Ready or not, District 13-6A season has arrived for Conroe

Back eight and nine years ago, the Conroe Tigers were in a district that consisted of itself and just five other teams.

In the 2016 season, for example, the Tigers played 21 non-district games before finally getting around to starting district play. It wasn’t until January 6 that winter that Conroe played the Montgomery Bears in a game that meant much. There wasn’t a whole lot of breathing room when you’re trying to be a top-four team out of six. Every game had a lot of weight to it.

Flash forward to 2024 and District 13-6A games will have a ton of weight to them once again.

Tuesday marks the beginning of District 13-6A, the nine-team league consisting of all six Conroe ISD schools, New Caney, Willis and Cleveland.

The Tigers make a short trip to College Park Tuesday night to dig into the meat of the schedule with a week still to go before Thanksgiving is even here.

The date November 19 has been repeated several times by Conroe head coach Tamisha Houston in the past few weeks.

“November 19 – just that date – I’m just not used to starting district so early,” Houston said last Friday. “It’s on my mind heavy because we just started playing three weeks ago. There’s still a lot of things that we still have to work on.”

Conroe is 5-3 entering district play, and it carries momentum off of a 46-30 win over Liberty last Friday night. The Tigers started the year 3-0, ran into some turbulence at the Lady Tigers Classic nearly two weeks ago with a 2-2 record and stalled out at Tomball last Tuesday prior to the Liberty win.

“If I’m being 100 percent honest, I don’t think we’re prepared to start district,” Houston said. “But the good thing about it is that there’s a lot of time for us to make corrections.

One of Conroe’s biggest and brightest leaders in senior Alisa Sneed, the starting point guard and University of Texas softball recruit, felt like eight non-district games might be enough.

“I think we’re ready,” Sneed said. “We just need to get our game together.”

Conroe is seeking its seventh straight playoff appearance. The Tigers took third last year, behind champion Oak Ridge and second-place Grand Oaks while finishing a game ahead of fourth-place The Woodlands.

“If I know one thing about my kids, they’re going to come out and they’re going to compete,” Houston said. “It’s up to me as the coach to put them in the right positions to have success.”

Here’s a look at who Conroe stacks up against this year in the chase for district title and playoff spot:

College Park Cavaliers

Away: November 19
Home: January 15
Outlook: College Park missed the playoffs a year ago with a fifth place finish … The Cavaliers last made the playoffs in 2023 and have made it five times since 2017 … College Park is 4-4 so far this season, but has dropped two straight and four of five after starting 3-0 … The Cavaliers’ most recent win came Nov. 9 against Jersey Village … Katie Westwood is the team’s leading scorer at 9.3 points per game while Brooke Smith averages 6.9 rebounds … The teams split last season with College Park winning the first game 43-22 and Conroe winning the rematch 32-23.

The Woodlands Highlanders

Home: November 22
Away: January 8
Outlook: The Woodlands made the playoffs last year for the second time in three years … The Highlanders went 21-14 overall in 2023-24 with an 11-5 mark and a fourth place finish in District 13-6A last year … The Woodlands has crawled out to a 2-5 start to this season with a loss this past Saturday to Bridgeland … The Highlanders began the year with four straight losses to fellow 6A teams … They start district play Tuesday night at home against Grand Oaks … Last year’s meetings between Conroe and The Woodlands were very competitive … Conroe won 43-40 last November, but the Highlanders won 51-47 in the January rematch.

New Caney Eagles

Home: November 26
Away: January 18
Outlook: New Caney is under the direction of new coach Nakazi Glover this season … The Eagles, who haven’t made the playoffs since their Class 5A days, went 10-23 overall last year with just a 4-12 mark in District 13-6A … It’s been a lean start to this season as well with a 1-7 record through the first couple weeks of the season … The Eagles are allowing over 58 points per game … Their only win so far came against La Marque on Nov. 8 … Since New Caney moved up to Class 6A in 2022, Conroe has won all four meetings … The Tigers won both of last year’s contests by an average of 24.5 points per game.

Oak RIdge War Eagles

Away: December 10
Home: January 24
Outlook: Conroe and Oak Ridge have put on some fierce battle over the years … Coached by former Conroe head coach Deidre Vasquez, the War Eagles have reached the playoffs eight straight seasons … Oak Ridge won the district title last year with a 14-2 record … The War Eagles fell to Westfield in the first round of the playoffs … Oak Ridge is out to a 4-4 start this season with wins in two of its last three games … The War Eagles have a balanced roster with two seniors leading … Oak Ridge has won four straight meetings with Conroe dating back to 2022 … Last year, the War Eagles won the first game 50-48 and the second game 33-27.

Cleveland Indians

Away: December 13
Home: January 11
Outlook: Cleveland has struggled to keep up since moving to Class 6A in 2022 … The Indians went 0-27 last year and haven’t won a game since January of 2023 … Cleveland is off to an 0-3 start this year … Conroe is 4-0 against Cleveland since it moved up to 6A … The Tigers won last year’s games by an average margin of 22 points per game.

Grand Oaks Grizzlies

Home: December 17
Away: January 28
Outlook: Grand Oaks coach Shiakiea Carter always has her team primed and ready to go … The Grizzlies have made the playoffs every season since 2021 … Last year, Grand Oaks finished second in District 13-6A with a 20-15 overall record and 13-3 in league play … Grand Oaks is led by Abilene Christian University signee Bree Riley, who has been the face of the program since her freshman year … Grand Oaks is 6-2 to start his season and will begin district play this week winners of three of its past four games … Grand Oaks reached the area round last year where it fell to Cypress Springs … The Tigers and Grizzlies always seem to put on entertaining games … Last year, Conroe swiped two wins by a combined four points over the Grizzlies.

Willis Wildkats

Away: December 20
Home: January 31
Outlook: Since moving up to Class 6A in 2020, Willis has struggled with a 10-42 mark in District 13-6A games … Last year, Willis went 5-26 overall with a 4-12 mark in district play … The Wildkats are under new coach Carlos Blocker Jr, who has the team 1-3 in the young season … Since 2007, Conroe is 17-1 against Willis … The Tigers won 48-24 and 58-19 over the Wildkats last season … Willis last beat Conroe in 2010.

Caney Creek Panthers

Home: January 4
Away: February 4
Outlook: Second-year coach Saijon Blackwell has the Panthers competing hard … Caney Creek is 2-5 to start the year with three of those losses by five points or less … Caney Creek went 6-23 and 4-12 in district play last year … The Panthers most recent playoff run wasn’t all that long ago in 2021 … Caney Creek has reached the playoffs just three times in program history … Conroe is 4-0 against the Panthers since Caney Creek moved up to Class 6A in 2022 … Last year’s games were won by Conroe by an average margin of 11 points per game.