The hair on the head of HHS sophomore Hannah Dzurick flies as she battles for a ball during the Lady Tigers' win over Liberty Christian on Tuesday of last week during the Bourbon Invitational Tournament.

In a busy stretch of basketball, the Houston High School girls came away with one win in three outings last week.

In the inaugural Bourbon Invitational Tournament, the third-seeded Lady Tigers got off to a good start in the opening round of the 6-team event, defeating No. 4 Liberty Christian 57-34 in a Tuesday contest.

Houston held the Lady Eagles (of Wright City) to only 3 points in both the second and third quarters, and went on to beat a squad that came into the tournament with an unblemished 14-0 record.

HHS sophomore guard Hannah Dzurick nailed two 3-pointers in the second period and led all scorers in the game with 15 points, while junior guard Jaden Stell had 10 points. Freshman guard Katie Jo Chipps scored 6 points in the first quarter for the Lady Tigers and finished with 8, while freshman forward MacKenzie Bryan added a career-high 7 points (including 6 in the third quarter).

“That was the best complete game we have played all year, and we beat a good team,” said HHS head coach Jim Moore. “The girls played together, were unselfish and were relentless all night.”

As head coach Jim Moore watches in the background, HHS freshman MacKenzie Bryan (34) prepares to shoot a free throw during Lady Tigers’ loss to Grandview on Thursday of last week at the Bourbon Invitational Tournament.

With the victory, Houston advanced to face second-seeded Grandview on Thursday, and fell 57-45. The Lady Eagles (from Hillsboro) enjoyed a distinct size advantage and got numerous second-chance shots, but the Lady Tigers helped their cause by committing a slew of turnovers.

“We turned it over way too much,” Moore said, “and they were mostly unforced.”

{{tncms-inline alignment=”right” content=”<p>•Jan. 16 @ Cabool</p> <p>•Jan. 23 @ Dora</p> <p>•Jan. 27 @ Mansfield Tournament</p> <p>•Feb. 3 vs. Ava</p> <p>•Feb. 6 vs. Willow Springs</p> <p>•Feb. 7 @ Koshkonong</p> <p>•Feb. 10 vs. Hartville</p> <p>•Feb. 13 @ Plato</p> <p>•Feb. 17 vs. Salem</p> <p>•Feb. 20 @ Mountain Grove</p>” id=”59b4af9c-f93c-49dd-b266-d541615fa654″ style-type=”bio” title=”UPCOMING GAMES” type=”relcontent”}}

Stell buried 5 treys in the game and led Houston in scoring with 17 points, while Chipps hit a pair of threes and scored 10 points and Dzurick added 9.

The Lady Tigers were scheduled to take on host Bourbon in a third-place game on Saturday, but it was cancelled due to weather concerns.

Houston also played a Monday game at Thayer, and lost 48-23.

The host Lady Bobcats are the defending Missouri Class 2 state champions and are currently ranked sixth. They held the Lady Tigers to only 2 points in the second quarter and 6 in the first half.

Junior forward Riley Scheets scored 7 points in the contest for the Houston, while Stell and Dzurick added 6 apiece. Maddy Kerley led Thayer with 17 points, as 10 Lady Bobcats scored.

The Lady Tigers (4-8 after last week) play their first two SCA games of the season this week, including a Monday contest in Mountain View against Liberty and a Thursday matchup at Cabool.

•Jan. 16 @ Cabool

•Jan. 23 @ Dora

•Jan. 27 @ Mansfield Tournament

•Feb. 3 vs. Ava

•Feb. 6 vs. Willow Springs

•Feb. 7 @ Koshkonong

•Feb. 10 vs. Hartville

•Feb. 13 @ Plato

•Feb. 17 vs. Salem

•Feb. 20 @ Mountain Grove

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply