The Houston Lady Tigers couldn’t overcome foul trouble as they lost 45-36 to Mountain Grove Friday night in the finale of the Lady Panthers’ tournament.
Four different players fouled out for Houston, which defeated Mountain Grove by 17 points less than two weeks earlier. Another player had four fouls.
Houston, which defeated Willow Springs and Cabool, finished second in the round-robin tournament.
“It seemed like we were just standing around,” Lady Tigers coach Brent Kell said. “They were beating us to all the loose balls and rebounds.”
Holly Thomas scored a team-high 15 points before fouling out. Danielle Pounds was 9-for-10 at the foul line en route to 11 points.
Thomas, Erica Keeney, Sarah Pierce and Tory Burgess all fouled out for Houston. The Lady Tigers played a majority of the second quarter with five guards on the floor and trailed by 10 points at the half.
“We’ve got to stay out of foul trouble,” Kell said. “Holly and Erica have got to find a way to stay on the floor.”
On Thursday, Thomas scored 20 and Kendra Welch added 16 in a 56-41 victory against Cabool.
Keeney scored 11 for the Lady Tigers, who led by nine at the half. Pierce added four points.
