Brent Kell has coached basketball at Houston High School in his hometown for 30 years, and Saturday was the last time he would oversee the Lady Tigers at a regular season tournament.
But before he retires, his team made sure its efforts in the championship round of the Mansfield Tournament would be memorable.
After back-and-forth play throughout much of the second half, Houston was able to hold off top-seeded Norwood 57-48 to claim the tournament title.
“That’s a tough team…,” Kell said of Norwood. “We were able to penetrate early and get them in foul trouble, and that’s what we set out to do.”
Five Lady Tigers scored in the first quarter to finish it with a key 19-7 lead.
Kell said, “Tonight in the first quarter might have been our best quarter of the year. We really moved the ball well and built a big lead.”
Building onto that lead, Norwood trailed 26-17 at the half.
But the Lady Pirates came alive in the third, and Emily Chadwell shot a trey to tie the game 29-29. Shortly after, Sara McIntosh scored to finally get the lead, 31-29.
Norwood head coach Alan Keeling said, “We got down, but we didn’t give up. They fought their way back, had the ball and had the lead.”
For the majority of the second half, the teams continually took turns at taking the lead.
In the final frame, Norwood got into some foul trouble and the parade at the free-throw line began.
With 30 seconds on the clock, Houston was up 51-48 before Lady Tigers Jaydin Ramsey, Abby Casper and Sarah Kelley went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to pull away to the 57-48 victory.
Overall, Houston shot 19-for-24 from the free-point line.
Keeling said of Norwood, “It seems like we go as a team. If one shoots bad we all shoot bad, and if one shoots hot we all seem to make it.”
He added, “That’s a tough way to go in the championship, but they did fight back and I’ve got to hand that to them.”
Leading the Lady Tigers to the tournament win was junior Abby Casper with a total of 19 points.
“She’s just so quick,” said Kell. “It’s hard to stay in front of her. When she plays that aggressive, we’re pretty good.”
Kell was also quick to compliment Shelby Cremer.
“I’m really proud of our guards. Our senior point guard [Shelby Cremer] maybe had her best game of the year as far as making things happen early on,” Kell said.
Reflecting on his last season as Houston’s head coach, Kell says his team started the year with three goals: win the SCA title, the district championship and at least 20 games.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they reach those,” said Kell. “They’re committed. They’re hard-working. They come in extra early and they stay late. It’s paying off.”
Houston, now 14-4 on the season, will be put to the test on Monday when they host state-ranked Salem in a South Central Association showdown. Both teams are 3-0 in the conference.
Norwood, now 15-3, has a busy schedule ahead as they play four games in six nights this week. To start it off, the Lady Pirates will hit the road to play Hartville on Monday.
“If we get through this little stretch and get some rest and RNR, then hopefully we’ll finish strong,” Keeling said.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Riley Luallin – Conway
• Maci Gray – Mansfield
• Dalrayn Feringa – Licking
• Cherokee McGraw – Norwood
• Sarah Kelley – Houston
• Abby Casper – Houston – MVP
BOX SCORE
| 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F | |
| Houston | 19 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 57 |
| Norwood | 7 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 48 |
Houston: Abby Casper 19, Sarah Kelley 12, Kaitlyn Root 10, Jayden Ramsey 8, Shelby Cremer 6, Emily Shea 2
Norwood: Emily Chadwell 14, Cherokee McGraw 12, Sara McIntosh 8, Emma McIntosh 8, Chloe Craim 3, Marla Chadwell 2, Jenna Ogletree 1
OTHER SCORES FROM SATURDAY
Seventh-place: Mountain Grove 47, Houston JV 42
Consolation: Ava 38, Conway 37
Third-place: Licking 55, Mansfield 42
