Miranda Gil 1-1 0-0 2, Jaelyn Knight 6-8 0-0 12, Maddie Vickers 2-5 0-0 6, Emery Herman 3-5 3-3 9, Dee Day 9-14 4-5 22, Emily Jones 6-8 1-1 13. Totals: 31-54 14-15 81.
CONNALLY (44)—Ayreona Justice 4-11 0-0 10, E’nisha Fowler 4-9 8-16 16, Daijahna Hardy 0-0 0-0 0, Tierra Leyanna 0-0 0-0 0, Favour Unegbu 1-1 0-0 2, Alexus Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0, Precious Nnaji 1-1 0-0 2, Keiondra Jones 4-8 0-1 10, Chelsea Guerra 1-1 2-4 4, Jayla Miller 0-7 0-0 0, Jeannia Washington 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 15-40 10-21 44.
Halftime: GHS, 42-22. 3-point shooting: GHS 5-15 (B. Elliott 2-3, Weirich 1-4, B. Elliott 0-4, Vickers 2-4); PC 4-18 (Justice 2-6, Fowler 0-1, Mitchell 0-1, Jones 2-4, Miller 0-6). Rebounds: GHS 24 (B. Elliott 5, Herman 5, Day 5); PC 17 (Fowler 5). Assists: GHS 30 (B. Elliott 6, Herman 6, T. Elliott 5, Vickers 5). Steals: GHS 16 (Herman 4, T. Elliott 4, Day 3). Blocks: GHS 1 (Day); PC 2 (Justice, Fowler). Turnovers: GHS 12, PC 14. Total fouls: GHS 17, PC 17. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. Records: GHS, 1-0 in 19-5A, 4-4; Connally, 0-2, na.
SUB-VARSITY
(GHS scoring only)
Junior Varsity
GHS 72, CONNALLY 24 — Gracie Spear 8, Morgan Bruning 1, Ali Isbell 17, Samari O’Brien 3, Hailey Wickline 9, Shelby Jones 12, Miranda Gil 0, Emili Harris 8, Jade Smith 14. Halftime: GHS, 39-17. GHS record: 5-3.
Freshman
GHS BLUE 47, CONNALLY 3 — Hailey Hanson 1, Hailey Smith 6, A’Brielle Abrams 2, Maya Perry 2, Kylie Ellsworth 2, Kylee Sander 4, Mercedes Robledo 4, Keiana San Miguel 9, McCall Hampton 10, Mackenzie Mouton 7. Halftime: GHS, 32-2. GHS record: 7-1.
TABC CLASS 5A RANKINGS
(Latest listing)
1. Mansfield Timberview (8-1). 2. Canyon (4-0). 3. Amarillo (8-0). 4. Dayton (9-0). 5. College Station (7-1). 6. Waxahachie (5-2), 7. Frisco Liberty (9-3). 8. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill (7-3). 9. Kerrville Tivy (12-1). 10. Tomball Memorial (9-2). 11. Birdville (4-2). 12. El Paso Burges (8-2). 13. Rouse (6-3). 14. Dripping Springs (8-1). 15. Fort Worth Trimble Tech (7-1). 16. Frisco Lone Star (6-2). 17. Mansfield Summit (9-4). 18. Little Elm (6-3). 19. Saginaw Boswell (10-3). 20. The Colony (8-0). 21. Plainview (8-1). 22. Austin SFA (8-1). 23. Rio Grande City (11-2). 24. Brownsville Veterans Memorial (9-3). 25. Red Oak (5-0).