The Houston seventh-grade girls’ basketball team won three of its first four games to start the 2012 season, including a third-place finish at the Mountain Grove tournament.
The Lady Tigers opened the season last Tuesday with a 15-12 win against Ava despite playing with just five players. Kaitlyn Root scored a team-high seven points and Amber Johnson added four.
On Thursday, Root and Carly Crawford scored five points apiece in a 19-10 loss to Mountain Grove. Houston bounced back Friday with a 19-15 victory against Cabool. Katie Williams led the team with 11 points.
“That was a good win for the team,” Lady Tigers coach John Jordan said. “They have worked hard and are continuing to get better.”
On Monday, Root scored 11 points and Crawford had 10 in Houston’s 32-21 victory against Willow Springs. Williams added six points.
EIGHTH GRADE: Abby Casper scored 15 points in the Lady Tigers’ 42-10 victory last Tuesday to open the Mountain Grove tournament. Alyssa Hayes, Jaycee Huff and Jaydin Ramsey scored seven points apiece.
Houston led 13-0 after the opening quarter and 25-4 at the half.
On Thursday, Hayes had seven points in a 16-14 loss to Mountain Grove. The following night, Ramsey had 12 points and Casper added 10 as the Lady Tigers topped Liberty 28-20 to finish third in the tournament.
Houston had an 8-0 advantage in the fourth quarter to pull away.
“The kids stepped it up in the fourth quarter with some good fullcourt pressure,” Jordan said. “We still committed way too many turnovers and played out of control.”
On Monday, Casper had nine points in Houston’s 48-22 loss to Willow Springs.
The Lady Tigers, who trailed 17-10 at the half, were outscored 31-12 down the stretch.
“We hung around early, then got in serious foul trouble,” Jordan said. “That limited what we could do.”