The 11th-ranked McLennan Highlassies fell to the South Plains Lady Texans 69-67 in double overtime tonight in the semifinal round of the Region V Tournament.
South Plains began the scoring with a pair of Celia Sumbane free throws on its first possession. McLennan responded with a Miannah Little jumper to tied the game. A Jennifer Silva 3-pointer from the top of the key put the Lady Texans on top and they led by five at 11-6 with 3:57 to go in the first. The Highlassies used a 6-2 run to pull within one but Vitoria Carvalho added a basket for South Plains in the final 30 seconds to make it a 15-12 Lady Texan lead after the first quarter.
The Lady Texans opened the second with a 5-0 run by Sumbane to push the lead to eight, the largest lead of the game, 20-12. A 3-point play by Jadyn Bullard followed by a floater by Little cut the lead back to three, 20-17. South Plains led by five, 22-17 with 6:16 to go in the quarter. Bullard added a bucket to cut it back to three. That's when Little step up her game and took control, ending the quarter on a 10-2 run all on her own to put McLennan up 29-24 at halftime.
Bineta Diatta added a layup for McLennan to open the third and make it a seven-point came at 31-24. South Plains followed with a 12-0 run to take the 36-31 lead with 3:30 to go in the third quarter. The Highlassies responded with an 8-2 run highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers by Saneea Bevley to take the 39-38 lead with 1:40 to go in the quarter. The teams traded baskets with South Plains holding the 44-43 lead going to the fourth.
It was a tight game throughout the final period. South Plains led by four, 52-48 with 3:58 remaining in the game. A Diatta bucket in the paint and a pair of Little free throws tied the game at 52 with two minutes to play. Diatta gave McLennan the 53-52 lead with 30.6 seconds to play, going 1-2 from the free throw line. South Plains advanced the ball following a 30-second timeout. Daiysha Brown went 1-2 from the line for the Lady Texans with 15.0 to go to tie the game at 53. A tie ball on the rebound gave South Plains the possession under its own basket. The Lady Texans couldn't get a shot off, forcing the overtime period.
The teams traded the lead in the first extra period and the game was tied at 58 with 2:08 to go in overtime. McLennan took the two-point lead at 60-58 on a Little bucket with 1:42 on the clock. Victoria Carvalho's shot from the lane tied the game at 60 with 3.49 seconds to go. The Highlassies called timeout and advanced the ball but couldn't get the shot to fall, forcing the double overtime.
In the second overtime period, a Carvalho bucket gave the Lady Texans the early lead. Bevley then went 4-4 from the line to put McLennan on top before Brown hit a pair for South Plains to tie the game at 64. Bevley found a wide-open 3-pointer with 1:22 on the clock. Matilda Soderlund hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game and Brown added a layup following a steal to put South Plains up 19 seconds on the clock, 69-67. McLennan got off a couple shots in the final seconds but it wasn't meant to be.
Miannah Little led McLennan with 27 points and Saneea Bevley added 19.
South Plains: Celia Sumbane 5 10-11 20; Dabria Blackwell 0 0-0 0; Matilda Soderlund 1 0-2 3; Vitoria Carvalho 7 2-3 16; Martyna Czescik 1 0-0 3; Daiysha Brown 6 4-9 16; Jennifer Silva 4 0-0 9; Isabella Jaramillo 1 0-2 2; Totals: 25 16-27 69.
McLennan: Aysia Ward 0 0-0 0; Chelsea Wooten 1 1-2 3; Miannah Little 9 9-10 27;
Saneea Bevley 4 7-8 19; Jaydyn Bullard 3 1-1 7; Bineta Diatta 2 4-6 8; Aniya Williams 1 1-2 3; Aaliyah Holmes 0 0-0 0; Bailee St. Romain 0 0-0 0; Totals: 20 23-29 67.
3-pointers: South Plains . (Soderlund 1, Czeschik 1, Silva 1); McLennan 4 (Bevley 4);
Total fouls: South Plains 24, McLennan 19; Fouled out: Sumbane (South Plains), Diatta (McLennan), Blackwell (South Plains); Halftime score: McLennan 29, South Plains 24; Record: McLennan 27-4 (14-2).
