The Houston High School girls basketball team hosted two South Central Association conference home games this week, and defeated Ava 40-34 on Tuesday before losing to Willow Springs 72-49 on Thursday.
In the win over Ava, Houston jumped out to a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and never trailed.
With the game still on the line in the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers sank only 1 field goal, but did what they needed to do at the foul line, sinking 7 free throws in 16 attempts. The visiting Lady Bears actually outscored their hosts 11-9 in the final period, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Sophomore post Gracyn McNiell led Houston in scoring in the contest with 15 points, while junior Makinley Aaron and Lacey Cavaness each had 9 and sophomore Kynlee Weaver added 4 (all in the fourth quarter).
Ava was led in scoring by freshman guard Jessie Schrable, who scored 7 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 13.
In the matchup with Willow Springs, the visiting Lady Bears ran away to an 8-0 lead at the outset of the contest. The Lady Tigers responded by cutting the margin to 12-9 with 5:20 left in the first quarter after Weaver, Aaron and Cavaness each sank 3-pointers.
But Willow Springs answered by outscoring their hosts 15-3 in the rest of the period and held a 27-12 advantage going into the second quarter.
Cavaness nailed three triples in the contest and led Houston in scoring with 20 points, while McNiell had 10 points and freshman center Halley Scheets added 8.
Willow Springs sophomore guard Chloe Jones was almost unstoppable on the offensive end throughout the contest, drilling seven 3-pointers and finishing with a game-high 34 points.
The Lady Tigers went only 1-for-13 from the foul line in the game, while the Lady Bears went 7-for-11.
Next up for the Lady Tigers (4-21, 1-6 SCA) is the Class 3 District 10 Tournament at Seymour.
Houston is seeded fifth in the 6-team bracket and will take on No. 4 Seymour in a first round game at 6 p.m. Monday.
Other teams in the field include top-seeded Licking, No. 2 Liberty, No. 3 Willow Springs and No. 6 Conway.
Semifinal contests will be played Wednesday (Feb. 21) and the district championship game is set for 6 p.m. Friday (Feb. 23).
