This past week was a busy and very rewarding time span for the Georgetown Lady Eagles’ three-season starting point guard Graci Harris, the third of three sisters to have played for head coach Rhonda Farney. On Tuesday, before a multitude of teammates, coaches, GISD officials, family, and friends, the 5-foot-7 Harris signed to continue her basketball career at John Brown University, an NAIA school in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. She also was named a Class 5A All-State selection and an All-Region IV-5A choice by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. The all-state honor capped a high school career in which she was first-team All-District 25-5A as a senior, first-team All-District 18-5A as a junior, and Newcomer of the Year in 18-5A as a sophomore.
As a senior, Harris led the Lady Eagles to a 26-5 record and a berth in the Region IV-5A title game against eventual 5A state champion and District 25-5A rival Cedar Park. GHS finished second to the Timberwolves in 25-5A with a 12-2 district mark. She led the team with a scoring average of 10.8 points a game and had a high individual and team outing of 21 points against Waco La Vega. In her three varsity seasons, Georgetown won 75 of 100 games and reached the area round of the 5A playoffs in her junior and sophomore years. The Lady Eagles claimed the 18-5A title with a 12-0 record during her sophomore season and placed second in 18-5A as a junior.
“We are so excited to have Graci as part of the Golden Eagle family,” said John Brown women’s coach and assistant athletics director Jeff Soderquist, who has spent more than two decades at the interdenominational Christian school. “We love her ability to drive and shoot, but the thing I love the most is how hard she plays. She will be a great fit for our program.” Harris said she picked John Brown, a member of the Sooner State Conference, because “of her connection with the coach.” When asked what she felt she could add to the Jon Brown program, she answered, “Someone who can drive to the basket and being a good teammate.” She pointed to ball handling and her shooting as areas she needed to work on for the next level. “Discipline and the ability to work as a group,” was her answer when asked what the GHS program did to prepare her for the next level. Looking ahead, Harris said she planned to study nursing with an emphasis on working in a neonatal intensive care unit.
The GHS coaching staff had nothing but praise for a player that Farney had known and watched her progression in basketball since its early days. “Graci gets it done on both ends of the court as well as being a leader,” Farney said. “Brings her best every day and makes everyone around her better. For her, it wasn’t all about basketball, She also distinguished herself as an all-state selection in her academics.” Assistant coach Katie Youngblood, also a former Georgetown point guard said, “Words cannot express how proud I am of this girl for signing today. She has been truly amazing to coach these last few years. You will be greatly missed.”
Harris will be joining a John Brown program that finished sixth in the 11-school Sooner Athletic Conference women’s basketball race with a 5-4 record during the recently truncated season. Its season record was 5-6. Wayland Baptist won the SAC title with an 8-0 record. and was 13-1 for the complete campaign. Harris also was named an All-State 5A Academic selection by the Texas Girls Coaches Association. She is the daughter of Trey Harris and Jodi Green. Her older sisters Emili and Sandi are former Georgetown Lady Eagles.