The Houston Lady Tigers wasted little time taking control of their season opener.
Second seeded HHS raced ahead of No. 7 Seymour 16-3 after one quarter and cruised to a 64-30 victory Monday night in the opening round of the Lady Bulldog Invitational.
Houston coach Brent Kell said he was somewhat concerned that Seymour had already played four games while his team was making its season debut. But the opening minutes put any concerns to rest.
“We played better than I actually expected,” Kell said. “We played really well from the start and maintained it throughout the team.”
In the other first-round games, Dora beat Cabool 73-38, Willow Springs edged Mountain Grove 56-48 in overtime and Salem downed Ava 68-52.
Top-seeded Dora faces No. 5 Willow Springs at 4 p.m. Thursday. In the other semifinal, Houston plays Salem at 5:30 p.m.
The championship game is 5 p.m. Saturday.
Kylee Elmore, who hit all three of the Lady Tigers’ 3-pointers, and Sarah Kelley scored 20 points apiece to pace Houston (1-0). Makayla Koch added 10 points off the bench.
Kelley grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds. Shelby Cremer had seven assists.
BOX SCORE
| Seymour | 3 | 13 | 4 | 10 | – | 30 |
| Houston | 16 | 15 | 14 | 19 | – | 64 |
HOUSTON (64) –– Kylee Elmore 20. Shelby Cremer 4. Krista Scott 1. Abby Casper 4. Makayla Koch 10. Olivia Woosley 2. Sarah Kelley 20. Alyssa Hayes 3. FG 25. FT 11-21. F 12 (3-pointers: Elmore 3. Fouled out: none).
Monday’s first round
Dora 73, Cabool 38
Willow Springs 56, Mtn. Grove 48 (OT)
Houston 64, Seymour 30
Salem 68, Ava 42
Thursday’s semifinals
(1) Dora vs. (5) Willow Springs, 4 p.m.
(2) Houston vs. (3) Salem, 5:30 p.m.