Throughout the Tomball Lady Cougars playoff run, they barreled their way through opponents with strong defense and a meticulous offense. In the regional championship game Feb. 22, Tomball ran into an opponent with a stifling defense to match and fell just short of the 4A Final Four, falling to top-ranked Georgetown 41-30.
The disappointing loss came one game after a thrilling win over Pflugerville Connally Feb. 21, in the regional semifinals.
Facing a team that likes to run up and down the court, the Lady Cougars took their ball control offense to another level in that contest, defeating Connally 45-40. Tomball raced to a big lead, before going ice cold in the third quarter.
The Lady Cougars found themselves down 30-28 in the final period, when Alayna Waters made a layup while getting fouled. Waters made the free throw, giving Tomball back the lead, one they wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the game.
After the hard fought victory, the Lady Cougars faced a daunting challenge in the regional championship game, as their opponent would be the top-ranked Georgetown Lady Eagles.
Georgetown raced to an 8-0 lead en route to a 13 point halftime lead.
Tomball coach Karen Lemker told her team at halftime that mistakes caused the early deficit and that if they played better in the second half they could still make it a game.
The Lady Cougars closed the gap to six with about three minutes to play, but the Lady Eagles were able to hit clutch free throws down the stretch, in pulling away for a 41-30 victory.
Carissa Diaz led Tomball with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Lexe Mark added seven points.
The loss ended the most successful run for the Lady Cougars (30-7) since 1994, which was Tomball's last appearance at state.
