Area girls teams head to state
Cy Ranch, Barbers Hill, Wharton advance in basketball.
A day after scoring just two points, Charli Collier responded with a huge effort in the biggest game of her young career.
The 6-6 junior had 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks to lead Barbers Hill to a 55-43 victory over Georgetown in the Class 5A Region III final Saturday at Delmar Fieldhouse.
The win earned Barbers Hill its first trip to the state tournament in 20 years.
“Yesterday, I didn’t have a great game,” said Collier, who is committed to play at Connecticut. “My teammates told me, ‘We need you,’ so I came back today … my teammates did a good job of getting me the ball, I did a good job of getting them the ball, and overall we did a great job scoring.”
It was the 16th consecutive victory for Barbers Hill (33-4), which is two wins away from claiming its first state title since 1997.
“(I’m happy) for the kids that have worked for this, and we talk about it every year, but for it to actually happen, it’s a joy,” Barbers Hill coach Tri Danley said.
Collier, who is the seventh-ranked junior recruit in the country, according to ESPN, went to work early with three consecutive buckets to start the game, forcing Georgetown coach Rhonda Farney to regroup.
Georgetown opted to sag off the Barbers Hill guards and deny entry passes to Collier, and then double-team and sometimes triple-team her when she did manage to get the ball. That strategy forced Collier into three first-quarter turnovers that gave Georgetown some life.
After the early turnovers, Collier regrouped and responded with patience, permitting her to attack seams as defensive help came or find open shooters on the outside.
“She’s developed really well this year and knows that she has to rely on her teammates,” Danley said. “And in the last two weeks in this playoff run, we’ve had players who don’t play much come in and hit big baskets. Charli has really gotten them involved and really developed her game on that end.”
Georgetown (28-8) used crisp side-to-side ball movement on offense and a physical toughness on defense to hold Barbers Hill to 14 points less than its season average. Georgetown also outrebounded Barbers Hill 30-20 despite a height disadvantage.
“That’s a credit to their coaching staff,” Danley said. “They play fundamentally sound. They’re not going to make mis- takes. They’re going to run a solid offense, and rebound and block out. If you watch the film, I bet they blocked us out every time.” Said Farney: “I think we were pretty wellmatched. “It came down to the beginning of the fourth quarter, where there were a couple of possessions where they scored and we didn’t.”