WILLOW SPRINGS –– The Houston Lady Tigers appeared to be on the verge of a district upset of Alton as they pushed a first-half lead to double digits entering the break.
“I really felt like we were getting ready to maybe blow them out,” HHS coach Brent Kell said.
Then came the sobering news that leading scorer Kylee Elmore, who twice crumbled to the floor with a knee injury, would not return.
“I noticed at halftime –– just the look in their faces that she wouldn’t be back –– it seemed like when we came out in the second half, we weren’t the same team,” Kell said.
The third-seeded Lady Comets took their first lead of the game with an 11-0 run to end the third quarter and despite a valiant effort from No. 6 Houston, held on for a 50-45 victory Saturday in the opening round of the Class 3 District 10 tournament at Willow Springs High School.
Led by its foursome of seniors, Houston battled all the way to the finish. The Lady Tigers trailed by one on Alexa Ichord’s jumper with 1 minute, 6 seconds remaining and had a chance to tie it when Kenzie Scheets’ 3-point attempt from the left wing missed its mark with five seconds remaining.
The loss was the final game in the careers of Ichord, Scheets, Amber Sillyman and Kayla Herndon. The four were honored alongside their parents last Thursday night following a 55-33 home romp of Cabool.
“I just wish them an awful lot of luck,” Kell said. “I really believe they did everything they could to finish this season out the best they could.”
Ichord led HHS with 13 points. Herndon added 11.
Alton faced No. 2 Hartville in the final of two semifinal games on Wednesday. Top-seeded Licking and No. 4 Willow Springs played in the other semifinal.
“I would have liked to see how far we could go because I felt like it was wide open,” Kell said. “But we’ll never know. That’s the tough part about it.”
Houston (11-15) scored 10 of the game’s 14 points to take an early advantage. The Lady Tigers’ lead was seven with 53 seconds left in the first quarter.
Elmore, who took a hard fall in the lane and left the game, returned midway through the second quarter. But after catching the ball on the wing, she made a quick move and fell to the floor in pain. Kell ran onto the court and carried Elmore to the sidelines.
“That was scary,” Kell said.
Elmore was allowed to return to the game after her initial injury by passing several tests administered by the Willow Springs team physician. Following the second fall, the doctor again analyzed Elmore and said the knee still felt good. He diagnosed her with a likely strain or sprain and said she shouldn’t return to the game.
Elmore will have a MRI on Friday in Springfield.
“It was a tough blow when Kylee went down,” Kell said. “We held it together for awhile, but I don’t blame anyone for that. It was just a shock for everyone.”
The Lady Tigers’ lead was 12 points on Herndon’s offensive stickback early in the third. But Alton’s run of 11 unanswered points gave the Lady Comets a lead they never relinquished.
“I think we were playing really well the first of the game. Actually, I know we were playing really well,” Kell said. “The kids believed they could win and prepared well. We lost focus for a little bit, and it cost us.”
On Senior Night against Cabool, Elmore led HHS with 12 points. Kaylea Preheim scored a career-high nine points and Ichord added eight.
JUNIOR VARSITY: Megan Silveus led nine players in the scoring column with eight points as the Houston JV Lady Tigers completed their season last Thursday with a 40-31 victory against Cabool inside Hiett Gymnasium.
Houston outscored the Lady Bulldogs 11-5 in the opening quarter and didn’t trail the rest of the way.
Chloe Morning had six points and Sarah Kelley added four for the Lady Tigers. Shelby Cremer, Krista Scott, Monica Hunter, Summer Neal, Makayla Koch and Karissa Zalucky all had two points apiece.
BOX SCORES
VARSITY
Saturday’s game
| Houston | 18 | 10 | 8 | 9 | – | 45 |
| Alton | 14 | 4 | 20 | 12 | – | 50 |
HOUSTON (45) – Kylee Elmore 5. Alexa Ichord 13. Kenzie Scheets 4. Amber Sillyman 7. Sarah Kelley 5. Kayla Herndon 11. FG 17. FT 10-17. F 12. (3-pointers: Elmore. Fouled out: none).
Thursday’s game
| Cabool | 8 | 9 | 6 | 10 | – | 33 |
| Houston | 15 | 17 | 15 | 8 | – | 55 |
HOUSTON (55) – Kylee Elmore 12. Alexa Ichord 8. Sydney Cremer 6. Kenzie Scheets 4. Amber Sillyman 8. Sarah Kelley 3. Kayla Herndon 4. Kaylea Preheim 9. Megan Silveus 2. FG 26. FT 2-6. F 15. (3-pointers: Elmore 2, Fouled out: none).
JUNIOR VARSITY
Thursday’s game
| Cabool | 5 | 12 | 4 | 10 | – | 31 |
| Houston | 11 | 10 | 11 | 8 | – | 40 |
HOUSTON (40) – Shelby Cremer 2. Krista Scott 2. Monica Hunter 2. Chloe Morning 6. Summer Neal 2. Makayla Koch 2. Karissa Zalucky 2. Sarah Kelley 4. Megan Silveus 8. FG 18. FT 4-11. F 10. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none).
• Lady Tigers district opener vs. Alton
• Lady Tigers vs. Cabool and senior night