HS Girls Basketball: Hot-Blooded Overtime Battle Gives Clutch Performances and Win to Grand Oaks

SPRING, TX -- The Grand Oaks Lady Grizzlies remained unbeaten through district following their win against the visiting Woodlands Lady Highlanders in a ferocious 49-47 overtime contest.

Grand Oaks’ 57-36 win over the Lady Highlanders in November provided ample lessons for both teams to learn from. The real test of the Wednesday night rematch would be a test of who could apply what they learned more effectively.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Grand Oaks Head Coach Shiakiea Carter spoke on what her squad and coaching staff had learned from their first game against the Lady Highlanders.

“It was one of those games where it was just us,” explained Carter. “When we were there, we covered the out of bounds plays well, we pressured the ball quite a bit. It was just trying to find ways to plug the holes on our end.”

Even with experience against one another, both teams' slow starts got the rematch going with few points being tallied.

The opening three minutes of play saw four combined points as the offenses tried to get in stride early.

The intense, high-pressure defense that has defined The Woodlands got into the faces of Lady Grizzly ballhandlers, making passes and shot attempts difficult every step. Meanwhile, face guarding in a switching man-to-man defense allowed Grand Oaks to keep the game at a 2-2 tie.

But, the confident shooters on Grand Oaks started to come alive midway through the quarter to ignite a significant scoring run.

Back-to-back possessions from the Lady Grizzlies ended in baskets for Bree Riley. Her impressive skills with the ball overcame the relentless pressure from The Woodlands to kickstart an 8-0 run for the home team.

In comparison, the Lady Highlanders were starved for opportunities when it came to their possessions. Back door cuts and skip passes put players into the right positions for looks, but misses and no offensive boards kept the Lady Highlanders as a one-and-done offense.

“It was a big factor, that’s how we definitely want to set the tone,” said Carter on her team’s defensive play. “One-and-done possessions allowed us to get down and score, so that’s where the staggering was and where the separation came from.”

A handful of free throws in the bonus was the last meaningful push from The Woodlands before the end of the quarter. But without points in bulk, the hopeful underdogs found themselves in a 13-5 deficit against the district’s best.

Fortunately for The Woodlands, another slow-scoring open to a quarter allowed the team time to methodically eat at the almost 10-point deficit.

More fouls committed by the Lady Grizzlies repeatedly put Lady Highlander shooters at the free-throw line. These occasional points worked in tandem with a lengthy scoring slump from Grand Oaks to bring the lead down to two possessions.

Grand Oaks needed to solve their offensive issues or risk losing their control of the game.

“I think the thing was we got into a little bit of foul trouble,” said Carter. “Bree had to come to the bench, so we’re looking for someone else to control the tempo and things of that nature.”

A spark came for the Lady Grizzlies in the form of a Riley late three that gave her a team-leading five points in the second quarter.

With Riley’s three, Grand Oaks managed to push through the adverse quarter to bring the game back to an eight-point contest heading into the halftime break.

“We just challended them,” said Carter discussing halftime. “There are moments where they have to understand and see the key types of plays because I’m sometimes on the other end of the floor and can’t get it too them.”

Energy and passion were at the forefront of Grand Oaks’ attack to start the second half, embodied by a Riley drive to the basket through multiple defenders for a layup. The make signaled another productive eight minutes for the Lady Grizzly star but also stretched the lead to its highest point.

But, the ceaseless fight from the Lady Highlanders fed on the team running into the open floor regardless of a Grand Oaks make. Outlet passes and fast dribbling immediately erased the double-digit lead to make the game a two-possession battle.

Grand Oaks did find offensive production to keep the lead intact, but responding plays and strategizing from The Woodlands kept the game in a perpetual tug of war on the scoreboard.

Adding to the tension was an Aiden Pino three that secured a third-quarter victory for the visiting Lady Highlanders.

The 32-27 lead still hung at the two-possession lead that Grand Oaks had been fostering most of the quarter, but it was in increasing jeopardy with one quarter remaining.

“There were times where it was hard to score and we didn’t know where it would come from,” said Carter. “[The Woodlands] were playing aggressive defense and everything we tried to do they’d counter.”

With palpable momentum on the side of The Woodlands, the fragile lead had to be extended in the opening minutes of the fourth to prevent any more strides toward the hopeful comeback from being taken.

Unphased by the intensity of the moment, the five-point lead evaporated on the shoulders of a 7-0 run carried over from the third quarter.

The Lady Highlander push brought the team’s deficit down to one, putting even more pressure on the district leaders to figure out a way to stop the green and red wave.

With the game in the air and a spark needed to resecure the momentum, Riley stepped up and took over the Grand Oaks offense. Hard-fought shots near the rim, highlight-reel handles to find space, and pull-up shots all worked to push the rebuild Grand Oaks’ control during crunch time.

“She impresses me all the time,” said Carter in praise of her star guard. “Her facial expressions don’t change so sometimes I’m not sure what she’s thinking. But Bree is a gamer. She loves the game and she plays it with passion.”

A 41-37 Grand Oaks lead was enough to give the squad some of their previous control, but nearly two minutes of game remaining presented a challenge of burning the clock without surrendering scores to the Lady Highlanders.

Turnovers committed by the Lady Grizzlies made the challenge even more difficult by surrendering the ball back to the antsy Woodlands players.

Without production from their offense, Grand Oaks saw the Lady Highlanders claw through the adversity to earn a chance at tying the game. Intense focus from the free-throw line secured the tie at 41 apiece with only 20 seconds left.

A miss on the following Grand Oaks possession gave The Woodlands its long-awaited chance at securing the win with the ball and ten seconds left on the clock.

But meandering dribbles and a rushed shot from behind the arch left the Lady Highlanders settling for a shot at overtime. The 41-41 battle would be settled in a final four-minute period with everything on the line.

“I don’t know what the team was thinking because their looks were like they were in the zone,” said Carter. “They just looked ready. I saw no fear in them understanding what was at stake.”

The Woodlands’ relentless push towards claiming their first lead came in the first minute of overtime. Another layup in transition snagged the first Lady Highlander lead of the game at 43-41, but the talented Lady Grizzlies were not going to lay down in defeat.

Clutch free throws from Riley tied the game back up at 43 apiece before an ear-shattering steal and layup for Grand Oaks led to a recapturing of the lead.

These contributions from multiple Lady Grizzlies eventually led to a 5-0 run that pushed the score back to a three-point Grand Oaks lead with under two minutes left.

A pair of clutch Lady Highlander free throws ratcheted up the tension by making the game a one-point affair, but the reliance on defensive pressure left holes for the Lady Grizzlies to expose.

Triple-team Riley at the top of the key looked promising initially, but a dump pass inside found an open shooter for a layup to go back up by three.

A layup from the Lady Highlanders would have been another large shift in control were it not for more clutch free throws from Riley. The guard’s late contributions were monumental in closing the door on the intense contest, ending in a 49-47 Grand Oaks win to keep the unbeaten streak alive.

“It was great basketball on both sides,” said Carter. “The main points were us keeping our composure and understanding what’s important. If you’re up, try to get to the basket or keep the ball away. We stayed disciplined and did the necessary things you need to do at the end of a ball game.”

Grand Oaks’ win puts the team at 10-0 in district play with a light opponent ahead of them in the form of the winless Cleveland Lady Indians.

Despite the loss, the path to the playoffs is still ahead of the Lady Highlanders. Their next opponent is a team low in the standings, with the Willis Ladykats set to visit The Woodlands on Saturday.