The Houston Middle School 8th-grade girls basketball team (A-Team) wrapped up the 2023 season by playing three games in the annual Houston Junior High Girls Basketball Tournament.
The Lady Tigers opened the four-team round robin event with a 33-22 loss to Mountain Grove on Saturday, Dec. 16, and then beat Willow Springs 25-14 on Monday, Dec. 18, before falling to West Plains, 31-11, on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
In the game against Mountain Grove, 8th-grade guard Ava Koch led Houston in scoring with 8 points, while 7th-grade guard Millie Manier and 8th-grade forward Izzy Cook each had 5 and 8th-grade forward Reese Wilson added 2.
The Lady Tigers shot a whopping 31 free throws in the contest, but sank only 8. Meanwhile the Lady Panthers went 9-for-17 from the line.
Cook led the offense in the win over Willow Springs, scoring 13 points on five 2-point field goals and one 3-pointer. Manier scored 6 points in the game, while Wilson had 4 and Koch added 2.
In the loss to West Plains, Cook scored 6 points, Manier and 8th-grader Claire Benoist had 2 apiece and Wilson sank a free throw and added 1.
West Plains went 3-0 in the tournament to earned the event’s first-place plaque.
The Lady Tigers A-Team finished the season with a record of 5-6.
“The girls did a fantastic job this season,” said head coach Jeff Richardson. “This is a group that truly enjoys playing basketball together. They showed tremendous effort during these last three games.”
There were 11 8th-graders and four 7th-graders in the HMS girls hoops program this year. In turn, several 8th-graders joined the 7th-graders in games to form a “B-Team,” but some 7th-graders also made an impact playing up on the program’s A-Team.
“I’m excited to see this 8th-grade group continue to grow their love for the game under Coach (Micah) Lee and Coach (Dan) Narancich,” Richardson said.
The Lady Tigers B-Team went 2-4 in the 2023 season.