HS Girls Basketball: Hard-Fought Brawl of a Game Leaves Grand Oaks as Winners

CONROE, TX -- The Grand Oaks Lady Grizzlies exited the home of the Conroe Lady Tigers with a 45-43 win that came down to the wire on Tuesday.

With tonight’s game and one more before the winter break, both teams were looking to end the early run through district play with positive momentum.

In an interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Grand Oaks Head Coach Shiakiea Carter explained the importance of winning against the Lady Tigers to keep the positive strides coming.

“It's all about getting positive momentum,” said Carter. “We just really want to build off it. Every day is the same, you approach everyone the same. We feel like everyone is tough, and that’s how we come into every game.”

The first quarter saw both teams feel one another out in a heavily defensive opening eight minutes. Points were few and far between, with most shots falling short of the mark save for inside looks.

Even a pair of 5-0 runs split between Conroe and Grand Oaks were not enough to break through the low-scoring stranglehold.

Three lead changes and two ties further demonstrated the tension of the first quarter, but an eventual 6-0 run from the Lady Grizzlies pushed the team into double digits seconds before the end of the quarter.

Conroe did snag a bucket before the buzzer, leaving Grand Oaks clinging to a thin 11-9 margin.

“Physicality, period,” emphasized Carter on the team’s first-quarter issues. “You can do all the prepping you want, but once you get here and start to feel it and understand it, it’s not as easy as it seems.”

Grand Oaks’ margin was wiped away within seconds of the second quarter starting due to the Lady Tigers' continued control of the offensive rebounds. Each second-chance opportunity gave Conroe an easier shot to tie the delicate game.

Luckily for the Lady Grizzlies, defense in the open floor and tipped passes gave them looks running in transition. These fastbreaks were key in recapturing some of Grand Oaks’ control by building the lead to six, the highest of the game.

Conroe’s turnovers continued to pile up, affording more layups in transition for the fast Lady Grizzlies.

“Those [turnovers] were very important because that was the game plan,” said Carter. “Not letting passes be easy, making sure that when the ball is away you’re in help and in help right away. We aren’t going to guess about it, we’re going to go and do it.”

Adding to Grand Oaks’ control of the second quarter was revamped rebounding on the defensive end. The offensive boards had kept Conroe afloat for most of the first half, but their offense was nearly nullified without them.

The Lady Tigers were forced to rely on their sparse free throws and meaningful possessions to fight their way back on the scoreboard. Conroe managed to string these points and multiple stops against Grand Oaks into an 8-0 run that left the Lady Tigers in control.

Conroe’s 21-19 lead was fragile, but time to adjust in the locker rooms during halftime provided both squads a chance to adjust their game for a strong second half.

“I told our girls to lock in because it’s all about heart at that time,” said Carter during halftime. “Sometimes the x’s and o’s can go out of the window. So now, as a team, how do we do this together? That was my challenge to them.”

The focus for the Lady Tigers stayed much the same, with their offensive rebounding maintaining the team’s half-ending run to a 14-0 peak. The eight-point lead was the largest of the game for either team and drove home the impressive size advantage Conroe possessed.

Grand Oaks did cut the lead back to four, but Conroe’s rampaging offense was unstoppable by the Lady Grizzly defenders. Skip passes and cuts to the inside freed up shooters in the lane for easy points off the glass.

It took a concentrated effort of full-court pressing and a wave of points from Bree Riley to force the fifth tie of the game at 29 points apiece.

Continued relentless pressure from the Lady Grizzlies worked in tandem with the 11 points posted in the quarter by Riley to swing the score back in Grand Oaks’ favor for the first time since late in the second quarter.

“It’s what we needed and it’s what had to have,” said Carter. “[Riley] wants it and she understands it. It looks like her facial expression doesn’t change, but she works really hard for. She rarely asks for the ball, we put the ball in her hands and it goes from there.”

Fouls committed by Grand Oaks did erase some of their control, but their revived offense was just enough to secure a lead with the fourth quarter ahead. A make at the buzzer pushed the edge slightly, but a 38-31 would need to be defended and built on if the Lady Grizzlies hoped to leave with a win.

Conroe needed to take strides on their possessions if they hoped to claw back into a potential tie, but their inability to consistently break the Grand Oaks press kept the Lady Tigers playing behind for most of the fourth quarter.

What few possessions did break through for Conroe were often left empty due to misses from outside the key. These misses kept the defensive hold intact for the Lady Grizzlies, who added a pair of makes on their end to keep the score up.

But as the well started to dry up for Grand Oaks, the Lady Tigers nailed three threes to ratchet the tension higher while cutting the lead down to just two. These makes from behind the arch by Riley Gross were monumental in bringing the mostly two-point-heavy Conroe offense alive with just two minutes remaining.

Conroe’s offensive success parlayed into back-to-back stops by the Lady Tigers on defense, giving multiple chances to tie the game with time running out. Authoritative ball handling and an and-one reverse layup from Alyssa Sneed did the job with 59 seconds left.

The future Longhorn’s make paid off Conroe’s late surge by swinging a 43-42 lead in their favor, but it was a small victory. A foul on the following inbound by Sneed sent her out of the game while giving a pair of free throws to the red-hot Bree Riley.

Sneed’s offensive drives were the most reliable way for the Lady Tigers to break the Grand Oaks press. Without her, Conroe would need to workshop a remedy quickly.

With fans and cheerleaders bearing down on her, Riley sank both shots with confidence to give Grand Oaks a 44-43 lead. The clutch shots gave a glimmer of hope, but more defensive stops would need to be made for the Lady Grizzlies to escape.

A pass inside looked open, but a tip and a swarm of orange shirts gave the ball back to Grand Oaks for their hard-fought win.

“It was will and determination,” said Carter on what fueled her team in the closing moments. “My assistant coaches are great. They keep their heads steady and focused on what we need to do.”

The 45-43 victory in hostile territory provides some mojo for Grand Oaks, but an important rivalry matchup against Oak Ridge on Friday will be the final test before the winter break.

“The mentality is just the same,” said Carter. “Let’s prepare for everyone by watching our film and seeing what they’re going to give us. A lot of the teams this year are different so we may have to switch things up.”

The tipoff for the Battle of the Oaks is set for 2:30 on Friday at Grand Oaks High School. Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers will hit the road for their final pre-break game against Willis at 2:30.