Lady Oilers win Gold Division of McDonald's Texas Invitational


PEARLAND — The Pearland Lady Oilers are continuing where they left off last year after advancing to the Class 6A Region III finals.

Last season, Pearland made their first regional championship game appearance since 1991 under first-year head coach Jere' Adams, who guided the program to its 11th consecutive playoff berth.

The Lady Oilers ended last season as District 23-6A co-champions with Shadow Creek and are the favorite to capture the crown this year.

Coach Adams has put her stamp on this team from the beginning and the Lady Oilers are currently ranked No.6 in the state with a 12-1 record.

Pearland beat Summer Creek (10-1) to avenge an earlier 50-47 overtime loss to the Lady Bulldogs the previous week. Summer Creek beat Pearland last year as the Region III representative to advance to the Class 6A state basketball tournament.

The Lady Oilers beat Cibolo Steele (52-33), Cy-Fair (40-24), San Antonio Johnson (47-45), Converse Judson (54-52), and Summer Creek (46-39) for the McDonald's Texas Invitational title.

In the championship game, Pearland was led on offense by senior Rylee Grays (17 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals), junior Nyah Hardy (13 points, 4 rebounds), and senior Janae Tucker (8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) to get the 46-39 victory.

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TOURNAMENT MVP - Pearland junior LaNiah Thornton captured the Most Valuable Player trophy at the McDonald's Texas Invitational this past weekend in Pasadena.

She led the Oilers to five victories, averaging a team-high 13 points and making several crucial 3-pointers in each game as Pearland improved its record to 12-1.