Girls Hoopston
Houston girls’ hoops prepping for playoffs; Top 10 rankings
Matt Malatesta
Jan 4, 2018, 8:50 am
Originally appeared on Vype.com
With a few weeks remaining in the girls’ basketball regular season, Houston’s power brokers are clawing and scratching for the district crown.
So many teams throughout Hoopston have legit shots at reaching the coveted state tourney. Some are the regulars, but there are newcomers lurking.
Barbers Hill has the top player in the country in Charli Collier, but the Truong twins at Jersey Village are playing at a high level and so are the Falcons. They will have to knock off the defending regional champs in Cypress Ranch just to win their district.
Navasota in Class 4A is having a huge season at 20-0, while Queen Egbo is driving her FB Travis Tigers to a District 20-6A title. Clear Springs is starting to peak, while Cy Creek is one of the hot young teams in the city.
The NEXT 10 INCLUDE Madison, Manvel, Ridge Point, Katy, Ball, Summer Creek, Oak Ridge, Klein Oak, Atascocita and Klein.
Week of January 4th
Rank | Team (Record) | Comment |
1 | Barbers Hill | More Than Just Charli Collier |
2 | Jersey Village | Twins are Making it Look Easy |
3 | Cypress Ranch | State Experience Will Pay Off |
4 | Navasota | Undefeated in Class 4A |
5 | Travis | The Queens of Fort Bend |
6 | Clear Springs | Peaking at Right Time |
7 | Hightower | Tough, Balanced Squad |
8 | Cypress Creek | Will be Telling Few Weeks |
9 | Dekaney | Power in the North |
10 | Wheatley | Still Battling in HISD |
The Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals meet Monday night at Busch Stadium, both aiming to get above .500 in the early weeks of the season.
Houston (7-8) sends left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1, 2.50 ERA) to the mound in search of a strong start to begin a three-game road series. The Astros, 3-3 away from home this season, have leaned on their pitching—ranking eighth in the American League with a 3.70 team ERA.
St. Louis (7-8) counters with right-hander Sonny Gray (2-0, 4.50 ERA), who has a WHIP of 0.88 despite some early bumps in run prevention. The Cardinals have been solid at home (6-3) and are among the NL’s best-hitting teams, posting a collective .280 average.
Jose Altuve (.302, 3 HR) and Isaac Paredes (13-for-42, 3 HR in last 10) lead the way for Houston’s offense, while Brendan Donovan (.350, 10 RBI) and Pedro Pages (10-for-34, 7 RBI in last 10) have been producing for the Cardinals.
Both teams enter the matchup with identical 7-8 records but differing trends: Houston has outscored opponents by eight runs over their last 10 games (5-5), while the Cardinals have gone 4-6 during that stretch, giving up 5.19 runs per game.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. ET.
Here's a sneak peek at tonight's lineup:
Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.
Mauricio Dubon gets the nod at second base again, and Chas McCormick will make the start over Jake Meyers in center field. Jose Altuve will get some time off his feet hitting in the DH spot, with Yordan Alvarez playing in left field.
*ChatGPT assisted.
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