Houston senior Gracyn McNiell reacts after the Lady Tigers topped Mack's Creek 48-37 on Saturday to snap the team's 16-game losing skid. McNiell scored 25 points in the win. (Jeff McNiell, Houston Herald)
The Houston girls basketball team is back in the win column.
Sixty-seven days after a season-opening victory, the Lady Tigers snapped a 16-game losing skid Saturday by downing Macks Creek 48-37 in the Liberty Legends Shootout.
“We did what we came to do and that’s win a ball game,” Houston coach Micah Lee said. “It was a good motivator here in the last part of our season for all the girls.”Â
HHS (2-16) returns to the court Monday at home against Hartville before Thursday’s road game at Plato.
Hot start propels team
The Lady Tigers jumped ahead early and never trailed as they scored the game’s first 10 points. The team’s two seniors – Gracyn McNiell and Ashley Gilbert (pictured) – had 6 and 4 points, respectively, to account for the advantage.
Leading scorer McNiell paces HHS
McNiell’s speed and shiftiness proved to be a tough matchup for Macks Creek as the senior forward, who is the team’s lone player averaging double figures, drove around defenders and finished strong at the basket. She also made 17 trips to the foul line en route to a team-high 25 points.
Strong third quarter provides separation
Houston began pulling away with a 9-0 third quarter run that included a Gilbert offensive puback, McNiell layin, 3-pointer from Izzy Cook and long jumper by Millie Manier (above). McNiell’s layin with 40 seconds left gave the Lady Tigers a 20-point advantage at 38-18.
Team’s first win since Dec. 2
The Lady Tigers opened the season with an overtime victory against Fordland before losing the next 16 games. The team has 5 regular-season games remaining, including conference matchups at Cabool (Feb. 16) at home against Ava (Feb. 19) for Senior Night.
