Conroe drops another heartbreaker in 13-6A to The Woodlands

Nineteen points. An average of 3.8 per game.

Conroe’s five losses in District 13-6A have been as tight as can be.

It was another heartbreaker Tuesday night as round two of district started at The Woodlands.

The Tigers led by two at halftime and by a point heading to the fourth quarter. The Highlanders were killer at the free-throw line down the stretch and created enough stops to win 55-50 and take the series sweep.

“We’re getting the opportunities,” Conroe head coach Tamisha Houston said. “We’re just not finishing. For me, I just don’t know what the solution is right now. The girls are playing hard. They’re playing hard.”

The Highlanders (16-9, 7-2), winners of six straight, beat Conroe 39-35 back on Nov. 22.

Senior Aiden Pino was money from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 23 points. Her drive to the hoop and three straight free throws to start the fourth quarter put The Woodlands ahed for good. She was 7-for-7 from the line and totaled 15 points over the final eight minutes.

Conroe (11-9, 4-5) saw its two-game winning streak end with the loss. The Tigers were outscored 19-13 in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers cut the deficit to three points on a 3 by Damiri Anderson, who scored seven off the bench, but Pino made two layups over the final minute to pad the lead until the final buzzer.

Conroe was 4-for-8 from the line in the fourth quarter and 15-for-26 on the night.

“We shoot at least 15 minutes of free throws everyday at practice,” Houston said.

It was a similar shooting night like past losses as well. Lots of looks around the bucket, but just a 32% (16-for-50) game.

It was a solid start to the night.

Playing cautiously after picking up two early fouls in the first half, Conroe senior point guard Alisa Sneed kept her team in it with a big second quarter of seven points. She ended with a team-high 14 points, leading the way for the second straight game after netting nine on Saturday in a win over Caney Creek.

“For Sneed, that just showed her experience,” Houston said. “She’s been playing varsity ball since she was a freshman. She picked up the second foul because she forgot the first once. She knew what she needed to do going back in to not end up with three.”

Sneed hit a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left to tie the game. Freshman Kayleigh Phillips used a turnover and a bucket to take the 26-24 lead into halftime.

“We had to sit them for a little bit longer than we wanted to, but we were actually able to get them back in the game,” Houston said. “We did some substitutions and tried to keep them out of tough situations on the defensive end.”

Conroe led a majority of the first quarter before The Woodlands seized momentum with a three-point play at the buzzer.

Isa Alaniz, who led the Highlanders with 16 points in the first meeting back in November, drove the lane, made the shot, and converted the free throw for a 13-12 lead to end the first quarter. She totaled nine points on the night.

A balanced attack got The Woodlands up by as many as six in the second quarter before Conroe finished the half on a 10-2 run. Sneed, who had nine points at halftime, converted a three-point play with 1:42 left and made an uncontested layup on a back-cut with 20 seconds left.

Junior Riley Gross converted three free throws in the second quarter and had six points at the break.

The Woodlands won the third quarter 12-11. Gross split at the line nine seconds into the frame before The Woodlands went on a 7-0 run with a 5-for-6 stretch at the line.

Sneed sparked a 8-0 run late in the quarter, bookend by a putback and a drive to the hoop. Anastacha McGowen made a pair of key free throws and Anderson made a jumper during the run.

Gross finished with 11 for the Tigers while Phillips had eight. Freshman Christy Rogers had five points off the bench.

“We told them that we are losing these games because we can’t finish,” Houston said. “This was a 55-50 game and I think it was the first team in district to score over 45 points on us. We’ve been doing a good job on the defensive end.”

Conroe still has playoff potential, but The Woodlands has a heavy advantage now with the series sweep. The Highlanders have now won three straight over Conroe.

The Tigers will get back to work Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against winless Cleveland at home.

“If we take care of ourselves and put the ball in the hole, we give ourselves a chance,” Houston said. “But we have to be better in those tough moments. We have to not turn the ball over in critical moments. I think some of that is just our youth. I know we have kids that have been on varsity for two years, but they really didn’t log a lot of minutes.”