Monday’s 7 p.m. Class 5A girls bi-district game at Liberty Hill between District 18-5A champion Georgetown (22-10) and Marble Falls (14-18), the fourth-place team from 17-5A, has the potential to be more than the stereotypical first-round battle between between a No. 1 and No. 4 seed. Finding more than superficial information on the Lady Mustangs in the media — electronic or print — is tough. What happens to coach John Berkman’s team tends to stay in Marble Falls. Georgetown Lady Eagles coach Rhonda Farney terms them “scary.”
What is known is that they won their final three district games to turn a 3-6 record in 17-5A into a 6-6 mark that edge out Pflugerville Connally by one win for fourth place. They have built a mini-tradition under Berkman as they have reached the Region IV-5A Tournament each of the past two season before being eliminated both times by Corpus Christi Flour Bluff. they were 25-10 in 2017 and 27-11 in 2018. Also, Marble Falls has a standout returning junior point guard in Rylie Ulbricht, a 5-foot-5 performer, who earned first-team all-district honors as a sophomore in 26-5A. Of Ulbricht, Farney said, “Number 12 is the real deal and she was out for half of the season with some type of injury.”
The Lady Mustangs return two other key performers from last season — first-team all-district post/forward Trinity Boyd (5-10) and second-team all-district junior guard Kendell Ulbricht. One other thing has to be considered when evaluating the Lady Mustangs, they played in one of the toughest districts is the area with state-ranked teams in Cedar Park (29-3, 12-0) and Pflugerville (24-11, 10-2). Both the Lady Timberwolves and Lady Panthers swept Marble Falls. Marble Falls alsos wept its district series with Leander Glenn and Pflugerville Weiss, while splitting with Leander Rouse and Pflugerville Connally. In its 12 district games, Marble Falls was outscored by a total of 40 points. Its biggest yield was 66 in a loss to Pflugerville and largest margin of defeat was 43 points to Cedar Park. In games against common opponents this season Marble Falls was 2-4 and Georgetown was 6-1 (See chart below for breakdown).
While Marble Falls enters the game with a three-game win streak, Georgetown has won nine consecutive starts since returning from its holiday venture to Tennessee. In its final regular-season start the Lady Mustangs trimmed Weiss, 33-20, and the Lady Eagles built momentum with a strong defensive effort in a 45-18 win over arch-rival East View. The winner of the Georgetown-Marble Falls game will play either Magnolia West, the runner-up in 19-5A, or Tomball, the third-place team in 20-5A) in the area round on either Thursday or Friday. West (21-10) and Tomball (19-8) are playing at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Tomball Memorial High School’s gym. West was leading 19-5A before being forced to forfeit three district games because of an ineligible player.
Georgetown will enter the playoffs with an average 18-5A victory margin of 24 points. Farney is expected to start a line up of senior Jaelyn Knight (5-11) and junior McCall Hampton (5-10) inside, sophomore point guard Graci Harris (5-6) and junior Kylie Ellsworth (5-6) and senior Samari O’Brien (5-6) at the other guard spots. Other primary players in the rotation are senior guard Ali Isbell (5-6) and senior post Jade Smith (6-1). Junior post MacKenzy Mouton (6-0) has missed two games with a leg injury and her status is uncertain. Guards Hailey Smith, a 5-6 junior, and Kylee Sander, a 5-6 junior, along with Maya Perry, a 5-7 junior forward, have seen considerable playing time. Georgetown reached the third round of the playoffs last season before being eliminated by eventual state semifinalist Temple. Monday’s game mark’s the Lady Eagles’ 29th consecutive trip to the playoffs.
In an article by Jennifer Fierro on the Daily Trib.com, Berkman had the following to say about GHS: “They went through (their) district and did not lose a game.That’s a very difficult thing to do. “They’re disciplined with what they try to do, and they do it well.” He also told the Daily Trib.com that the Lady Eagles don’t usually beat themselves, which means they don’t make mental mistakes that cost them games. As for coaching against Farney, he said, “She’s one of those coaches who is highly respected, and not just because she’s been successful in the wins column. She’s sustained her program for a length of time. That speaks volumes as well. “It’s going to be a tough opponent.” Other bi-district games match 18-5A and 17-5A teams on Monday night will see East View (2) facing Rouse (3) at 7 p.m. at Round Rock High School, Hutto (3) playing Pflugerville (2) at 7 p.m. at Pflugerville Hendrickson and Manor (4) challenging Cedar Park at 6:30 p.m. at Round Rock Cedar Creek.
GHS, MF VS. COMMON OPPONENTS
Georgetown (6-1)
Vs. Manor (2-0), 53-40, 35-34.
Vs. Hutto (2-0), 63-28, 50-40 (OT).
Vs. Austin Akins (1-0), 49-33.
Vs. Victoria East (1-0), 52-35.
Vs. Burnet (0-1), 56-66.
***
Marble Falls (2-4)
Vs. Burnet (1-1), 28-42, 45-50.
Vs. Akins (1-0), 50-30.
Vs. Manor (0-1), 60-43.
Vs. Hutto (0-1), 38-23.
Vs. Victoria East (0-1), 31-26.
***
MARBLE FALLS LADY MUSTANGS
(14-18 season, 6-6 district)
Coach: John Berkman (3 season at MF, 66-39)
DISTRICT 17-5 FINAL STANDINGS
Cedar Park, 12-0; Pflugrerville, 10-2; Rouse, 7-5; Marble Falls 6-6; Pflugerville Connally, 5-7; Glenn 2-10; Pflugerville Weiss, 0-12.
DISTRICT 17-5A RESULTS
Opponents Score
Cedar Park (L) 34-24
Rouse (W) 57-39
Pflugerville (L) 66-38
Connally (L) 52-32
Glenn (W) 65-59
Weiss (W) 43-27
Cedar Park (L) 56-13
Pflugerville (L) 57-44
Rouse (L) 45-44
Connally (W) 54-45
Glenn (W) 53-40
Weiss (W) 33-20
LADY MUSTANGS ROSTER
(Unavailable)
***
GEORGETOWN LADY EAGLES
(22-10 season, 12-0 district)
Coach: Rhonda Farney (31 seasons)
DISTRICT 18-5A FINAL STANDINGS
Georgetown, 12-0; East View, 9-3; Hutto, 8-4; Manor, 7-5; Bastrop, 4-8; Elgin, 2-10; Bastrop Cedar Creek, 0-12.
DISTRICT 18-5A RESULTS
Opponents Score
Bastrop (W) 72-46
Elgin (W) 51-31
Manor (W) 53-40
Cedar Creek (W) 64-31
Hutto (W) 63-28
East View (W) 38-33
Bastrop (W) 57-30
Elgin (W) 57-25
Manor (W) 35-34
Cedar Creek (W) 79-15
Hutto (W) 50-45
East View (W) 45-18
LADY EAGLES ROSTER
No. — Player (class, pos.) Height
10 — Maya Perry (jr., F) 5-7
13 — Kylee Sander (jr. G) 5-6
14 — Ali Isbell (sr., G) 5-6
15 — Hailey Hanson (jr., G) 5-5
20 — Hailey Smith (jr., G) 5-6
21 — Lauren Woodard (so., P) 5-11
22 — Samari O’Brien (sr., F) 5-7
24 — Kylie Ellsworth jr., G) 5-6
25 — Graci Harris (so., G) 5-6
30 — MacKenzy Mouton (jr., P-F) 6-0
32 — Jaelyn Knight (sr., F) 5-11
33 — Mercedes Robledo (jr., F) 5-8
35 — Vyctorya Lehy (so., P) 5-11
42 — Jade Smith (sr., P) 6-1
44 — Dylan Jones (fr., P) 5-10
50 — McCall Hampton (jr., P) 5-9
54 — Alicia King (sr., P) 6-0
Assistants: Kevin Spruill, Tosha Doherty, Katie Youngblood.
Athletics trainer: Vanessa Redeaux.
Student trainer: Amber Billingsley.