AT THE TURN: Austin-area Girls Basketball playoff races heat up down the back stretch
With the Christmas decorations (mostly) packed away – don’t you always miss something? – and school back in session, most girls high school basketball teams have just begun the second pass through their district gauntlets. Since the girls are a week ahead of the guys and with the UIL playoffs just a month away, let’s take a look at where the playoff races stand.
District 25-6A
Top 4: Vista Ridge (10-0); Vandegrift (8-2); Round Rock (8-2); Cedar Ridge (5-4)
On the Bubble: Stony Point (3-6); Westwood (3-7); Manor (3-7)
If you’ve been following our Power Rankings, you know that Vista Ridge has been the team to beat all year long with Vandegrift and Round Rock nipping at their heels. The Lady Rangers handed both of those teams their first district loss earlier this year and remain undefeated in district play. The Lady Vipers and Lady Dragons have now split their season after Round Rock held off Vandy on Friday (1/10). Cedar Ridge solidified their hold on the final transfer spot with a second win over Manor and also holds a tiebreaker over Westwood – but not Stony Point, who remains two games out of a playoff spot with seven games remaining.
Bottom Line: Vista can clinch a playoff spot with one more win and holds the inside lane for the district title. Round Rock is the largest school in the district and would be locked in as Division 1; the Lady Vipers are locked in as Division 2 as the district’s smallest school assuming both qualify. Cedar Ridge would be D1 and Vista D2 if the Lady Raiders can hold off the teams nipping at their heels.
District 26-6A
Top 4: Westlake (6-0); Bowie (5-1); Lake Travis (4-2); Austin High (3-3)
On the Bubble: Del Valle (2-3)
With only seven teams, the District 26-6A race didn’t get underway until mid-December – and so far, Westlake is cruising. Their closest district games thus far were a 15-point home win over second place Bowie on New Year’s Eve and a 23-point road win at Lake Travis to start the new year. Keep an eye on the Lady Chaparral’s rematch at Bowie on 1/24 to see if the Lady Bulldogs can close the gap. If not and it becomes a race for runner-up, note that Bowie’s wins over Lake Travis and Austin High were both competitive. Meanwhile, Lake Travis defeated Austin High in their first meeting last Friday (1/10). As the only other district team hovering around .500 overall, Del Valle appears to be the only other team with an outside shot to make the postseason.
Bottom Line: Barring something unforeseen, the teams currently occupying the top four spots should make the playoffs. If so, Lake Travis and Bowie would be in Division 1 while Westlake and Austin High would compete in Division 2.
District 23-5A
Top 4: Georgetown (6-0); Hendrickson (5-1); Pflugerville (4-2); Weiss (3-3)
On the Bubble: East View (2-4)
Another 7-team district; another instance where one team seems to be a step ahead of the rest of the field. Perennial power Georgetown (23-4 overall) was perfect in their first pass through the district, easing past second place Pflugerville Hendrickson by 22 points back before Christmas. At least the Lady Hawks have been the top team from Pflugerville ISD so far, ahead of fellow PfISD schools Pflugerville, Weiss and Connally. East View’s two district wins have come comfortably against the teams trailing them in the standings, Connally and Elgin. Weiss held off the Lady Patriots at East View by 12, so it appears as if East View will have to return the favor at Weiss in order to have a chance to sneak in.
Bottom Line: Based on all the scores from the first round of district play, Georgetown and Hendrickson appear safe as D1 qualifiers while Pflugerville would enter the D2 bracket. If Weiss sweeps East View on Tuesday (1/14), they would be well on their way to qualify as the other D2 team. (East View is the largest school in the district; should they make it in, it would likely bump Georgetown down to D2.)
District 24-5A
Top 4: Anderson (7-0); Bastrop (6-1); McCallum (4-3); Ausitn LASA (4-3)
On the Bubble: Crockett (3-4)
League-leading Anderson has a mediocre 14-10 overall record; second place Bastrop has a gaudy 26-3 mark. One of those three losses, however, was at Anderson by 21 points. That’s why district games are the ones that really matter. They’ll meet again in the penultimate district game on 1/31 out amongst the Bastrop pines. On that note, McCallum at 7-14 overall holds the tiebreaker over LASA – but lost their first matchup with Crockett. For their part, the Lady Raptors (9-14 overall) defeated Crockett. Just a game off the pace, the Lady Cougars (15-11 overall) have a very realistic chance to catch one or both of those of those teams and scratch their way into the playoffs.
Bottom Line: Again, based on the scoring margins in the first half of district play, Anderson and Bastrop appear to be in pretty good shape. McCallum, LASA and Crockett appear poised to brawl for the final two spots. Anderson has the largest enrollment in the district and would go D1 while LASA, as the smallest of the current contenders, would be in D2. Beyond that is TBD.
District 25-5A
Top 4: Liberty Hill (6-1); Glenn (6-1); Cedar Park (6-1); Hays (4-3)
On the Bubble: Leander (3-4); Rouse (2-5)
One would be hard-pressed to find a tougher and more competitive girls basketball district in the state than District 25-5A. (And it’s been that way for a while). Let’s start with the 3-way tie at the top, where Liberty Hill, Glenn and Cedar Park all sit at 6-1. The Lady Grizzlies of Glenn (26-3 overall) handed Liberty Hill a lump of coal before Christmas with a 45-43 win; the Lady Panthers (26-2 overall) just handed the Lady Timberwolves (20-5 overall) their first district loss of the season in a 56-55 thriller at the Timberdome last Friday night (1/10); and, not to be outdone, Cedar Park knocked off Glenn in a relative 10-point “blowout.” Those three teams have a combined record of 72-8 and all are 1-1 against each other, with a combined point differential of just 13 points over the three games. Great stuff! Hays currently occupies the final playoff spot. While the Lady Hawks have fallen to “the Big 3” by an average of 18 points, they have a similar average margin of victory over the next two teams, Leander and Rouse. At first glance, they appear to be in pretty good shape -- but can take nothing for granted in this demolition derby of a district.
District 24-4A
Top 4: Jarrell (3-0); Lampasas (2-1); Burnet (2-1); Salado (2-1)
On the Bubble: Marble Falls (0-3); Taylor (0-3)
This small 6-team district features communities that surround the City of Austin. With only six teams, they didn’t start district play until after the new year. As a result – and unlike the larger districts above – the teams in District 24-4A are only about a third of the way through district play. While that makes it harder to get a read on the playoff race since they all haven’t even played each other yet, Jarrell seems to be the class of the league at 22-5 overall. (Salado, at 14-11, is the only other team in the district with a winning overall record).)
Bottom Line: Too early to tell but Jarrell looks tough to beat.
District 25-4A
Top 4: Lago Vista (6-0); Manor New Tech (5-1); LBJ (4-2); TBD
On the Bubble: Travis, Eastside; Austin Achieve; Northeast
If District 24-6A is too early to project based on the calendar, District 25-4A is too early to call based on incomplete results. Lago Vista earned a tough road win over Manor New Tech Friday night (1/10) to move to the inside track for a district title. LBJ seems to be the best of the rest, but they and the rest of the teams in 3rd through 7th are either A) well below .500; B) not reporting scores; or C) both.
Bottom Line: Lago swept the field on the first pass and New Tech is 20-2 overall. Other than these two, we simply don’t have enough information to project the final two playoff teams.
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