Girls basketball report: Round Rock, Vista Ridge, others take important district wins

ROUND ROCK — Macie Upshaw’s free throw with 26 seconds left gave Round Rock its first lead of the game at 37-36, and the Dragons added a late free throw by Gabby Edo to knock Cedar Ridge out of a share of first place in District 25-6A with a 38-36 win Tuesday in a big District 25-6A battle at Round Rock High School.

Katie Peiffer led the Dragons with 13 points, including nine in the third quarter when the Dragons cut into the Raiders' six-point halftime lead. Tayliah Donaldson added 12 points, six in clutch time midway through the fourth quarter, but it was the dominant inside presence of Edo that was the difference in the contest.

The 6-foot-3 Edo had 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and four steals. Edo’s block in the closing seconds and subsequent foul shot in the final 8.8 seconds were the final straws in the Dragon victory.

“Gabby was just great tonight,” said Dragons head coach Doug Davalos. “Cedar Ridge is a great team, and Gabby did a great job on the boards and contesting shots. Her effort was exceptional, and she never quit working hard.”

The Dragons' strength all season has been tenacious defense, and after a rocky first quarter, Round Rock outscored the Raiders 36-27 the rest of the way.

"Cedar Ridge came out strong early," said Davalos, as Round Rock trailed 9-2 after a quarter. "Zahra Hill and Mikah Johnson both hit 3-pointers in the first minutes and we called a timeout. We had to extend our defense and deny their open looks.”

Cedar Ridge (15-8, 6-2) showed great ball movement, but as the Dragons extended the defensive perimeter and with Edo guarding the rim, Cedar Ridge struggled to get good looks and better shots.

The Dragons (21-6, 5-3) outscored the Raiders 10-9 in the second quarter, 11-9 in the third quarter and 15-9 in the fourth quarter.

Peiffer led the Dragons with 13 points, Donaldson had 10 points and both Edo and Brooklyn Eubanks added five points.

Kelly Ufodiama led Cedar Ridge with 10 points and four rebounds, Mikah Johnson scored eight points with four rebounds and Janiyah Alvarez had four points and seven rebounds.  Devynn Davis added six points and Zahra Hill five points for the Raiders.

Vista Ridge (18-8, 7-1) beat Vandegrift 53-37 to knock the Vipers back into a tie with Cedar Ridge, while Stony Point beat McNeil 41-35 and Westwood defeated Manor 52-47 on a below-freezing night.

The Rangers moved into sole possession of first place as Keith Allen’s squad is in contention for its ninth straight district title. Vista Ridge used its experience and the scoring of Kianna Wormly (18 points) and Sayler Bourland (10 points) to spur its win.  Abby Seitz and Nadia Adeleke added nine points each for the Rangers.

Stony Point got 19 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots by Mary Bortels, Aima Ofunrein scored 10 points with four steals and Alivia Wright collected five points in its win over the Mavericks.

Westwood got their first district win as the Warriors opened a 10-7 first quarter lead then stretched it to 31-23 at the half. They withstood a 17-10 Manor third quarter in the win.

San Marcos jumped out on Cibolo Steele for a 22-11 first-quarter lead, then dominated the second quarter 24-3 to sail to a 75-40 win.  Rattlers coach Jermain Evans substituted freely and early as the San Marcos starters played limited time.  Melayna Perkins led the Rattlers with 10 points, while Ayleceia Pierson added nine points and Ezra Tobias scored eight points. Brooklyn Harris finished with six points in the win,

Westlake continues to lead District 26-6A as the Chaps raced to a 16-5 first-quarter lead then opened a 35-9 halftime advantage to defeat Lake Travis 58-27.  Gianna Angiolet led the Chaps with 25 points, Tamia King had 12 points and 11 boards and Bella Hesse added seven points.  Claire Kolkhorst led the Cavaliers with eight points.

Bowie kept pace by beating Dripping Springs 69-31 as Grace Guzman scored 21 points on a 9-of-16-shooting night. Nyla Anderson added 14 points and four assists, while Micah Walton had 14 points, nine reboudns, six assists and five steals.

Johnson beat Anderson 65-36.

In 23-5A, Hendrickson jumped to a 28-7 first-quarter lead and cruised past Connally 73-35, while Georgetown beat East View 57-23. Elgin beat Bastrop 35-32.

In 24-5A, McCallum remains unbeaten in first place after beating LBJ 61-7.  Emy Chen scored 14 points, Esme Barraz had 10 points three assists, four deflections and four steals and Samantha Shreves had 13 points with seven boards.

Navarro beat Ann Richards 50-32 to hold second place.  Paulete Mbuangi led the Vikings with 26 points and eight steals despite playing less than two quarters.  Anissa Luna scored eight points, Andrea Jaramillo and Laela Diaz had six points each and Crystal Shaw had five assists.

The Raptors of LASA beat Crockett 61-29 as Carly Gonzalez scored 23 points and Kyndall Johnson added 15 points in the win.  Eastside beat Travis 32-30.

Liberty Hill got 20 points from point guard Gabby Mundy and 12 points from Lindsey Bullock to edge Cedar Park 43-39 in District 25-5A action. Renee Stemmons had nine rebounds and Evie Bruce five boards for the Panthers.

District co-leader Glenn beat Lehman 53-17 as Soma Okolo poured in 27 points, Mariah Houston scored nine points and Libby Lee added seven points.

Hays raced past Lockhart 63-23 and Rouse had a huge win beating Leander 33-31.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Spartans improved to 14-5 by beating Hyde Park 46-36.  Donnica Armstrong led the Spartans with 23 points, while Kennedy Lartigue added nine points and both Annabel Furlong and Evil Kadyan chipped in four points. Addison Hawkins led Hyde Park with 15 points while Zhi’yuan Harris tallied 14 points.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Girls basketball: Round Rock, Vista Ridge, others take district wins