This season’s well-documented lack of bodies finally caught up with the Houston High School girls basketball team in a 60-52 loss in a South Central Association Conference game Thursday at Cabool.
The Lady Tigers began the contest with only 6 players, as freshman guard Summer Seago was absent due to illness. Leading by as much as 17 points when at full strength in the third quarter, Houston played 4-on-5 for more than 3 minutes in the fourth period after 2 players fouled out within a span of 23 seconds.
Cabool had already reduced the deficit before the Lady Tigers’ double-trouble, and the host Lady Bulldogs rolled to the victory with a 19-2 run to close out the contest. The major contrast of the game’s early and late stages was highlighted by the fact that Houston outscored Cabool 20-7 in the first quarter and was outscored 28-9 in the fourth.
Each squad had only 4 players score points.
Junior guard Lacey Cavaness led the Lady Tigers with 22 points, pouring in 16 while being red hot from the field in the first half. Sophomore Gracyn McNiell went 5-for-6 from the foul line and finished with 17 points before fouling out, while junior Makinley Aaron scored 9 points before fouling out. Sophomore guard Kynlee Weaver scored Houston’s other 4 points.
Cabool freshman guard Chloe Overby led all scorers in the game with 26 points, including 14 during the decisive fourth period comeback. Senior Bailey Aaron had 19 points for the Lady Bulldogs, while 6-1 senior Hannah Janson had 9 and freshman Jordanna Atkins added 6.
The game capped of an incredible period in which the Lady Tigers played 6 games in 7 days. The amazingly busy stretch began when they played at the Lady Lions Invitational in Mansfield on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26 and 27, and then had games on four straight days this week, traveling to Liberty on Monday, hosting Seymour on Tuesday, facing Liberty again Wednesday in a Thayer Winter Classic tournament game rescheduled due to weather and then traveling to Cabool on Thursday.
The Lady Tigers fell 50-33 in the home game against Seymour and were defeated 50-36 in the tournament matchup with Liberty.
Next week, Houston (3-16, 0-4 SCA) plays an SCA game Tuesday at Mountain Grove and hits the road again Thursday for a nonconference contest at county rival Plato. Â
