Highlassies come up short at TVCC tournament

The McLennan Highlassies dropped their opening game of the Budke/Serna Classic, hosted by Trinity Valley Community College, to the Tallahassee (Florida) Eagles 101-63 Friday afternoon in Athens.

The game was close through three quarters of play. Tallahassee held a 10-point lead after the first quarter, 23-13, and led by 11 at halftime 39-28. The Highlassies hung with the Eagles in the third quarter, with Tallahassee holding the 65-53 lead heading into the final period. The Eagles took control in the early minutes of the final period and McLennan was unable to recover.

Patrickia Daily led the Highlassies with 12 points and Dariel Johnson added 11. 

On Saturday, the Highlassies fell to second-ranked Trinity Valley, 102-57.

McLennan was plagued with turnovers at the beginning of the game, allowing Trinity Valley to start on a 9-0 run. The Lady Cards held the 15-2 lead midway through the first quarter. The Highlassies found their groove and trimmed the lead to 10, 19-9, with 3:39 to play in the first. Trinity Valley led 26-15 heading into the second quarter. McLennan struggled offensively in the second, allowing Trinity Valley to stretch its lead to 53-23 at halftime.

The Lady Cards continued to increase their lead in the third quarter and led 75-38 going into the final 10 minutes of play. The Highlassies performed better offensively in the fourth quarter but the deficit was too much to overcome. 

Velma Mitchell led the Highlassies with 21 points and Dariel Johnson added 10.

Tallahassee 101, McLennan 63
McLennan: Patrickia Daily 4 2-4 12; Dariel Johnson 4 1-3 11; Jordan Mullins 2 1-1 5; Velma Mitchell 1 0-2 2; Ashley Smith 0 0-0 0; Jaylonn Walker 0 3-4 3; Chelsi Woodard 2 0-0 4; LaMycia Hamilton 0 0-0 0; Nadia Hayes 3 3-4 9; Ashley Moore 1 0-0 2; Desirae Devine 4 0-0 8; Mirackle Sallie 3 2-2 8; Totals: 24 12-22 63.

Tallahassee: Janessa Murphy 8 2-3 19; Rosanna Jenje 3 0-0 7; Emani Clough 8 0-0 18; Jas Hill 6 11-14 25; Aryn Tarver 0 0-0 0; Japonica James 1 4-10 6; Lawriell Wilson 4 0-0 10; Lindsay John 3 2-2 9; Shaigna Wentz 2 0-0 4; Kiara Gaines 0 1-2 1; Sina Ulbe 0 0-0 0; Totals 35 20-31 101.

3-pointers: McLennan 4 (Daily 2, Johnson 2), Tallahassee 9 (Clough 2, Hill 2, Wilson 2, Murphy 1, Jenje 1, John 1); Total fouls: McLennan 26, Tallahassee 24; Fouled out: McLennan (Johnson, Moore, Sallie); Halftime score: Tallahassee 39, McLennan 28; Record: McLennan 3-6.

Trinity Valley 102, McLennan 57
McLennan: Patrickia Daily 0 0-0 0; Dariel Johnson 4 1-2 10; Jordan Mullins 0 2-2 2; Velma Mitchell 7 4-4 21; Ashley Smith 1 1-2 3; Jaylonn Walker 1 0-0 3; Nadia Hayes 2 1-4 5; Ashley Moore 1 0-0 2; Desirae Devine 1 0-0 2; Mirackle Sallie 2 5-10 9; Totals:19 14-24 57.

Trinity Valley: Angel Johnson 2 0-0 5; Chrisalah Lyons 2 0-0 4; Ashley Murray 2 1-4 5; Naomi Davenport 6 2-2 18; Shakeela Fowler 4 2-2 10; Malaysia McHenry 5 2-2 12; Monique Mills 1 0-0 3; Dominique Mills 2 1-1 5; Leah Mathis 5 1-2 14; Jordan Alexander 2 3-3 7; Rainey Kuykendall 3 0-0 6; Dajah Daniel 6 1-1 13; Totals: 40 13-17 102.

3-pointers: McLennan 5 (Mitchell 3, Walker 1, Johnson 1), Trinity Valley 9 (Davenport 4, Mathis 3, Johnson 1, M. Mills 1); Total fouls: McLennan 17, Trinity Valley 22; Halftime score: Trinity Valley 53, McLennan 23; Record: McLennan 3-7.