Highlassies fall in overtime thriller

It was an epic battle between the McLennan Highlassies and Collin Lady Cougars at The Highlands with Collin coming away with the 107-103 double overtime win.
 
It appeared that the Lady Cougars would control the game early on as the built a seven-point lead at 13-6 with 4:46 to play in the first quarter. The Highlassies battled past some early turnovers and five points from Brielle Dorsey to pull within two, 13-11. Collin led 20-15 with 1:43 to play in first. A pair of 3-pointers from Mersadez Nephew and Raija Todd put McLennan on top after one quarter of play, 21-20.
 
Todd opened the second with a pair of 3-pointers, one from the top of the key and the other from the elbow, to extend the McLennan lead to seven, 27-20. Collin rallied midway through the period to cut the Highlassies' lead to one, and McLennan led 41-40 at the half.
 
The Highlassies continued to push the tempo in the third quarter, extending the lead to eight, 54-46. Collin pulled within three at 54-51 but McLennan pulled away. The Highlassies led 60-55 with 2:31 to play in the period. A 3-pointer and ensuing free throw by Nephew gave McLennan its largest lead of the quarter, 64-55. The Lady Cougars ended the frame on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to four, 64-60.
 
McLennan continued to lead by four, 66-62, with 9:14 remaining in the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Ahlura Lofton and Mele Kailahi gave the Highlassies the first double-digit lead of the contest, 72-62. Collin wasn't backing down and rallied to tie the game at 76 with 2:24 to play. Drives and buckets by Lofton and Kailahi put McLennan up by four with a minute to play, 80-76. Dugan went 1-2 from the free throw line for Collin to cut the lead to three, 80-77, with 50.3 seconds on the clock, and a three-point play by Tamia Miller tied the game at 80 with 29.94 to go. McLennan had the ball, inbounding under its own goal with 0.93 seconds on the clock. After a pair of timeouts, one for each team, Nephew's shot missed the iron and sent the game to overtime.
 
Momentum seemed to be on Collin's side in the extra period. The Lady Cougars led 87-82 with 2:40 to go. A jumper by McKenzie Piper and 3-pointer from the elbow by Kailahi tied the game at 87 with 1:10 on the clock. Collin led 92-90 with 5.19 seconds to go. McLennan's Miannah Little was fouled on a layup with 0.2 seconds on the clock. Little drained both free throws to tie the game at 92 and force a second overtime.
 
With 1:48 to go in the second overtime period, the teams were tied at 98. Dugan and Emilie Ravn each hit a pair of free throws to put Collin up by four, 102-98, with 1:12 to go. A Nephew 3-pointer from the sideline pulled McLennan within one, 102-101. Dugan added a free throw with 39.7 on the clock to extend the Collin lead to two and a pair of free throws from Ravn extended it to four, 105-101. Jaidyn Fontenette's driving layup put McLennan within two 105-103 with 14.18 to play. Haley Jones added a pair of free throws for Collin with 12.98 seconds to play and the Highlassies couldn't make another comeback.
 
Nephew led McLennan with 28 points and Kailahi added 25. Little and Rodd scored 15 and 12, respectively.

Collin: Talynne Buckmon 2 3-4 9; Jazlin S. Jones 3 0-0 6; Peyton Rush 2 0-0 5; Skye Dugan 7 8-11 23;Emilie Ravn 4 7-8 19; Haley Jones 7 7-8 21; Tamia Miller 11 2-3 24; Kia Crawford 0 0-0 0; Totals: 36 27-37 107.

McLennan: Raija Todd 4 0-0 12; Miannah Little4 6-7 15; Jaidyn Fontenette 1 1-1 3; Ahlura Lofton3 0-0 8; McKenzie Piper 2 0-0 4; Mele Kailahi 8 4-7 25; Mersadez Nephew 11 3-5 28; Judith Moya 0 0-0 0; Brielle Dorsey 3 0-0 6; Marquise Nelson 1 0-0 2; Totals: 37 14-21 103.
 
3-pointers: Collin 8 (Ravn 4, Buckmon 2, Rush 1, Dugan 1), McLennan 15 (Kailahi 5, Todd 4, Nephew 3, Lofton 2, Little 1); Total fouls: Collin 21, McLennan 31; Fouled out: McLennan (Nephew, Lofton); Halftime score: McLennan 41, Collin 40; Record: McLennan 5-7 (4-4).