Successfully putting the ball in the basket for two or three points — especially in times of crisis — is a major key to winning basketball games. The Georgetown Lady Eagles came up short in that area for a combination of reasons Friday night in Cameron and dropped a 55-46 decision to College Station in a Region III-5A area battle. The loss concluded Georgetown’s season with a 26-10 record, while College Station (29-7) marched on to a III-5A quarterfinal with Bryan Rudder (29-7) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at College Station A&M Consolidated’s Tiger Gym. It will be the fourth meeting of the season between the Lady Cougars and Lady Rangers.
The key statistic in Friday’s game was the Lady Eagles’ six of 27 shooting (22.2 percent) in the second half and the inability to score seemed to grow tougher in clutch situations. In fact, Georgetown made only three of 14 attempts in the fourth quarter and in one sequence put up at least four shots underneath without advancing the scoreboard. Four turnovers also handicapped the 17-5A runners-up in the closing period. GHS, which played a solid first half, trailing 32-29 after two periods, fell behind 46-38 after three quarters and could work itself no closer than six points at 46-40 in the final eight minutes. “They are a really good team,” Georgetown coach Rhonda Farney said of the Lady Cougars. “The big difference in the game was rebounding (College Station had a final 33-26 edge). They got a lot of second shots. That’s usually an area where we have an advantage. “Another thing that hurt us was the injury (ankle) to (sophomore guard) Jacqui Spencer (who went down with 3:20 to go in the third quarter) and the turning point was when (junior guard) Graci Harris was called for charging when driving to the basket (when GHS had a chance to close the gap. “I’m proud of our kids. It was a good game.”
Losing the lengthy Spencer from the four-player guard rotation with Harris, Kylie Ellsworth and Kylee Sander that was under stress from personal fouls and dealing with College Station’s speedy and talented Mia Rivers, Aliyah Collins and Ne’layjah Johnson forced GHS from its normal routine. However, College Station also had problems with fouls as senior Rebekah Hailey, an all-region choice last year, missed a considerable portion of the game after getting in trouble early. After Harris hit a 3-pointer with 5:59 to go in the third quarter to tie the game 32-32, College Station outscored GHS, 14-6, to take the eight-point edge after three periods. Senior forward McCall Hampton scored a bucket 38 seconds into the fourth quarter to pull the Lady Eagles within six, but GHS went cold and the Lady Cougars pushed the lead out to 12 points at 52-40 in the next 2:37 as the Lady Eagles could get no closer than the final nine-point difference.
Actually, for the game neither team scorched the nets — College Station hit 20 of 52 (38.5 percent), while GHS made 14 of 48 (29.2 percent). Also, GHS turned the ball over 20 times as compared to 13 by the Lady Cougars. Hampton, who will be playing for St. Edward’s next season, led Georgetown with 15 points, while Harris, Sander and Ellsworth each added eight points. The 5-9 Hampton also had a team-high 10 rebounds and six steals. Harris, who will be the Lady Eagles’ lone returning starter next season, topped the steals chart with seven. For the Lady Cougars Johnson and Rivers scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, while Love Ryberg had a game-high 12 rebounds.
Friday’s loss marked the second consecutive year that GHS was eliminated from the playoffs by a 17-5A team as they fell to Magnolia West last season. This year, the West Lady Mustangs eliminated 18-5A champion East View, 48-26, from the playoffs on Friday night at Hearne. With the losses by the Lady Eagles and Patriots, all four 17-5A teams were eliminated in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Bastrop and Hutto were knocked out in bi-district. The loss to College Station, the 18-5A champion, was the final GHS outing for seniors Hampton, Ellsworth, Sander, Mackenzy Mouton, Hailey Hanson and Mercedes Robledo and managers Rachel Heine and Celeste Valdez.
All four of the Region III-5A quarterfinals are set for Tuesday night. In addition to College Station versus Rudder, the slate matches Cedar Park (31-3) against Magnolia West (30-8), Pearland Shadow Creek (31-4) against Richmond Foster (23-12) and Fort Bend Hightower (30-6) against Manvel (22-12). In an oddity, College Station and Rudder already have played three times this season — once in tournament action and twice in 17-5A. They split decisions in district combat. The quarterfinal winners will advance to the Region III-5A Tournament on Friday and Saturday at the M.O. Campbell Educational Center in Aldine. The regional winner will advance to the UIL State Tournament in San Antonio’s Alamodome on March 5-7.
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LADY EAGLES PLAYOFF ROSTER
No. — Name (Cl., Pos., Ht.)
10 — Ella Vickers (Soph., guard, 5-3)
13 — Kylee Sander (Sr., guard, 5-6)
14 — Jacqui Spencer (Soph., guard, 5-10)
15 — Hailey Hanson (Sr., guard, 5-5)
22 — McCall Hampton (Sr., forward/post, 5-9)
24 — Kylie Ellsworth (Sr., guard, 5-6)
25 — Graci Harris (Jr., guard, 5-7)
30 — Mackenzy Mouton (Sr., forward/post, 6-0)
32 — Megan Herring (Jr., forward, 5-11)
33 — Mercedes Robledo (Sr., guard, 5-7)
42 — Lauren Woodard (Jr., forward/post, 5-11)
44 — Jordyn Stout (Jr., guard, 5-8)
54 — Keniah Williams (Soph., post, 6-3)
Captains: Hampton, Ellsworth, Mouton and Harris).
Mangers: Rachel Heine, Emyris Mims, Makayla Owens, Lizzette Rodriguez, Abigail Rutledge, Celeste Valdez,
Student trainers: Abigail Lamas, Alyssa Stock.
Head Coach: Rhonda Farney.
Assistant coaches: Tosha Doherty, Katie Youngblood and Corey Cunningham.
Athletic trainers: Vanessa Morales, Chad Hennessey.
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LADY EAGLES SEASON TO DATE
(Current record: 26-10 season, 10-2 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 — Sahuaro (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
24 — at Elgin* (w) 42-26
28 — OPEN DATE
31 — Manor* (w) 73-36
February
4 — at Bastrop Cedar Creek* (w) 69-24
7 — Hutto* (w) 61-31
11 — East View* (l) 41-42
Bi-District
18 — Marble Falls (w) 46-21
21 — College Station (l) 55-46
* — denotes District 18-5A game.
GHS SEASON LEADERS
Points in a game — Hampton, 22 of her team’s 35 points vs. Lorena.
Rebounds in a game — Hampton, 16 vs. Manor.
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REGION III-5A AREA GAME
At Cameron Yoe High School
COLLEGE STATION 55 GEORGETOWN 46
GHS (46) — Ella Vickers 0-0 0-0 0, Kylee Sander 4-9 0-0 8, Jacqui Spencer 0-2 1-2 1, McCall Hampton 6-10 3-6 15, Kylie Ellsworth 0-14 8-10 8, Graci Harris 2-9 2-2 7, Mackenzy Mouton 1-3 2-2 4, Lauren Woodard 1-1 0-0 2, Nia Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-48 16-22 46.
COLLEGE STATION (55) — Mia Rivers 5-11 3-3 14, Aliyah Collins 4-9 0-0 8, Rebekah Hailey 1-3 0-0 3, Kayce Wallace 0-1 0-0 0,Na’layjah Johnson 6-12 5-6 17, Cornecia Thompson 0-3 1-4 1, Hadley House 0-1 0-0 0, Ruby Valasek 2-6 0-1 4, Love Ryberg 3-6 2-4 8. Totals: 20-52 11-18 55.
Halftime: CS, 32-29. GHS: 2-10 (Harris 2-5, Ellsworth 0-4, Sander 0-1: CS 4-20 (Rivers 1-6, Collins 0-1, Hailey 1-3, Wallace 0-1, Johnson 2-7, Thompson 0-1, House 0-1, Valasek 0-1). Assists: GHS 7 (Ellsworth 3, Harris 2). Blocks: GHS 1 (Mouton 1). Rebounds: GHS 26 (Hampton 10, Harris 4, Woodard 3); C 33 (Ryberg 12, Collins 6, Thompson 6, Valasek 6). Steals: GHS 16 (Harris 7, Hampton 6); CS 15 (Rivers 6, Johnson 6). Turnovers: GHS 20, CS 13. Total fouls: GHS 18, CS 19. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. Records: Georgetown, 26-10; College Station, 29-7. Officials: Victoria chapter).
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REGION III-5A BI-DISTRICT RESULTS
(In bracket order)
TOP HALF
Bryan Rudder 58, Huntsville 49
Pflugerville Connally 74, Bastrop 46
College Station 51, Humble Kingwood Park 24
Georgetown 46, Marble Falls 21
Pearland Shadow Creek 98, Houston Austin 20
Galveston Ball 49, Port Neches-Groves 40
Richmond Foster 77, Houston Sharpstown 25
Baytown Goose Creek Memorial 47, Dayton 43
BOTTOM HALF
Georgetown East View 62, Pflugerville 54
Magnolia West 82, Montgomery Lake Creek 60
Cedar Park 65, Hutto 22
New Caney 58, College Station A&M Consolidated 39
Friendswood 70, Nederland 25
Manvel 75, Houston Northside 21
Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill 67, Texas City 45
Fort Bend Hightower 60, Houston Sterling 19
REGION III-5A AREA PAIRINGS
(In bracket Order)
TOP HALF
Bryan Rudder 65, Pflugerville Connally 46
College Station 55, GEORGETOWN 46
Pearland Shadow Creek 71, Galveston Ball 40
Richmond Foster 69, Baytown Goose Creek Memorial 24
BOTTOM HALF
Magnolia West 48, Georgetown East View 26
Cedar Park70, New Caney 42
Manvel 62, Friendswood 44
Fort Bend Hightower 66, Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill 43
REGION III-5A QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
(In bracket order)
Bryan Rudder (29-7) vs. College Station (29-7), 6 p.m. Tuesday, College Station A&M Consolidated.
Pearland Shadow Creek (31-4) vs. Richmond Foster (23-12), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Pearland Shadow Creek.
Cedar Park (31-3) vs. Magnolia West (30-8) , 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Hearne.
Manvel (22-12) vs. Fort Bend Hightower (30-6), 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wheeler Field House, Sugar Land.
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TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF BASKETBALL COACHES
FINAL CLASS 5A GIRLS RANKINGS
(Released Monday, Feb. 17)
- Amarillo (32-2). 2. Cedar Park (29-3). 3. Red Oak (25-6). 4. Pearland Shadow Creek (29-4). 5. Mansfield Timberview (26-8). 6. San Antonio Veterans Memorial (26-7). 7. Corpus Christi Carroll (29-5). 8. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill (31-4). 9. Fort Bend Hightower (28-6). 10. Brownsville Veterans Memorial (31-5). 11. Kerrville Tivy (28-5). 12. GEORGETOWN (25-9). 13. Jacksonville (23-8). 14. Lubbock Monterey (30-4). 15. Royse City (26-6). 16. El Paso Andress (27-4). 17. Denton Braswell (25-6). 18. Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (24-8). 19. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (30-7). 20. San Antonio Harlan (29-5). 21. Huntsville (22-7). 22. McKinney North (20-8). 23. College Station (27-7). 24. Georgetown East View (26-5).25. Frisco Liberty (21-11).
Notes: Records provided by TABC