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Defense likely to win the day when Lincoln girls meet Georgetown 4A final

Dominant finalists have proved adept at frustrating opponents

AUSTIN — Georgetown and Lincoln have lived up to their rankings during the girls basketball playoffs.

No. 1 Georgetown has beaten its playoff opponents by an average of 18.1 points, and No. 2 Lincoln has won by an average margin of 25.1.

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But when the top two Class 4A teams in the state meet in Saturday’s 3 p.m. championship game, it’s hard to imagine a blowout.

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“I can’t tell you how close it’s going to be,” Lincoln coach Carlesa Dixon said, “but it will be a good game.”

As prolific as the Lincoln (36-4) and Georgetown (33-4) offenses can be, defense is likely to win the day Saturday.

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Lincoln’s offense was slow to get started during Thursday’s semifinal against Aledo, but the defense never faltered. It held Aledo without a field goal for 17 minutes, 10 seconds — a stretch that spanned all four quarters.

Lincoln was able to turn a 17-10 deficit into a 44-27 lead and cruised into the championship.

The players “know that if they want to play for me, they have to play defense,” Dixon said. “That’s the bottom line.”

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Georgetown similarly held Northside Brennan without a field goal during the entire third quarter in a 44-30 semifinal victory.

Georgetown, which had 12 steals and three blocks in the win, gave up only 13 points through three quarters.

“We could have executed better on offense,” Georgetown’s Kaitlin Walla told the Austin American-Statesman. “But you know what? We played great defense, and you know what they say: Defense wins championships.”

Georgetown, like Aledo, will enjoy a considerable height advantage against Lincoln. Lincoln starts five guards and has only two players at 5-10 or taller.

Georgetown has nine players who are at least 5-10. Starting center Hayley Hunter, at 6-1, had nine points, five rebounds and three blocks Thursday.

But with a win against a taller Aledo team already behind it, Lincoln is confident it can handle the size disparity.

“We have to use our speed to make the big girls run,” Dixon said Friday. “I definitely feel like playing against the big girls yesterday was big for our confidence to know that we can play against bigger people.”

Lincoln will be playing for its fourth state title and first since 2008. Georgetown has been to the state tournament nine times and last won in 1979.

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Follow David Just on Twitter at @DavidJustDMN.