By Michael Adams
michael@otssports.com 

PFLUGERVILLE –  The 2023-24 high school girls basketball season may still be in its infant stages, but teams often schedule tough opponents to get a gauge on what is working and what is needing to be improved. 

For example, take Tuesday’s matchup at Hendrickson High School between the Lady Rangers Vista Ridge and the Lady Hawks, two teams that topped the On the Sidelines Sports preseason polls. Vista Ridge was the top team in Class 6A and Hendrickson was the top team in Class 5A. 

The Lady Rangers 5-3) topped a rebuilding Hendrickson team 50-40, thanks in part to a second half surge. However, the Lady Hawks (1-3) held a halftime lead due to a 14-1 run in the second quarter. 

• See photos from Tuesday’s game

Hendrickson head coach Norma Sierra graduated eight players from a team that reached the regional finals a year ago. Yet, while there were visible signs of inexperience, the Lady Hawks did show signs of brilliance at times. 

“I told the girls that (Vista Ridge) was probably one of the best teams we will face in a while,” Sierra said. “I wanted to see how we were going to react. We looked great in the first half, but in the second half, you could tell there is still a lot that we need to work on as a team.” 

Vista Ridge held the Lady Hawks to 10 points in the second half, while opening the third quarter on a 8-0 run. 

Hendrickson junior guard Niyah Waters, who finished with 10 points, got into foul trouble in the first half and had to sit on the bench for much of the third quarter. That’s when the Lady Rangers seized the opportunity after trailing by eight points at halftime. 

Junior point guard Abby Seitz sank a pair of three-point field goals, accounting for half of Vista Ridge’s points in the third quarter. Seitz finished with a total of eight points for the game. 

Sophomore Nadia Adeleke scored all but four of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to help Vista Ridge pull away and seal the victory. 

“I thought we were really bad, honestly, in the first half. We did some things that were really uncharacteristic of ourselves,” said Vista Ridge head coach Keith Allen. “In the second half, they cleaned it up and it looked a little bit more like Vista Ridge basketball.

“(Hendrickson) is extremely well coached, and they’re incredibly athletic, They shot the ball well in the first half, but not so great in the second half, but man, they play hard,”

Vista Ridge has a pair of big games next week before the holiday break. The Lady Rangers host Westlake on Monday and travel to Lake Travis Tuesday.. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m. 

The Lady Hawks return to tournament play this weekend and will travel to Round Rock on Monday for a noon tipoff with the Lady Dragons. Hendrickson then travels to San Antonio for games against Antonian Prep on Tuesday and Converse Judson on Wednesday. 

Box Score

Vista Ridge 50, Hendrickson 40

	1	2	3	4	F
Vista Ridge	16	6	12	16	50
Hendrickson	11	19	3	7	40