Christmas has come and gone. A 2025 New Year’s celebration is on the horizon late Tuesday evening into Wednesday. The Conroe Tigers jump into the stretch run of District 13-6A Saturday afternoon.
Off of a 14-day break, the Tigers get back to action with a 12:30 p.m. home contest against Caney Creek, which wraps up the first round of district play.
When we last saw Conroe (10-8, 3-4), it topped Willis 44-32 on the road on Dec. 20.
It was a much-needed win as the Tigers needed a positive outcome after dropping a close game to state-ranked Grand Oaks on Dec. 17 and they didn’t want another loss to linger during the holidays.
As the 2024 calendar wrapped, the Tigers saw quality production out of junior forward Riley Gross. Against Grand Oaks, Gross knocked down three 3-pointers and had a double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds. Gross then totaled a team-high 10 points in the win against Willis, her third consecutive double-digit outing.
With the collection of big games, Gross now leads Conroe in scoring average at 9.2 points per game.
When Saturday’s game tips, Conroe will be looking to do something it hasn’t accomplished in district play. Consecutive wins.
The Panthers (5-14, 2-5) are a good opportunity there, but can’t be overlooked as they won two of three coming in. Caney Creek beat New Caney on Dec. 20, 50-27.
A key threshold for Caney Creek is the 50-point mark, a plateau it has reached in four out of five wins. In district losses, however, the Panthers have been held to 28.8 points per game.
Since Caney Creek moved up to Class 6A in 2022, Conroe is 4-0 against the Panthers.
Last year in November’s 46-34 win, Alisa Sneed had a game-high 16 points while also swiping four steals. In the January rematch, the Tigers won 44-23 as Sneed and Taylor Smith each scored 13 points. Sheed added six more steals while Smith had six rebounds.
Sneed is averaging just over 7 points per game for the Tigers this season while Smith just over 6 per game.
Caney Creek is just one win away from matching last year’s total. The Panthers haven’t made the playoffs since 2021 when they were in 5A.
Conroe junior Anastacha McGowen (4) dribbles the ball against Grand Oaks back on Dec. 17. (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)
