By Michael Adams
madams@onthesidelinessports.com
When it comes to girls basketball in the Austin metro area, District 25-6A and District 26-6A have always had a longstanding rivalry in determining the Austin metro elite.
However, District 25-5A would like a moment of your attention, and might be considered the “District of Doom.”
If performance in the early part of the 2023 Texas high school girls basketball season is any indication, 25-5A is shaping up to be a blood bath when league play begins on Dec 12.
Two teams won prestigious tournaments over the weekend, another finished second and lost to a 6A powerhouse and another finished fourth in the same tournament their district rivals won.
Liberty Hill remains undefeated and won the 2023 Coach Smith Tournament in Salado over the weekend beating Decatur 56-33 in the final. The Panthers (16-0) are tearing apart opponents by an average margin of victory of 23.7 points.
Glenn (13-1) won Georgetown’s Jack Frost Tournament and notched some impressive wins over Chaparral, Boerne and Westlake. The Grizzlies also defeated two-loss Round Rock by 31 points last Tuesday.
It doesn’t end there.
Hays is 12-4 and was the runner up in the Hays Hawk Tournament, losing to 6A-power Southlake Carroll by two points in overtime in the championship game.
Cedar Park (12-6) also had a good showing at the Jack Frost Tournament. The Timberwolves placed fourth, losing to last year’s champion Argyle 48-43 in the silver bracket.
District play begins on Dec. 12 for 25-5A and there’s a heavyweight showdown taking place right out of the gate when Cedar Park hosts Liberty Hill.
Around the metro area
District 26-6A: The south Austin metro district began league play last week with Bowie, Austin High and Lake Travis winning their first two district games. Westlake took the weekend off to play in the Jack Frost Tournament where they lost to Glenn in the semifinals. … Westlake will take on Lake Travis Tuesday night in the On the Sidelines Sports’ Girls Basketball Game of the Week
District 25-6A: The north Austin metro district begins league play on Tuesday. Six of the eight teams enter district play with winning records. Round Rock (13-2) takes on Cedar Ridge (8-6), Westwood (7-9) faces Manor (8-7) and McNeil (5-8) will play Stony Point (11-3). The best matchup this week is Tuesday’s game between Vandegrift (11-4) and Vista Ridge (10-5).
Girls Basketball Power 5s
Editor’s note: Below are the first On the Sidelines Sports’ girls basketball area rankings for the 2023-24 season. Team’s records were taken from MaxPreps.com. Please email madmas@onthesidelinessports.com with any corrections to records.
Class 6A
| Rank | team | record | previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westlake | 12-3 | 4 |
| 2 | Round Rock | 13-2 | NR |
| 3 | Stony Point | 11-3 | 5 |
| 4 | Vista Ridge | 10-5 | 1 |
| 5 | Lake Travis | 10-5 | 3 |
Class 5A
| Rank | team | record | previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liberty Hill | 16-0 | 5 |
| 2 | Glenn | 13-1 | NR |
| 3 | Georgetown | 10-3 | 2 |
| 4 | Hays | 12-4 | 4 |
| 5 | Cedar Park | 12-5 | NR |
Class 4A-below
| Rank | team | record | previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thrall | 5-2 | 1 |
| 2 | Jarrell | 8-5 | NR |
| 3 | Manor New Tech | 7-2 | NR |
| 4 | Taylor | 4-5 | 2 |
| 5 | Wimberley | 6-5 | 5 |
This week’s games to watch
Game of the Week
Westlake (12-3) at Lake Travis (10-5), 7 p.m., Tuesday
Four more key matchups
Hendrickson (7-5) at Connally (9-4), 7 p.m., Tuesday
Vandegrift (11-4) at Vista Ridge (10-5), 7 p.m., Tuesday
Round Rock (13-2) at Cedar Ridge (8-6), 7 p.m., Tuesday
Navarro (6-1) at Ann Richards (3-3), 8 p.m., Tuesday
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