(San Antonio) – Navarro’s season ended in the regional quarterfinal round of the 4A girls basketball playoffs for the third straight year with a 57-37 loss to defending Region IV champion Boerne on Tuesday at Paul Taylor Field House.
The Panthers trailed 17-6 at the end of the first quarter and 27-15 at halftime. Navarro cut the deficit to single digits in the third, but the Greyhounds pushed the lead out to 21 points, 43-22, by the end of period. Boerne led by as many as 27 in the fourth quarter.
Navarro head coach Darrell Harborth credits Boerne for using its combination of size and quickness to make it difficult for the Panthers to generate quality shots.
“Their defense is phenomenal, and their length bothered us,” Harborth said. “They were able to tip some things, reach in and get some balls away from us that led to some turnovers for us, and it just made it hard for us to get good looks and shots at times. It seemed like we didn’t want to push the ball, and we needed to get the ball up and down the floor and attack them, and we had some opportunities, I thought, and we didn’t take advantage of it.”
Junior point guard Laylin Sturm scored 10 points to lead Navarro, but she was the only Panther in double figures.
Fellow junior and All-State peformer Tatum Harborth added nine points, Ryanne Hepp four, Julia Bumguardner three. Karlee Koenig, Berklee Andrews, Sienna Kramer, JJ Martinez, and Taylor Helms each netted two, and Tegan Harborth hit a free throw.
Boerne’s 6’2″ post Averi Aaron led all scorers with 24 points, and All-State guard Jamie Ruede finished with 19.
Tuesday marked the final game in the varsity basketball careers of Navarro seniors Andrews, Bumguardner, Martinez, and Mary Gilliam.
“They’re class acts,” Coach Harborth said. “They’re going to be successful at whatever they do down the road. Some of them are moving on to other spots, and I told them go represent Navarro and do great there. Berklee, Julia, JJ, and Mary, who unfortunately tore her ACL early in the year, and didn’t get to ge out of it what she wanted, they’re just great kids. I like them a lot, care about them a lot, and unfortunately they’re upset right now, but they’ll have a lot of fond memories down the road.”
Navarro returns four of its five starters – Tatum Harborth, Sturm, Hepp, and Helms – and its top five scores – the afforementioned four plus Tegan Harborth – next season.
Boerne also returns four of its five starters, including Aaron and Ruede, and will be a district opponent of Navarro’s when the new UIL alignment takes effect.
“I told them we’re going to play that team twice next year in the same district, and we’ve got to be hungry and maybe work a little bit harder, but you know, we’ll be up for the challenge when that comes,” Harborth said.
After a second place finish in District 27-4A and a three-round playoff run to the 4A Region IV quarterfinals, Navarro’s final record for the 2021-22 season is 31-7.