Despite a hard-fought effort, the Griswold Tigers fell in the opening round of the Corner Coner Conference Tournament 39-33 to the Sidney Cowgirls Monday night. Griswold’s defense was excellent. Playing a high-pressure style, they consistently forced turnovers all night. At times, Sidney struggled to get across center court. When they controlled play, the Tigers were able to turn that defense into offense. The problem was that the offense wasn’t always on. It was a game of momentum waves as each team had stretches of great play followed by stretches of drought. Unfortunately for Griswold it was Sidney that had the momentum late and rode that push to victory.

The opening quarter was a strong start for Griswold. Although both teams came up empty on their first few possessions, it was Griswold that found the offense first. Four different Tigers got on the scoresheet as Amanda Houser led the way with four points while Carsyn Adams added a three to help build a five-point cushion by the end of the frame. Despite the great start, the momentum flipped in the second quarter. Griswold’s defense was still an issue for the Cowgirls; however, they found a way to be productive, Addyson Foster (who led Sidney with 8 points) had her most productive quarter, draining two from beyond the arc that made a big difference. At the same time, the Griswold offense went quiet. The Tigers scored just one point on a Houser free throw as despite the good defense, Griswold found themselves down 15-12 at the half.

The Tigers didn’t roar out of the gate in the second half, but their defense continued to keep the game within reach, which what the Tigers up for another takeover. Halfway through the third quarter, the Tigers offense started to connect again. The Tigers hit five threes in the second half all of which came in their stretch of control that extended into the early part of the fourth. Adams and Brystol Wyman each had two, as they tied for the game lead in points. However, three minutes into the fourth, the momentum switched again. Similarly to the second quarter, Sidney stepped up at the same time the Griswold offense went dry. The Cowgirls ended the game on an 11-0 run as their size in the paint shown through.

Ultimately, Griswold did a lot of good things, especially on the defensive side of the ball. However, they were unable to consistently produce on offense to reel back in the momentum that Sidney had. Head coach Aaron Houser was pleased with his team’s defensive effort

He was also proud of the fact that Adams’ and Wyman’s work on long range shooting paid off.

However, the difference in the game was the lack of consistent offense but Houser believes this effort can only help the Tigers grow.

Moving forward, he wants to see more of what he saw in this game.

The loss drops Griswold to 5-8 on the season. The Tigers will be back at home on Wednesday when they take on Stanton. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm in Griswold.