Vista Ridge gets tested by Vandegrift, but secures 25-6A girls basketball opener

CEDAR PARK — Kianna Wormly scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Vista Ridge (11-5, 1-0) survived a 24-point outburst by Vandegrift freshman Maddie Broxterman in a 49-43 District 25-6A opener Tuesday night. The eight-time defending district champion Rangers used excellent ball protection in the final 2:38 of the game.

“Vandegrift is really a good team and we struggled shooting the ball tonight, but the girls showed their experience late in the game and it really saved the win,” said Keith Allen, who's entering his ninth year as the Rangers' head coach.

A rare 5-point exchange highlights game

Vista Ridge led 38-30 in the final minute of the third quarter before the Vipers had an unusual five-point play.  Broxterman drained a 3-point shot and Vista Ridge was whistled for a foul away from the ball, which gave Vandegrift the ball back and Kyley Atkinson hit a bucket to cut the Rangers' lead to 38-35 after three quarters.

“The team really gathered themselves after the end of the third quarter and did a great job of staying in the game,” Allen said.

To open the fourth quarter, Sayler Bourland hit a free throw and a basket then Abby Seitz hit a bucket for a 5-0 scoring run to start the period. Madelyn Bowman hit the first of her two 3-point shots to cut the lead to five, but Nadine Adeleke hit a basket and Alen called an immediate time out with the Rangers leading 45-38 and 2:38 left in the game.

“We needed to adjust, control the ball and set the tempo from that point and the team executed very well,” Allen said.

Closing out the victory

The Rangers came out of the timeout and pressed the inbounds play, forcing a five second inbounds violation with Vista Ridge getting the ball back. Junior guards Seitz and Bourland dribbled 1:02 off the clock before Vandegrift was forced to foul. Bourland swished both her bonus free throws and the Rangers led by nine with just over a minute left. The teams traded points with Broxterman hitting a pair of free throws and Bowman collecting her second 3-pointer while Wormly and Bourland converted a free throw each for the final margin.

“Vandegrift is really well coached, they gave us all we could handle,” Allen said. Vandegrift is coached by first year head coach Tiffany Litton who has led the Vipers to an 11-5 overall start but 0-1 in district.

Wormly and Adeleke scored 11 points each for the Rangers while Bourland had nine and Seitz had eight points. Nadia Adeleke, twin sister of Nadine had five points. Broxterman led all scorers while Bowman added six points and Saania Khawaja finished with five points for Vandegrift.

Around the area

Elsewhere, McNeil beat Stony Point 48-43 behind 17 points from Riley Samples and 13 points from Caria Thomas. The Tigers received 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals from Aima Ofunrein. Matilda Bortels added 10 points for Stony Point while Mary Bartels had seven points and eight boards.

Manor beat Westwood 48-36. Cedar Creek beat Bastrop 58-33 as the Eagles used a 38-21 second-half scoring advantage for the final margin.

In other action, two-time defending district champion Hendrickson beat Connally 69-26. ... Soma Okolo scored 34 points while Jordyn Nguyen added 12 points and Cindy Foka collected 10 as Glenn beat Hutto 75-25. ... Cadence Williams scored 20 points to lead Rouse past Belton 43-32. The Raiders limited Belton to two points in the third quarter. ... Navarro beat Crockett 63-47 and Ann Richards defeated LBJ 35-20. ... Pflugerville used a 29-14 second-half run to beat Elgin 54-32 while Georgetown beat East View 57-27 and Taylor beat Weiss 46-33. Lockhart clipped Canyon Lake 47-46 to improve to 9-5.

Cadence Williams scored 20 points to lead Rouse past Belton 43-32.  The Raiders limited Belton to two points in the third quarter to take control of the contest.  Ryan McDonald added eight points in the win while Avelle Bonfoh led the Tigers with 12 points and Kaylie Peitras added nine points.

Navarro beat Crockett 63-47, and Ann Richards defeated LBJ 35-20.

Pflugerville used a 29-14 second-half run to defeat Elgin 54-32, Georgetown beat East View 57-27 and Taylor beat Weiss 46-33.  Lockhart clipped Canyon Lake 47-46 to improve to 9-5 on the season.

Savio has started the season at 7-3 after winning three of five games over the weekend at the Brentwood Bear Invitational. Savio is led by guards Layla Tovar and Abby Zigrossi. Tovar is averaging more 17 points per game while Zigrossi earned all-tournament honors.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Vista Ridge girls basketball opens District 25-6A play with a victory