A career best offensive performance from junior forward Gracyn McNiell wasn’t enough for the Lady Tigers during their home opener against Bakersfield Tuesday night.
The Houston High School girls basketball team entered the game with a 3-4 record, looking to get to .500 and match last year’s win total. The first quarter was promising, with the score ending at 11-11, but the visiting Lady Lions jumped out to a 28-17 lead at the half.
McNiell managed to score 12 points in the third quarter to bring the Lady Tigers back within striking distance, trailing 39-32 entering the final quarter of play. Despite rallying to within 3 points in the fourth quarter, Houston couldn’t manage to overcome the deficit, falling 51-45.
“It was a really good game,” said HHS head coach Micah Lee. “We had one quarter where we slipped, which caused a gap that we couldn’t quite come back from. The second half we really pushed to close it, we just didn’t have enough time to get there.”
Leading all scorers in the game was McNiell with a career-high 21 points. Senior guard Lacey Cavaness sank three 3-pointers and added 13 points to the cause. For the Lady Lions, senior Callie Smith led the team with 16 points.
The Lady Tigers added 8 points from the free-throw line, going 8-for-14 as a team.
The Houston squad (3-5) takes on Norwood Friday (Dec. 20) at Tiger Fieldhouse. To view photos from the game, with the option to purchase, click here.
