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It won’t be considered the greatest game the Llano girls have played this year, but it was a key win on the road, and it all but clinched a playoff berth for the 11th consecutive season. Call it workmanlike, one of the new clichés of recent sports pages: 51-39 over Vandegrift. Olivia Hutto’s 14 points was her district high for the season.

“I don’t underestimate anyone,” head coach Jessica Jendrzey said of the freshman-and-sophomore Vipers on January 29. “They brought another level of intensity; they want to be a spoiler.”

They only spoiled the beginning and a few moments of the second half. Vandegrift led 5-1 before the Jackets went on an 8-0 run, which was extended to 14-1. The highlights included Ashley Schroeder to Allie Rostron to Sarah Rucker for two, and Schroeder to Rostron to Hutto for a field goal. When Allie, minus Ash, found the Big O, the broadcaster bellowed: “…Oh, that was nice!!”

“It was a tougher game than I thought it would be,” Rostron disclosed. “We held our tempers in check despite some pretty rough play.”

Taylor Francis scored Llano’s final four points of the opening quarter, and the lead was 17-10. “Taylor had a really fine game,” Jendrzey declared. “Both her offense and defense were good; she stepped in well for Rucker who got into foul trouble.”

In the second period, Schroeder produced a three-point play, got the ball to Allie for two, and this was also worthy: “…Rostron shoots…the ball goes off the glass and in for three! That’s her fifth three in the last six quarters!!”

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The advantage escalated to 25-13, but the visitors settled for a 27-18 command at halftime.

“They had a mindset of nothing to lose,” Schroeder advised. “They pushed the issue, but we remained composed.”

The first push arrived in the third quarter when Vandy trimmed the deficit to 27-22. “They played hard,” Hutto stated, “and that shook us up a bit—but we handled them.” Francis, who had seven points, responded with an important two, and Ashley fired home her 45th three of the season. “Our press was effective,” coach J observed, “and that led to easy baskets.”

Push II: Jasmine Mobley and Megha Pandya got two each, and with 4:50 left in the third, Llano’s leverage was down to 33-27.

“…Olivia with the ball…she drives and scores! Oh, my goodness, did Llano have to have that!!

“…Allie spins to the hoop…she scores! It’s 37-27 with three minutes remaining in the third…”

“We stuck with our game plan,” the coach asserted. “We just kept doing what we do best; we made them work for their baskets; every time they made a run we answered.”

And the Jackets answered defensively, too. It was 39-32 after three quarters, but Vandegrift hit just two field goals and totaled seven points in the fourth. Meanwhile…

“...Hut drives…up and in!! Oh, that was big…

“…The ball is stolen by Allie!...She drives and scores…Allie all the way…Llano is now up 43-32…”

As Tuesdays give way to Fridays, and Fridays signal for another round of Tuesdays, Rostron gets the kind of attention the PGA Tour wishes it had this winter. The double teams and triple teams “don’t bother me so much; I just keep working, and don’t forget, that means someone else is open.” She wound up with a game-high 15 points and was a bruiser stealing the ball and getting rebounds.

Time now for a new feature: we have a chapter on stalling. This occurs when the team in front realizes there’s no need to add to its lead, and if the other bunch runs out of time, there’s a good chance the squad which went into the stall will prevail. Playing keep away “tired them out,” Schroeder informed the radio audience. “It tired us out, too.”

It was very effective, as close to two and a half minutes were stricken from the proceedings, and the timepiece message went from 6:20 to under four minutes. Besides having well-coached girls who can continue a weave almost as well as the Harlem Globetrotters, the shutdown is assisted by the double bonus in free throws, and the fact there’s no shot clock in high school basketball. This was once the case in the NBA, too, but there’s no truth to the not-very-widely-spread rumor that the league is looking to a return to those days.

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The Playoff Situation: the Jackets are in third place in the five-team district with a 3-3 record, while Vandy is 1-5, and Rouse is 0-5. It’s highly unlikely the Vipers will win both of their final games, or that the Raiders will win all three of theirs, or that the Jackets will lose their last two—one is against Rouse, which they beat 49-23, January 22. Postseason is thus a near certainty for the Black and Orange.

“Of course we’re ready,” says Hutto. “We’re excited.”

“We still have some areas in which to improve,” Jendrzey claims. “We’d like to get production from others besides our Big Three. Other teams will know about them. Of course, knowing about them and stopping them are not the same thing. I like what we do, but there’s another level we can reach.”