Sort of like an Olympic gymnast, the Conroe Tigers had a pretty good routine Friday night in terms of getting good looks at the rim.
They were getting to the hoop. They were drawing fouls and getting to the line.
The Tigers just couldn’t stick the landing and it cost them another early District 13-6A game.
For the second time in four nights, the Tigers suffered a close loss. The Woodlands came away this time with a 39-35 victory.
Conroe (5-5, 0-2) fell to College Park by three points on Tuesday night on the road.
“I’m kind of at a crossroads for what that thing is going to be to flip the switch,” Conroe head coach Tamisha Houston said. “It doesn’t feel good to be 0-2.”
The Tigers led 31-28 with 6:10 left to play as senior Alisa Sneed drove to the hoop for a layup.
The Highlanders (4-6, 1-1), a playoff team just like Conroe last year, followed on a backbreaking 9-0 run with Claudia Keene hitting a dagger of a 3-pointer for her only points of the night at the 4:09 mark for the six-point lead.
The Tigers punched back with 2:22 to go with a jumper by sophomore Carly Boothe and a turnaround make by freshman Christy Rogers to make it 37-35 Highlanders.
A pair of missed free throws – something Conroe struggled with all night – could have tied the game with 1:25 left.
The Woodlands played keep away and Isa Alaniz capped her 14-point night with a drive to the hoop with 24 seconds left to seal the win.
“We’re having a hard time putting the ball in the basket,” Houston said. “Tonight, we were 15-for-42 from (inside the arc) and we had 19 turnovers. We’re not going to win ball games like that. I preach it to them, talk to them about it and I tell them…I guess them experiencing it is still not enough.”
The first half was about missed opportunities for the Tigers.
It was 16-all at halftime as Conroe closed the gap after trailing 14-8 after the first quarter.
The Tigers were 0-for-10 from the line in the first half, including five straight missed with the game tied and under three minutes until the break.
The Tigers made a few in the second half to finish 5-for-16 at the line.
“We’ve been shooting free throws for at least 25 minutes every day and we’re missing free throws,” Houston said.
The Woodlands did itself no favors in the second quarter. The Highlanders missed their first six shots, were 1-for-14 in the second quarter and 6-for-25 by halftime. Isa Alanis got off to a hot start with five points in the first 90 seconds and she totaled seven at halftime.
Conroe started the second quarter on an 8-0 run to briefly take a 16-14 lead at the 3:12 mark. Riley Gross, Kayleigh Phillips, Sneed and Anastacha McGowen each made field goals.
Conroe won the third quarter 11-9 as Phillips drove to the hoop for a bucket and put in an offensive rebound to lead with four points. Gross made a shot in the paint with 45 seconds left to lead 27-23, but The Woodlands’ Aiden Pino made a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 0.3 on the clock. She finished with 11 points.
The Woodlands struggled Tuesday night as Grand Oaks senior Bree Riley went off for 29 points. The Highlanders had lost two straight coming. They were 0-4 to start the year and have gone 4-2 since.
Conroe came in off a season-low in points Tuesday night and the two-game losing streak matches the long it has had this season.
Houston switched up her starting five off that game with Maliyah Harrison (who had a team-high seven points against College Park, McGowen and Phillips making the start. Phillips rewarded the decision with the first bucket of the night and she finished with a team-high eight points.
“Just trying to reward those ladies who have been coming off the bench and giving us a spark,” Houston said. “Seeing if we can’t start the the spark. And offensively, some of the girls in the starting five have not produced (offensively). Maybe if they are on the bench the first part of the game and can kind of get the nerves down, watch and figure out the flow of the game. That might help them come in and try to be productive.”
Taylor Smith had six points off the bench. She came in averaging 7.2 points and 7.1 rebounds.
Conroe and The Woodlands, who finished third and fourth place respectively last year, split their two meetings in 2023-24. Conroe won by three points in December while The Woodlands won by four points in January. The teams meet again January 8 in the Highlanders’ home gym.
Conroe returns to action at home Tuesday for a 4 p.m. tip against New Caney.
“It’s all about them at this point,” Houston said. “Them realizing the error of their ways. We’ve talked about transition defense and we work on that daily. We were not doing what we need to do.”
Conroe head coach Tamisha Houston looks on alongside senior Alisa Sneed (3) in the fourth quarter against The Woodlands Nov. 22, 2024. (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)
