A strong second half sparked the Houston JV Lady Tigers to their ninth consecutive victory.
Ahead by two at the break, Houston outscored Mountain Grove 27-5 in the final two quarters and cruised to a 46-23 victory Thursday night inside Hiett Gymnasium.
Kaitlyn Root scored 12 points and Alyssa Hayes added 10 to lead the JV Lady Tigers, who improved to 11-1. Stephani Crewse had seven points and Emily Shea had six.
Mountain Grove led 13-11 after the first quarter and had the advantage most of the first half. Houston, which committed 15 first-half turnovers, took its first lead since the opening minutes on freshman Carly Crawford’s basket just before the half.
Behind Root, who scored 10 third-quarter points, Houston outscored the Lady Panthers 18-2 in the third to begin pulling away.
BOX SCORE
Mtn. Grove  13  5  2  3  –  23
Houston    11  8  18  9  –  46
HOUSTON (46) – Kaitlyn Root 12. Krista Scott 4. Jaycee Huff 2. Monica Hunter 2. Stephani Crewse 7. Carly Crawford 3. Emily Shea 6. Alyssa Hayes 10. FG 18. FT 10-16. F 12. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none).