Conroe girls basketball coach Tamisha Houston leads her team to an improved 2015-2016 season

CONROE, Texas — The Conroe High School varsity girls basketball team faced a rough season last year but are back with a fierce momentum as Head Coach Tamisha Houston leads the Tigerettes toward improvement.

An ACL injury for one of their best players left the team in a rough spot with 8-20 overall and 2-10 district records for their 2014-2015 season. It was Houston’s introductory year to the head coach position at Conroe, and she and the girls set their eyes on getting better. Since the start of their season, they have already accumulated more victories than last year’s total wins.

“Anything after this is a bonus if you compare it to last season,” Houston said. “The girls worked really hard over the summer to improve things that they could do individually to help the team. We’re beginning to communicate more. We’re actually gelling and coming together. A good bulk of our girls that have a lot of varsity experience are now seniors, so they’re now able to lead the way for the younger players.”

Houston said her team places a strong focus in their defensive game, and while they need to work on their shooting and confidence in themselves, the girls’ athleticism puts them in a good spot to be competitive.

“Defense is something that you can always improve on, and if you’re playing a good defense then you’re at least giving yourself a good chance,” Houston said. “We have some very athletic kids here, and a lot of the girls run track as well, so we have a lot of speed. Defense and speed are two things that I feel like we do really, really well.”

District matches start for the Tigerettes at Atascocita High School Friday, December 11. In the meantime, Houston said her team is preparing by discussing specific skills they would like to do well and by getting them to analyze their opponents’ game techniques.

“If it’s something that we want to do well, we work on it as much as much as possible. We do film over it. We discuss it as a team,” Houston said. “I’m also making it to where the girls are giving me scouting reports on certain teams. If ever there’s an opportunity, I ask them, ‘What do you see the other team doing? What do we need to do to be able to stop that?’ I’m almost forcing them to be the coaches on the court and to see the game through my eyes.”

The athletes who compete in 16-6A’s district have been playing sports since they were small children. However, Houston said several of her girls have only been playing since they were in the 7th grade, which can at times put them behind their district opponents, but the girls don’t let this stop them from developing individually and making big contributions to Conroe’s team.

“Sometimes we start out behind some of the other ladies in the district just because they’re playing all the time, but our girls are working hard,” Houston said. “We have girls that are just now starting to play more outside of basketball practice, so they’re beginning to develop their skills and doing things that we can’t always get to in practice. They’re working hard to develop individually, and it will help us as a team.”

Ultimately, Houston said she doesn’t want her girls to get discouraged, no matter what their record is, and in the process of giving their best effort, she hopes her team will change the way people view Conroe girls basketball.

“I’m always talking to the girls and telling them a lot of times when we step on the court a lot of teams are expecting to beat you, and the only ones that can control the outcome is you,” Houston said. “You have to be determined to work everyday in practice and as much as you can out of practice so that when we do step on the court you can change that. It’s just the way it is, and we can’t change other peoples’ perception of us, but the only people we can control is ourselves.”