Longhorns advance to bi-district round
A young George Ranch girls basketball team battled all year but came away with only nine wins in the regular season.
With the opportunity to play at least one more game, they kept battling.
The Longhorns shook off an early deficit to topple Alief Taylor 53-43 in a tiebreaking game Friday at Travis, giving them the fourth and final playoff spot in District 23-6A — and hopefully a little momentum.
“This is a really young team, and it hasn’t been an easy season,” coach Shalesha Pierce said. “We started out with four wins coming into district, so they had to fight for every single win we pulled off.
“I’m super excited for these kids, because they really did work hard.”
Breaking the tie
The contest was one of several play-ins in the area between squads that tied for fourth in district. George Ranch and Taylor both lost their last game, leaving them at 5-7, and they split their series. Taylor won the first meeting in overtime, and Ranch (1018) took the last two.
“Defensively, we executed our plan better, and my guards played better,” Pierce said. “We don’t have a big team, so trying to contain their girls under the basket, was tough for us at first, but my freshman and sophomore … learned the defensive rotations and did a much better job the last two times around.”
The freshman, Amillion Fowler, scored eight points. Sophomore point guard Jaedyn Dunn contributed 14, and junior Mi’lan Miller led with a game-high 18.
The Lions (14-13) led 9-3 early, then Miller sparked Ranch, supplying 10 first-quarter points, including a 3-pointer, and a steal and layup in the final minute, giving her team a 12-11 advantage.
The Longhorns pushed it to 16-11 in the second, but Taylor rallied for a 23-22 halftime lead.
That’s when the Lions backed off their press — and pulled ahead for good.
By focusing on their half-court defense and stopping Jawain Caston, who scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the first half, they forced 10 turnovers and held Caston scoreless in the third.
Sophomore Isabella Little’s baseline jumper secured a 30-28 lead mid-third quarter. That was the seventh and final lead change.
Ranch took a 41-32 lead midway through the fourth, then sealed the playoff-clinching win at the free-throw line.
Pierce hopes the extra court time propels them through the bi-district playoffs.
“We’re not a team that sits out and does well,” Pierce said. “We need repetition, we need consistency, so this will help us play a little bit better going into Tuesday’s game.”
Clear Springs up next
George Ranch next faces Clear Springs, ranked 10th in the state by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. The Chargers went undefeated en route to the 24-6A title.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge, but we’re going to give it our best,” Pierce said. “We’re going to do what we’ve got to do, we’re going to game plan — and hopefully make them work.”
Jason McDaniel is a freelance writer.