Conroe will welcome in a state-ranked team Tuesday night as its latest big test in District 13-6A.
The Tigers (9-7, 2-3) play host to first-place Grand Oaks (15-3, 6-0) at 6:30 p.m. The Grizzlies are ranked No. 25 in Class 6A in this week’s Texas Association of Basketball Coaches state poll.
After Tuesday, Conroe has one more game in the 2024 calendar year as it travels to Willis Friday for a 2:30 p.m. tip before Christmas break begins.
Conroe went 1-1 last week in a pair of district road games.
A 10-point swing from the third quarter into the fourth quarter cost Conroe a chance at earning a huge victory at Oak Ridge, a team it has consistently played tight games against the past couple seasons.
Instead, a five-point lead after three quarters turned into a five-point defeat as Oak Ridge outscored Conroe 15-5 in the final quarter to prevail.
Conroe responded with a dominant night at Cleveland on Friday as it led by 30 points at halftime and a trio of forwards had a night offensively.
Junior Taylor Smith finished with a season-high 20 points, junior Riley Gross reached double figures for the first time in over a month with 15 points while freshman Christy Rogers had a varsity career-high 17.
Conroe hopes to carry that momentum into the Grizzlies game. Grand Oaks waltzed through last week with an 89-20 win over New Caney on Tuesday followed by a 59-21 win over Caney Creek.
The Grizzlies have won three straight games with their most recent loss coming against Class 5A-ranked Barbers Hill on Dec. 7.
Grand Oaks, led by Abilene Christian signee Bree Riley, played a close overtime win over College Park earlier this month where it won by one. It’s other district games were 21-point win over The Woodlands last month and a 50-point win over Willis.
According to MaxPreps, Riley is averaging 25.6 points per game this season while 45% from the floor. She’s averaging over five steals a game. Could be a good matchup between two of the best guards in the district with Conroe led by Alisa Sneed.
A pair of sophomores are Grand Oaks’ next leading scorers in Hannah Reynolds (8.1 per game) and Avery Campbell (7.8).
Grand Oaks, under the direction of Shiakiea Carter, won 20 games last year.
Historically, Conroe-Grand Oaks is typically an entertaining matchup.
Conroe snuck out with a pair of two-point wins over the Grizzlies last year, Grand Oaks’ only district losses of the season.
In December’s win, Gross led Conroe with 13 points while Riley finished with 16 for the Grizzlies. In the January contest, Sneed totaled nine to Riley’s game-high 16.
Grand Oaks leads the all-time series 5-4. Four of the games were determined by two points with three more outcomes by seven points or less.
Before Conroe plays Willis on Friday, the Wilkdats will take on New Caney Tuesday night.
Under new coach Carlos Blocker Jr, Willis have proven to be a formidable team in district play so far. This past Friday, the Wildkats took College Park to the limit in a 34-31 loss. Prior to that, Willis has wins over Cleveland and Caney Creek for a 2-3 mark in district play. It has suffered losses to Grand Oaks and The Woodlands.
Updated stats weren’t available on Willis, but the Wildkats were led by Nia Calyen earlier in the season.
Since 2007, Conroe is a remarkable 17-1 against Willis with its last loss coming in 2010.
Conroe beat the Wildkats 48-24 in December last year and 51-18 in January.
In the December game, Sneed had eight points and a game-high seven rebounds. In the January game, Sneed had 13 points while Gross had a near double-double of 10 points and eight rebounds. Anastacha McGowen also had eight rebounds that night.
Conroe senior Ahmaj Brundidge (23) dribbles the ball earlier this season New Caney. (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)
