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Posted Feb 26/11 - Pflugerville's season ends in UIL Region II Championship Game (Final Eight), come up short in bid for seventh UIL State Tournament Final Four berth

WACO, Texas -- Despite a season-high and game-high 28 points from senior post Nneka Enemkpali (pictured), Pflugerville could not overcome second-half turnovers and foul trouble and saw its season end in the UIL State Tournament Regional finals with a 68-56 loss to Georgetown at the Ferrell Center.

Pflugerville's standout tournament run comes to a close with the Panthers finishing 30-7 on the year. The game featured two top 10 ranked 5A teams - and the top two squads from District 16-5A - meeting for the third time.

Head coach Nancy Walling's Pflugerville squad came up just short of the program's seventh showing at the UIL State Tournament Final Four in Austin. Pflugerville's last two Final Four appearances were in 2005 and 2009. The Panthers made the Regional Championship Game for the third time in the last four seasons and for the 14th time in program history.

Enemkpali, a 6-0 University of Texas signee, posted her second consecutive double-double, pulling down 13 rebounds to go with three blocks and two steals in her final high school contest. She was the lone Panther in double-figure scoring. Sophomore guard Amy Staha, elevated to the varsity for the postseason, scored eight points. Senior 5-9 forward and the team's leading rebounder Adesuwa Ebomwonyi, who will play her collegiate ball at Tulane University, fouled out with five minutes to go and finished with six points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward I'tiana Taylor, hit with early foul trouble, had six points and five rebounds.

Pflugerville finished second in District 16-5A to Georgetown, who won both regular season matchups: 58-50 on Jan. 11 at P'ville and 66-62 on Feb. 5 at Georgetown.

Pflugerville was ranked No. 10 in the most recent Texas Association of Basketball Coaches/Tex Preps Basketball Magazine 5A poll while Georgetown (32-3) was second; in the Max Preps state poll (which is not divided by school divisions), the Panthers were No. 9 and Georgetown seventh.

Falling behind 11-0 to start the game due to turnovers, Pflugerville closed the gap and went into halftime down by eight (32-24). Pflugerville scored the first six points of the third quarter and closed to within two, 32-30 on an Enemkpali drive with 6:18 to go. After Georgetown scored a layup, Taylor hit a straightaway jumper to bring Pflugerville back to within two again, 34-32 with 5:12 left in the quarter. That was the closest P'ville would get down the stretch, as a three-pointer pushed Georgetown's lead to five (37-32) on the next possession. Georgetown held a 44-38 at the close of the period.

In the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer by junior guard Ari Booth brought the Panthers to within three, 46-43 with 6:20 to play, but Georgetown scored on its next possession. In a crucial stretch over the next minute and a half, the Panthers turned the ball over on two consecutive possessions and Georgetown capitalized with two free throws and a layup by 6-3 senior Krystal Forthan to go ahead by nine, 52-43, with five minutes left. Forthan had a team-high 22 points.

The Panthers then lost top rebounder Ebomwonyi, who picked up her fifth foul with five minutes to go.

Down the stretch, the Panthers came back and closed the gap to seven (57-51) on an Enemkpali drive with 2:14 to go, and then had to foul to try and regain possession. The Lady Eagles went 10-for-12 from the foul line to end the game.

Pflugerville held a 35-23 edge in rebounding. The Panthers had nine steals to Georgetown's six, but were hurt by 19 turnovers.

In a game where the foul count was decidedly lopsided, Georgetown went to the free throw line 30 times (making 22), while Pflugerville went six for 12 in free throws.

The Panthers will lose nine seniors - the biggest senior class in Coach Walling's coaching history - to graduation - who all played a role in one of the top periods of Pflugerville girls basketball history (SEE STORY, ABOVE).

See the Austin American-Statesman's game story: Georgetown girls beat Pflugerville, make state tournament, by Danny Davis

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