True, Georgetown coach Rhonda Farney surpassed the 1,100th victory of her coaching career and her team won three of four starts against strong competition in the Albany Invitational Tournament, but the Lady Eagles managed to work plenty of fun and educational experiences into their five-day holiday trip to Louisiana.
After Tuesday’s rainy 490-mile charter bus trip from Georgetown to Hammond, La., the Lady Eagles woke up early Wednesday to take a private tour of Kliebert’s Turtle and Alligator Farm where the traveling party and accompanying family members were able to commune with, a docile yellow snake, turtles, a pair of aggressive wild turkey and gators — both young and mature.
The Isbells — GHS tennis coach Suzanne and junior guard Ali — established themselves as the “Gator Gals” as both interacted with a 65-pound alligator with its mouth taped shut. Several of other players and managers were either pictured sitting on the gator or holding it on their shoulders. They also met a chubby cat with the sweet name of “Gator Bait.”
After their morning tour, Georgetown motored to Holden High School, a Class B school that encompassed grades K through 12 on the same campus and fields the state’s top-ranked and undefeated girls basketball team as ranked by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association. The Lady Eagles opened the showcase-style event with a 15-point victory over 5A Denham Springs and a nine-point loss to the host Holden Rockets.
Thursday, basketball and travel were the prime focus for the team as Farney collected her 1,100th and 1,101 wins with narrow victories over Sulphur and Baton Rouge Scotlandville Magnet and the charter trip from Hammond to New Orleans.
Highlights of the first three days included outstanding evening meals at Your Mom’s Restaurant and Bar on Tuesday, Chookies Seafood and Oyster Bar on Wednesday, both in Hammond, and the famous Pat O’Brien’s Bar in New Orleans on Thursday. After dining at the famous French Quarter watering hole and grill, the team got an early evening look at the wares and action on Bourbon Street.
Chookies was the host to one of the most-spirited events on the trip as several of the girls took the challenge of swallowing raw oysters. The morsels all stayed down as several girls — amid a varying array of facial expressions — earned necklaces from the restaurant’s congenial management for their accomplishment.
Friday featured morning-to-late-night sightseeing. There were tours of the historic St. Louis No. 1 Cemetery spiced by a look at actor Nicolas Cage’s future resting place, the three possible graves and legends surrounding voodoo queen Marie Laveau and the grave of civil rights pioneer Homer Plessy. It also featured information on the unique burial practices in the New Orleans’ climate and sea-level-or-below location.
Back on the bus, the team made the trip across Lake Ponchahtrain to Dr. Wagner’s Honey Island Swamp Tour outside of Slidell. Although their were no gators or other reptiles visible because of the season, the one-hour and 45-minute tour featured miles of native flora along rivers and small, marshy channels, a 750-pound hog named Oreo, raccoons feeding on marshmallows provided by tour guides and glimpses of other small animals and birds.
The Lady Eagles returned from the nature swamp to the often-human swamp of the French Quarter for Haunted History Tours that pointed out the sites and macabre and grisly tales of happenings and crimes in the Crescent City’s oldest section. The girls had petitioned Farney to allow them to try the famous beignets and coffees at the Cafe du Monde. Several members of the group were sidelined by a sidewalk magic show, while the remainder of the group went to the cafe’s walk-up window to make their purchases.
The team had originally been scheduled to eat breakfast at Cafe du Monde on Saturday morning before leaving the “Big Easy” for home. However, the decision was the decision was made to sample the cuisine on Friday night instead of risking a possible waiting line of up two hours Saturday morning before being seated.
The girls also returned to Bourbon Street for a later look at and experience the wildlife on one of the country’s wilder stretches of pavement, which was further fueled by the crowds arriving in town for New Year’s Eve and Monday night’s Alabama-Clemson national football semifinal in the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome. It probably was an eye-opening experience for many of the younger members in the traveling party.
On Saturday, the Lady Eagles spent approximately 45 minutes shopping in the French Market prior to the group’s 520-mile bus ride from New Orleans to Georgetown. The shopping time also provided time for more-serious sightseers to view the magnificent interior of the St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square and the Battery on the bend of the Mississippi River adjacent to Cafe du Mond.
As the team exited New Orleans, Farney had the students come to the front of the bus to deliever reports on educational assignments and interviews with local residents.
“It was great tournament and trip for us both in basketball and other areas,” Farney said. “The girls enjoyed the trip and it provided us an enjoyable break from the district race.”
Farney took a 12-team roster to the tournament with junior varsity performers Mercedes Robledo and Hailey Smith, a pair of sophomores, joining the regular alignment of junior guard Ali Isbell, senior guard Josie Weirich, junior guard Samari O’Brien, sophomore guard Kylie Ellsworth, sophomore post Mackenzy Mouton, junior forward Jaelyn Knight, senior guard Maddie Vickers, senior forward Emili Harris, junior post Jade Smith and sophomore forward McCall Hampton.
Other members of the traveling party included student managers Chloe Sutton, Lexie Mullen, Madison Rincon, Na’Keia Cook and Rachel Heine, student trained Caitlin Garza and assistant coaches Kristin Curtis, Kellye Richardson and Kevin Spruill. Also in the group were Dr. Bill Farney, Marty Curtis and Galen Wellnicki. Tour coordinator Diane Harrison traveled ahead of the group to make sure all arrangements for meals, lodging and entertainment had been made and solidified before the team arrived at a location.