It's bi-district time: Conroe takes on Nimitz Tuesday night

Conroe made a mad dash to the finish line in the regular season.

It took eight wins out of ten games down the stretch to extend the program’s playoff streak to seven straight years. That’s one goal achieved.

Now for the next step – advancing past the bi-district round for the first time since 2022.

Conroe (17-10) will take on District 14-6A champion Aldine Nimitz (25-8) – a program best known for producing WNBA star Britney Griner 16 years ago – in the Region II-6A Division I playoffs 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Kingwood Park High School.

The Tigers’ win over Caney Creek last Tuesday clinched the final playoff spot out of District 13-6A without having to play a tiebreaker game later in the week. Conroe has been preparing for Nimitz ever since.

“We’ve been really relaxed,” Conroe head coach Tamisha Houston said Monday morning. “We had been talking about playoffs and you have to win ‘this one’ for so long now that the girls truly understand what that means. We had that feeling the last couple games of district. If we lose this game, this could be the end of our playoff chances. By them going through and channeling those emotions onto the court to produce the win, I think going into tomorrow, while their anxiety might be up a little bit, I think they already understand the weight of this game.

“It’s not going to be anything strange for them.”

Nimitz hasn’t lost in the 2025 calendar year. It has won 10 straight games dating back to its last defeat against Jacksonville on Dec. 28. The Cougars’ lone district loss came on Dec. 17 to Westfield, a team the Cougars later beat on Jan. 22 by two points.

Since that win, Nimitz has had four straight blowout wins, including the season finale, 48-22, against Dekaney last Wednesday. After clinching the playoff spot the night before, Houston went to watch Nimitz live that night.

“They could potentially throw a bunch of defenses at us,” Houston said. “They may try to man (defense) us. But we’re bigger than them on the inside.”

The Cougars are led offensively by Aniah Richard, a 5-foot-8 guard who averages 18.2 points per game, 3.8 assists and 3.4 steals.

“She’s kind of their do-it-all,” Houston said. “She can score it a little bit.”

Sophomore Tatiyana Cole has been strong in the post with a team-best 1.1 blocks per game, 4.6 rebounds and 6.3 points.

“They have a pretty decent post player that’s really physical,” Houston said.

Senior Chloe Williams is second on the Cougars at 9 points per game and senior Kira Hubbard is the leading rebounder at 5.1 per game.

“They are athletes and they just kind of feed off their guard,” Houston said. “If any of them see the ball go through the hole, that gives them a little bit of confidence to knock shots.”

Conroe hasn’t played Nimitz since 2020 and are 2-4 against the Cougars since 2008. The Cougars, when they were coached by Christy Westbrooks (now at Richmond Randle), used to come to the Conroe Lady Tigers Classic.

Houston has never coached against Nimitz’s current coach, Kendra Venzant, but the Cougars aren’t completely unfamiliar.

“I haven’t played against this coach,” she said. “When we made it to the regional tournament (in 2022), that year Grand Oaks played Nimitz in the bi-district round and beat them.”

Nimitz beat The Woodlands 63-54 in last year’s bi-district before falling by six to Klein Oak two nights later in the area round. Two years ago, Oak Ridge eliminated Nimitz in the bi-district round.

As for Conroe, the Tigers haven’t won a playoff game since March of 2022. And It was one of the most memorable moments and playoff wins program history. Raniyah Lewis, who graduated last spring, drained a 3-pointer with a second left to beat Klein Collins by two points in the regional quarterfinals.

After that thriller, Conroe went on to fall to state power Duncanville in the regional semifinals.

The last two years, Conroe has dropped to Spring – 45-43 in 2023 and 58-47 last year – in the bi-district round.

“It’s good for us to see somebody different,” Houston said. “You also want to get them back.But it’s good to see somebody different, especially for the young ladies who have been a part of those losses to Spring. You don’t want them to have that in the back of their mind. It will be good to see someone else.”

Conroe senior Alisa Sneed – a four-year letterwinner – missed last year’s bi-district game due to injury and leads the Tigers against Nimitz. Her 3.8 steals and 3.3 assists per game help lead and facilitate the offense while also averaging 7.7 points per game.

Riley Gross, a junior post, has led Conroe offensively the past two games with 12 points against Willis on Jan. 31 and 13 last week against Caney Creek. She’s averaging 5.8 rebounds and 1 block per game.

Junior Taylor Smith is third in scoring average at 6.7 points per game and leads in rebound at 6 even per game.

Aside from those three, you never know who might spark the offense. Sophomores Carly Boothe and Maliyah Harrison can heat up from 3-point land. Junior Damiri Anderson can create some offense while the freshmen trio of Kayleigh Phiillips, Christy Rogers and Everly Cumpian can also carry their own.

Sneed, Gross, Smith, Anderson, Boothe, junior Ansatascha McGowen and senior Saterria Poehlein all have playoff experience.

The winner of Conroe and Nimitz will take on the winner of Cypress Ranch (24-8) and Klein Oak (21-13). The Mustangs and Panthers play 6 p.m. Monday at Cypress Ridge High School. The area round game will be played later this week.