The No. 2 McLennan women's basketball squad defeated No. 2 Collin 70-69 in an overtime thriller this afternoon at The Highlands.
The game was scoreless for the first two minutes of play as both teams saw multiple shots bounce off the iron. Aniya Williams began the scoring with a pair of free throws for McLennan. Collin took the lead with a Waiata Jennings 3-pointer from the corner and added a Kennadi Archibald runner to lead 5-2 with 7:15 to go in the first quarter. A 6-0 McLennan run, including an and-one play by Jalayah Ingram, made it a three-point McLennan lead at the media timeout, 8-5. Collin came out of the timeout on a 5-0 run to take the 10-8 lead with 2:28 to play in the first. The teams traded the lead, and the game was tied at 12 going into the second period.
Collin built a four-point lead midway through the second, 20-16, behind strong shooting from Mackenzie Buss who scored the first eight points for the Lady Cougars in the period. Collin pushed the lead to seven late in the quarter but a Niyah Johnson put back for McLennan with 23 seconds remaining made it a 29-25 Collin lead at the break.
McLennan emerged from the locker room ready to play, opening on an 8-2 run, and took the 32-30 lead with a Johnson jumper with 7:13 to play in the third. A pair of Buss free throws and basket by Jennings put Collin back up by two at the media timeout, 34-32. Collin pushed the lead to four, 38-34, before McLennan began to rally. A 7-0 run highlighted by a nothing-but-net 3- pointer from Mersadez Nephew from the elbow made it a 41-38 McLennan lead with one minute to go in the third. Buss added a bucket and a pair of free throws to give Collin the one-point lead going to the final quarter, 42-41.
Ingram drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key for McLennan to start the fourth, 44-42, and McLennan would lead 48-46 with 7:03 remaining in the game. Collin responded with a 6-0 run to go up by four with 4:24 to play. The Lady Cougars still led by four, 54-50 with 3:27 on the clock. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Nephew and Ingram swung the momentum and the lead to McLennan, 56-54 with two minutes to go. A Jennings bucket from the lane for Collin tied the game at 56 with 49 seconds to play. Both teams had a chance to get the victory in the final seconds but the game went to overtime.
McLennan opened the extra frame on a 5-0 run to lead 61-56. Collin rallied to pull within one 63-62 but another Nephew 3-pointer pushed the lead back to four, 66-62 with two minutes to go. Once again Collin rallied and cut the lead to one, 68-67, on a layup by Alisha Nunley with 58 seconds to play. The Lady Cougars took the lead with a Jennings shot with 17.72 seconds on the clock. McLennan advanced the ball following a timeout and took the lead on a Williams put back with one second to go. Collin also took a timeout and advanced the ball but McLennan stole the inbound pass, sealing the win.
Aniya Williams led McLennan with 22 points. Jalayah Ingram and Mersadez Nephew added 15 and 12, respectively.
Collin: Kenzie Willis-Gusters 1 0-2 2; Leyna Baillard 0 1-2 1; Mackenzie Buss 9 9-10 27; Nyapar Mathot 0 2-4 2; Alisha Nunley 2 0-0 4; Kennadi Archibald 4 1-3 9; Asilika Fonua 0 0-0 0; Waiata Jennings 9 4-5 24; Micah Vaughn 0 0-0 0; Totals: 25 17-26 69.
McLennan: Aysia Ward 3 3-5 9; Alaina Payne 1 0-0 2; Mersadez Nephew 4 1-2 12; Jalayah Ingram 6 1-1 15; Niyah Johnson 3 2-2 8; Aniya Williams 8 6-9 22; Kalisha Phillips 0 -0 0; Pauline Maccarthy 1 0-0 2; Totals: 26 13-18 70.
First Quarter score: McLennan 12, Collin 12; Halftime score: Collin 29, McLennan 25; Third Quarter score: Collin 42, McLennan 41; Fourth Quarter score: McLennan 56, Collin 56; 3-pointers: Collin 2 (Jennings 2), McLennan 5 (Nephew 3, Ingram 2); Total fouls: Collin 17, McLennan 23; Fouled out: Payne (McLennan); Record: McLennan 15-3 (4-0).
