With Krystal Forthan on the court, Georgetown has a puncher's chance of winning its first state championship in girls basketball since 1979.
LBJ, a state tournament regular with its boys teams, has its girls squad there for the first time in school history.
Georgetown and LBJ will represent Central Texas when the UIL girls state basketball championships convene Thursday through Saturday at the Erwin Center.
The Eagles (32-3) will play Alief Elsik (31-5) in a Class 5A semifinal at 8:30 p.m. Friday. The winner will play against the survivor of the 3:30 p.m. game pitting Irving MacArthur (35-2) and San Antonio Wagner (32-6).
The Jaguars (27-4) open the 4A tournament against Dallas Lincoln (29-3) at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. The winner will play in the state championship against the winner of the 7 p.m. game between Canyon (36-0) and Beaumont Ozen (33-4).
The 5A championship game will be at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The 4A title game is at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Georgetown enters the tournament as the No. 1-ranked team in Class 5A, according to the Texas Girls Coaches Association Top 10 poll that was released on Sunday. The Eagles earned their place at state by beating district rival Pflugerville 68-56, for the third time this season at the Region II championship game Saturday in Waco.
Forthan, a 6-4 center who transferred to Georgetown two years ago from Portland, Ore., led the way with a game-high 22 points before being ejected for throwing a punch at Pflugerville's Itiana Taylor late in the fourth quarter. The swing earned her an ejection from the game.
Forthan got caught up "in the heat of the moment," Georgetown coach Rhonda Farney said. The LSU-bound Forthan will not be suspended from the state tournament.
Forthan is ranked as the No. 5 high school basketball recruit in the nation by the publication ESPN Rise. She recently became the first player from Central Texas to be invited to the annual McDonald's All-America game, March 30 in Chicago.
Georgetown has reached the state championship game three times, winning the Class 3A championship in 1979.
"Beating Pflugerville by that much gives us so much momentum," Georgetown senior guard Brianna Bogard said. "They're an awesome team and to beat them three times is amazing. It shows how good we can be."
LBJ enters the state tournament ranked No. 3 in Class 4A. The Jaguars, who win with scoring balance and an aggressive defense, scanned their ticket to state by defeating Vista Ridge 43-29 in the Region IV championship Saturday in San Antonio.
Coached by 18-year veteran Renee Brown, the Jaguars rely heavily on forward Alexis Hyder, one of the top juniors in the state.
The sister of Kerry Hyder, an LBJ graduate who plays defensive end for the Texas Tech football team, Alexis scored 18 points in the victory over Vista Ridge.
Hyder, who has not declared where she will attend college, is supported by senior forward Tierany Henderson, who has signed with Stephen F. Austin, and forward senior Morgan Simmons, bound for Texas Southern.
One of the area's top scoring teams, LBJ had a three-game stretch this season in which it beat McCallum 120-27, Reagan 100-13 and Lanier 115-17.
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