The Houston High School girls basketball team lost to Hartville in consolation play at the 11th Annual Mountain Grove Holiday Tournament on Thursday (Dec. 26).
The Lady Eagles ended the first quarter up 22-12, thanks to three 3-pointers from sophomore Kinley Cryer. By the half, they led 44-19.
The Lady Tigers – led by a 9 point effort from senior guard Lacey Cavaness – never recovered, losing 61-37.
“We’ve just really been struggling,” said HHS head coach Micah Lee. “We’ve struggled with turnovers, getting points on the board and pressuring other teams on defense. These are just things we have to be doing to win ball games.”
Cryer ended the game with 26 points, with fellow sophomore Madeline Brown tacking on 22.
For the Lady Tigers, junior forward Gracyn McNiell added 7 points and junior forward Ashley Gilbert added 6. Other contributors included Summer Seago (5), Sophia Crites (4), Makinley Aaron (4) and Kynlee Weaver (2).
As a team, Houston shot 2-for-9 from the free-throw line, compared to Hartville’s 13-for-18 performance.
The Lady Tigers (3-8) will play their first conference game of the season at Willow Springs on Jan. 9.
