By Tom Behrens
Seven Lakes girls at the top
As 2017 comes to a close Seven Lakes (15-7, 2-0), Katy (17-5, 2-1), Tompkins (10-6, 2-1) and Taylor (15-7, 2-1) girls’ basketball teams are the top teams in District 19-6A.
The Seven Lakes Lady Spartans added to their unblemished district record defeating Katy 41-22. Savannah May led the Lady Tigers with nine points.
The Tigers won at home over Cinco Ranch, 61-36. A team effort from the Tigers led to a stifling defensive performance. Cinco Ranch’s record stands at 7-11, 0-2. Cassidy Howard led the way for Katy with 16 points, 12 of the them coming off three point shots. She also had six steals. Keke Cleveland had 15 points and finished well around the rim. Alexys Morrison chipped in nine rebounds. Allana Thompson and May each added nine points.
Katy High School GirlsCoach Shanna Marhofer
Last season the Lady Tigers made the State Quarterfinals for first time in 46 years. Returners from last year team include: Seniors, Amira Leyeni and Alexys Morrison; Juniors, Savannah May, Cassidy Howard and Rachel Williams; and Sophomore Allana Thompson. Newcomer, senior Keke Cleveland has been working out with the team since moving to Katy.
Other newcomers to varsity are seniors Jimena Arroyo, Ariel Beard, Zoe Mojaver and Kiara Wright. The girls basketball team is coached by Katy alumnus Shanna Marhofer.
Highlights so far from this season include winning the Spring Branch Varsity Tournament, defeating a talented and athletic Westside team in the championship game. Thompson was awarded MVP of the tournament and Howard and May were given All-Tournament Team honors. Katy has also taken the measure of the number two ranked team in Texas, Cy-Ranch, the team that has knocked the Tigers out of the playoffs the past two years.
Seven Lakes (2-0) in December has defeated District rival Tompkins, 63-47. In pre-district play, the Lady Spartans lost to Taylor 63-60 and defeated Morton Ranch 42-18.
Tompkins has defeated Mayde Creek, 51-36, Morton Ranch, 54-26 and lost to Seven Lakes 63-47.
The Lady Taylor Mustangs won a close contest with Cinco Ranch, 73-71, Mayde Creek 88-59 and lost to Katy 53-44.
Mayde Creek Lady Rams are in fifth place in District (1-2). Senior Alyssa Abrams is top scorer with a total of 31 points, 15.5 average per game. Second place in points is junior, Heaven Rice 20, averaging 10 per game. Morton Ranch and Cinco Ranch have season records of 8-9 and 7-11 respectively.
Shot Clock in High School Basketball?
By Tom Behrens: The use of a shot clock in high school basketball has surfaced again at the recent UIL legislative meeting, but again it was not instituted. UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt offered a glimmer of hope. He said if 6A and 5A schools want to experiment with it, they should be allowed to try it.
The impetus for Breithaupt’s decision was a couple of 6A schools playing in a college venue for a tournament that had a shot clock. Could they use it?
The thinking now is that if a shot clock was ever adopted it would probably be 30 seconds.
The National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS) sets the rules in high school basketball, and the UIL follows their rules. The NFHS doesn’t have a shot clock.
UIL Athletic Director, Susan Elza was quoted as saying the UIL tries to not keep from moving forward. There are a lot of select programs that are already using it. But don’t expect anything widespread until the NFHS gives the go-ahead.