Multiple Trips To Austin

I wrote something about Westfield going to state three times and my mind started click about teams from the area that have actually gone multiple times and it just so happened I had pictures of kids with their dads. The Gilbert twins are part of #canenation, Hightower has made multiple appearances, the most recent year before last where they were runner-up to Cy Fair, a team that has gone four times and won twice. A quick note on Cy Fair, Chiney Ogwumike not only won two state titles, she was all state each of the Bobcat's trips.

Elsik's Jasmine Ocanas helped take Elsik back to the glory days of yesteryear, they have actually won a state championship and been runner-up once and last season marked at least their third appearance, I believe it might be four though. Yates is another school off the top of my head that has gone more than once, they also won it back in the day

Brianna Turner is in a great position to get out of here more than once at Manvel. Their performance over the weekend showed they can play with the big schools, which will give them a legitimate chance down the stretch

Jersey Village vs Westfield Rivalry Continues

BRYNAE THOMPSON

Brynae Thompson is an athletic yet raw freshman whose best basketball is ahead of her. She and 2013 Bianca Serna lead a group of ladies that want to carry the tradition of the great Jersey Village players before them, like MDAA Nina Norman and Coco Reed who both went on to star at Texas. Tracey Ray who played her first two seasons at JV before transferring to Cy Fair is among that super 2005 class, she played her college ball at Charlotte. Then there's the Isom sisters, Brittanae and Tasha, both played at Northwestern, Tasha is another 2005 grad.

GEVENIA "NAY" CARTER

Westfield has so much history behind them, countless district titles and trips to Regional Final Fours, plus it is one of only a few area schools that played in the State Tournament multiple times. Nichelle Roberts (Kansas, Houston), Mercedes Williams (Texas), Tye Jackson (Houston) and Takia Starks (Texas A&M), another 2005 grad, were all Top 100 players. Nay Carter is a young lady I watched grow up from a toddler and later coached her before she made it to Central Florida where she is now a junior. She is the last Top 100 player for either school and the first thing most people would say after watching her play was "she has a jumper like a boy"

KYLAH JONES & BIANCA SERNA

Kylah Jones is Westfield's offensive weapon and whether she's attacking the basket or letting it fly, she's a hard nose player that will give it her all. Serna is a smooth and skilled scorer that knows and understands the game and both of these juniors will be key factors in their teams quest to reach the playoffs.

K Myers & Natasha Smith

Westfield won today's match-up going away but the important thing was that I saw growth in both teams since my first look at them in the Conroe Tournament. High scorers were Jones (22) and Smith (14) for Westfield while Thompson (12) led Jersey Village

TWO AREA MAJORS LEFT

Out of the four biggest tournaments in the area last season, North Shore won 2, the Katy ISD and Peggy Whitley Classic, while also winning Silver in the Texas Inviatational. This season, the Mustangs didn't win Gold, Silver or Bronze in the Texas Invitational, but much of that had to do with lingering effects of an injury Courtney Williams sustained against Bellaire a little over a week ago. Rest assured, Courtney will be back, as will the Mustangs as they get ready to compete in those very two MAJORS again. Here are last seasons winners

Texas Invitational-Cy Falls
Fort Bend ISD-Katy Taylor
Katy ISD-North Shore
Peggy Whitley-North Shore

Rams AIN'T Done!!!

R-3 CHAMPIONS

Last season Elsik shocked many people by winning our region and although they may not have had the best record, they won when it counted. This season marks the end of an era as their "Big Three" Crysta Porter, Jasmine Ocanas and Akunna Elonu are now seniors. I wondered how good this team would be this season since they lost 4 key players from last season, two of them starters but they showed the fight is still there by placing third in the Fort Bend ISD Tournament

AKUNNA ELONU & JASMINE OCANAS

Can they do it again, win Region 3 that is? I guess the answer would be were they supposed to win it last season and I'm sure if there were any polls taken the majority would have said a resounding no however this team defies logic and you can't replace hard work and heart, that will take you a long way and in a single elimination playoff, anything can happen

CRYSTAL PORTER

MAX PREPS-Please Post Schedules!!!!

I try to get to as many games as possible and sometimes my only reference is the Chronicle. They only list what they receive however sometimes human error cause games to be input wrong. Coaches please make sure your schedule is up to date on Maxpreps.com, chron.com had games listed at 7pm but were actually played at 1. Sometimes the locations are incorrect as well, so it's good to have more than one source, especially since college coaches will be coming to town to see the many kids who can play at the next level that are still available.

Thanks

Hightower Continues To Prophett

Hightower was my #2 team going into year. I'm sure many would question my logic since I make comparisons about losing key players along with my favorite saying " the game starts at the one" and true as all of that may be, there are always exceptions to the rule. Hightower had three D-1 players over 6'0, Taylor and Tyler Gilbert had already committed to the University of Houston and I knew Jasmine Prophett, above, would be on many college wish lists. That wish came true for McNeese State as JP signed on the last day of the early signing period.  I had a chance to see Hightower for the first time this weekend in the Fort Bend ISD Tournament and I watched her drop 3 threes as she has expanded her long range shooting to go along with her mid-range game, not to mention she's pretty darn good in the paint. Although Taylor Gilbert is out for the season, Hightower still has the most dominant inside player in the area in Tyler Gilbert and she and Jasmine will have a say in who the Region 3 representative will be.

The Prophett signing also brings the total up to 32 which is better than what I anticipated for early signing and halfway where I believe it will end up.

Memorial Outlasts FB Austin Down Stretch

I had a feeling this game would be worth the drive simply because two of the best long range shooters in the area would be on opposing teams and I wasn't disappointed. Memorial's Ellen Anderson came straight off the volleyball court in the SBISD Tournament to go 7-8 from bta a couple of weeks ago and this time she was on fire once again as she opened the game by going 4-4 as the Mustangs, fresh off winning the Consolation Championship in the FBISD Tournament  led Fort Bend Austin 19-16

No lead is safe when you play FBA simply because they have a great shooter as well in Nicloe "Kidd" Blaskowsky who can light it up from all over the court. Kidd ignited a second quarter rally that saw FBA take the lead behind her and Natalie McGaughey's offense and if it wasn't for Anderson's 6th trey at the buzzer, they wouldn't have been able to stay in striking distance as the half ended 36-35 FBA.


Kidd continued her offensive assault as she accounted for 5 points and an assist in a little over a minute to start the second half. One thing about Blaskowsky is she can find ways to score and not only did she drop a couple of threes in the quarter, she had a hand in 10 of the 11 points they scored in the quarter. Memorial only scored 9 in the same quarter, most of those by Kelli Wilson as they went cold as well as they headed to the stretch down 47-46

Madison Miller opened up with two steals, both for layups to give the Mustangs the lead and her free throw shooting, along with Laurel Carrell and Olivia Podaras down the stretch helped seal the 63-55 victory. Anderson finished with 23 points, followed by Wilson (13) and Carrell (11) while Blaskowsky led all scorers with 25 along with McGaughey's 12 for FBA

Sophomores Turner & McCarty Elevate Teams

It's no surprise that Manvel and Clear Springs are among the top teams in the area. After all both teams made it to the Region 3 Final Fours last season, Manvel in 4-A and Clear Springs in 5-A, and after their performances over the weekend, it shouldn't be a surprise to see both teams not only repeat the feat but have a legitimate chance at going to Austin for the State Championship Final 4. Manvel added Brianna Turner, the #1 player in the Class of 2014 to the mix along with Jordan Hosey who is going to make a legitimate run at Top 10 for the Class of 2015. Turner brings so much to the table as she is now playing all five positions in high school and her mid-range game has arrived.

McCarty has been on my radar since she was in elementary school, her presence on the court takes her team to another level because what she does is make everyone around her better and can drop 20 in the flow of the game while keeping others involved. Not only are these two of the top five players in the state, their teams are two of the top five in the area and both will make a legitimate run at Player Of The Year.

Dekaney Ready To Move Up Even More

After their performance in the FBISD Tourmnament, #3 Dekaney is a good position to be the areas #1 team but that task won't be easy. After a couple of tune up games against Cy Ranch and Elkins, the Wildcats host #1 Clear Springs on November 29th and then #2 Cy Falls on December 7th. I don't know how accurate those tune-up games are since the schedule has them playing on Monday and Tuesday but the other games are accurate.

Texas Inviatational Closes With A Bang-Third Place Gold

Cy Falls starting 5 is as good as any in the area however after this weekend, I'm sure they realize that means nothing outside of Houston as they picked up their first loss of the season against Duncanville and narrowly beat Mansfield Summit (56-48) to win 3rd place in the GOLD.

Keep in mind Mansfield Summit is a 4-A school that was ranked #4 in the preseason by TABC, so for them to come here and knock off two of  my area Top 10 teams, The Woodlands and North Shore and then playing the #1 Clear Springs down to the wire (59-52) so I was impressed to say the least. Ashley Eli provided the offensive punch against Springs with 16 while "Fantastic Friday" Honorable Mention Maya Hawkins added 13 in the opener and 17 against Falls

Fantastic Friday player Shernise Robertson continued her offensive barrage of scoring at will, she had to shoot close to 70% on three point attempts, by putting up 18 in the loss to Duncanville.

Loryn Goodwin missed the tourney game record of 18 made free throws by one on Friday was leading scorer against Summit with 16. By winning third place GOLD, they do just what Irving MacArthur did last season, I-MAC went on to win state going away. Maybe it's an omen!