The end of the Houston girls basketball season also marked the conclusion of coach Micah Lee’s three-year run leading the program.
Lee’s tenure on the HHS sidelines ended last Monday night with a 54-44 loss to Liberty in the opening round of Class 3 District 9 inside Tiger Fieldhouse. Lee resigned in January to spend more time with her family and watch her young children play sports.
“There are so many things that I will miss,” Lee said. “The only thing I want the girls walking away knowing is that I’ll always be there for them, no matter what, and will take on the role of cheering in the stands for them next year.”
Senior forward continues paint dominance
As the Lady Tigers heated up down the stretch of the season, so did senior Gracyn McNiell.
The 5-foot-6 forward scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Liberty for her 8th consecutive double-double to end her career. With a strong finish to the season – she averaged 22.9 points and 12.9 rebounds over the last 7 games – McNiell finished the year with a double-double average of 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds.
“Those are impressive stats,” Lee said. “You see a lot of players on teams scoring a lot of points, but rarely do you see somone one also tagging in 18 rebounds on the night too. She was a vital piece of our team, and it’s something that has to be thought about for next year. Who’s going to pick up those rebounds? Who’s going to take that scoring role?”
Seven different Lady Tigers scored in the district matchup against the No. 4 Lady Eagles. Ashley Gilbert and Izzy Cook had 4 points apiece.
Strong start fades with turnovers
Carrying the momentum from a strong regular-season finish – winning 4 of 6 games following a 16-game losing skid – No. 5 Houston led Liberty 12-10 after the opening quarter.
“We had a really tough schedule on the front side of our season and that definitely prepared us to be more successful in the second part,” Lee said.
But as the HHS offense slowed and the Lady Tigers struggled with turnovers, Liberty used a 17-8 second quarter advantage to build a halftime lead that grew to 12 points entering the fourth quarter.
Houston (5-19) committed 22 turnovers leading to 23 Liberty points. The mistakes cost the Lady Tigers a chance to advance as most other statistical categories were dead even.
“This team still has a ways to go,” Lee said, “but every game this season has been a learning process that hopefully will prepare them more for next year.”
BOX SCORE
Houston 12 8 12 12 – 44
Liberty 10 17 17 10 – 54
HOUSTON (44) – Manier 2. Cook 4. Koch 2. Volk 2. Benoist 2. McNiell 28. Gilbert 4. FG 19. FT 6-8. F 14. (3-pointers: none).