The McLennan Highlassies remain undefeated in conference play with a 74-61 win over the Hill Lady Rebels at The Highlands.
McLennan opened the game on a 7-0 run. Hill responded with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game with 7:33 to play in the first quarter. The Highlassies led 11-8 with seven minutes on the clock. The Lady Rebels used another 7-0 run to take the 15-11 lead with four minutes to go. The game was tied at 18 at the end of the first. Hill pulled away in the second, opening the quarter on a 5-0 run and taking the 34-27 advantage into the break.
McLennan rallied in the third, tying the game at 37 with 5:22 to play in the quarter. The two teams traded baskets for the next two minutes. With the game tied at 41, the Highlassies used another 7-0 run to take the 48-41 lead and led 48-43 at the end of the quarter. McLennan took the first double-digit lead of the game at 57-47 with just under eight minutes to play in the game and led by as many as 13 down the stretch.
Caylinne Martin led the Highlassies with 22 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Tayla Taylor added 16. Ariana Sanders and Dariel Johnson scored 12 and 11, respectively. Martin and Taylor pulled down 12 rebounds each to record double doubles.
In men's action, the Highlanders defeated the Rebels 88-84 in a game that came down to the final seconds.
Hill began the game on an 8-0 run. McLennan rallied to tie the game at 10 with 13:48 remaining in the first half. The Rebels pulled away midway through the half, leading by nine, 24-15. The Highlanders chipped away and tied the game at 31 on a Jerami Grace free throw with 4:41 to play in the first half. Hill increased the lead back to seven, 42-35, with just over a minute before the break but the Highlanders ended the half on a 4-0 run to trim the lead to three, 42-39.
McLennan tied the game on a Shannon Bogues 3-pointer less than a minute into the second half. The Highlanders took the lead less than 30 seconds later and extended the lead to seven, 53-46, with 16 minutes remaining in the game. Hill led by four, 70-66, with 8:42 to play. McLennan used an 8-0 run over to take the 74-70 lead with 6:09 to go. Hill regained the lead and led 84-83 with 47 seconds left. Aundre Jackson gave McLennan the lead, 85-84, on a rebound and put back with 21 seconds to play. Ben Nakwassah drained two free throws with 10 seconds to go to put the Highlanders up by three and Jackson added a free throw at the 5 second mark to seal the win.
Grace led the Highlanders with 22 points and Jackson added 21. Shannon Bogues and Fred Jackson scored 13 and 10, respectively.
McLennan 74, Hill 62
Hill: Ljiljana Kiklic 2 2-2 6; Armani Allen 1 0-0 2; Kynese Davis 4 2-6 12; Chelsea Adams 4 4-4 12; Mackenzie Tucker 4 2-2 10; Kaylee McConnell 2 1-2 5; Lexi Burns 3 2-2 11; Faith Dimerson 2 0-0 4; Totals: 23 13-18 62.
McLennan: Kiana Martin 1 4-4 7; Kyera Coleman 1 0-0 3; Dariel Johnson 3 3-4 11; Diamond Ervin 1 0-0 3; Ariana Sanders 4 3-4 12; Tayla Taylor 8 0-0 16; Caylinne Martin 10 2-2 22; Totals: 27 12-14 74.
3-pointers: Hill 5 (Burns 3, Davis 2), McLennan 6 (Johnson 2, K. Martin 1, Coleman 1, Ervin 1, Sanders 1); Total fouls: Hill 21, McLennan 16; Fouled out: Hill (McConnell); Halftime score: Hill 34, McLennan 27; Record: McLennan 8-10 (3-0).
McLennan 88, Hill 84
Hill: Brandon Jones 2 3-9 8; Devocio Butler 2 1-1 18; Christian Bambrook 2 0-0 5; Edric Dennis 4 0-0 12; Gabe McKinstry 0 1-2 1; Joey Frenchwood 5 1-3 13; Simpson Anderson 6 0-0 15; Mike Mayhew 4 0-0 12; Totals: 31 6-15 84.
McLennan: Ben Nakwaasah 0 2-2 2; K.J. Boyd 2 0-0 4; Jerami Grace 7 4-5 22; Kaelen Malone 0 2-2 2; Shannon Bogues 6 0-1 13; Brian Long 2 0-0 4; Aundre Jackson 8 5-7 21; Jalyn McKoy 0 1-2 1; Zach Charles 1 7-8 9; Fred Jackson 4 2-2 10; Totals: 30 23-29 88.
3-pointers: Hill 16 (Dennis 4, Mayhew 4, Anderson 3, Frenchwood 2, Jones 1, Butler 1, Bambrook 1), McLennan 5 (Grace 4, Bogues 1); Total fouls: Hill 21, McLennan 15; Halftime score: Hill 42, McLennan 39; Record: McLennan 18-3 (2-1).
