GAMES
RANKINGS
VYPE SETX Girls Basketball Breakdown
Girls (Regional Semi-Finals)
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3A
Hitchcock (25-5) vs Orangefield (28-12) 2/25 at Liberty High School
Area Round: Orangefield 55, Anderson-Shiro 53; Hitchcock 66, East Chambers 58
Winner will face either Maypearl or Franklin in the regional semifinals later this week.
Notes: Hitchcock brings an undefeated district title (24-3A) and senior leadership with Breanna Birdow and Jimile Johnson. Both teams beat their only common opponent East Chambers, Hitchcock 66-58 and Orangefield 55-44 so look for a close game tonight with free throws and foul situations coming into play.
Prediction: Hitchcock 65, Orangefield 55
Hitchcock advances.
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4A
Hardin-Jefferson (23-8) vs WOS (21-12) 2/25 at Silsbee High School
Area Round: H-J 82, LaMarque 26; WOS 79, Houston Kashmere 32
Winner will face either Gatesville or Rusk in the regional semifinals later this week.
Notes: In a intra-district matchup H-J takes on WOS, on paper this is a mismatch of epic proportions. H-J dominated WOS in their two earlier games this season winning both games by a combined 88 points. H-J dominated District 22-4A and will be hard not to look forward to next weeks game vs the winner of Gatesville vs Rusk.
H-J (Girls) is gunning for their 3rd state title and first since 1989; From 1983-1991 HJ made 5 state tournaments, they have made seven in total, all in 3A.
VYPE Prediction: Hardin Jefferson 77, West Orange-Stark 42
H-J advances.
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6A
Summer Creek vs Beaumont United at Channelview 7:30pm
Area Round: Summer Creek 56, George Ranch 45; Beaumont United 61, Clear Falls 56
Notes: BU won an earlier head-to-head matchup earlier this season 71-64. Summer Creek is 6-0 against common opponents while BU has losses to North Shore and Ridge Point. BU is 14-2 at neutral locations this year while Summer Creek is 10-1.
Winner will face Cypress Creek who beat Houston Heights 104-65 Monday night.
VYPE Prediction: Beaumont United 69, Summer Creek 63
BU advances
Hardin-Jefferson
Hardin-Jefferson on a mission for state title
The Hardin-Jefferson Lady Hawks brought an arsenal of talent into the 2020 season and last year's state final appearance, while impressive, left the team bereft of what could have been. H-J fought a formidable Argyle squad tough throughout the contest before foul trouble and depth ended their season with a 49-41 loss.
Coach Mike Fogo looks towards this season's playoffs with nine returning players, including district heavyweights Delberta Guillory-Smith (Defensive MVP), Ashlon Jackson (Newcomer of the Year), and Makenna Henry (1st Team All-District).
The Lady Hawks are currently ranked #3 in class 4A in the latest Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) poll.
"We're getting better," said Fogo.
"Right now we're still competing against ourselves. After last year's state final loss on the bus ride home we sat together and put together a schedule that would address what we would need to do to win the state championship this year. We wanted to put our girls in difficult spots."
One agenda point was playing tougher competition in the preseason to gauge weaknesses and to define roles for their solid depth. H-J took on multiple 6A and 5A teams with exceptional results beating larger enrollment schools such as West Brook (71-41), San Antonio Reagan (47-45), Klein Forest (64-20), and Crosby 89-38.
H-J also had a solid win over 4A counterpart and #13 ranked Jasper 70-47.
"Playing against those bigger schools brings with it the challenge of competing with their depth and learning how to play without foul trouble. Their tempo is slower than what we're used to and it forces you out of your comfort zone," said Fogo.
Along with Guillory-Smith and Henry the Lady Hawks also bring senior leadership with Asia Wheeler, Kassi Hardy, and Imrie Collier. Experience will be key in later playoff rounds where on late game decisions will often determine the outcome of winning or losing.
"This years team has an interesting characteristic in that there in not one leader. The freshmen girls lead by effort, the seniors lead by being consistent. It's easier to define roles when your team is consistent."
The Lady Hawks are currently 23-8 and 8-0 in district play and next play at Bridge City tonight.
To listen to a podcast interview with Hardin-Jefferson head girls basketball coach Mike Fogo click on the play button below.