The ninth-ranked McLennan women held off a late rally by the Weatherford Lady Coyotes to pick up the 56-53 road win tonight in Weatherford.
It was a low-scoring, back-and-forth first half between the two squads. An Andrea Johnson 3-pointer from the corner put McLennan on the boar less than a minute into the contest. Neso Anisiobi put Weatherford on the board with a jumper less than 10 seconds later. The Lady Coyotes led 6-5 with 6:41 to go in the first quarter. McLennan took the lead on a Jalayah Ingram jumper and added a shot by Charnelle Hoof to lead 9-6 at the midpoint of the quarter. Weatherford responded with a 3-0 run to lead 10-9 with just under four minutes to go. A 3-pointer by Kennedi Ard followed by a put back from Danai Lewis gave McLennan the 14-10 lead into the second period.
McLennan opened the second on a 7-3 run to extend the lead to eight, 21-13 with 6:35 to go before the half. Weatherford rallied late, cutting the lead to two, 24-22 with a minute to go. Tajenae Gooden drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 20 seconds left to make it a five-point lead at intermission, 27-22.
Weatherford came out fired up in the third. Hoof added a basket for McLennan early on but the Lady Coyotes rallied, cutting the lead to one at 32-31 with 6:26 to go in the quarter. McLennan stepped up again, using a 7-0 run capped by a Hanna Mouton 3-pointer to push the lead back to eight, 39-31 with 4:29 remaining in the quarter. Weatherford continued to fight and cut the lead to three going into the final quarter, 41-38.
McLennan opened the fourth on a 6-2 to run, extending the lead back to seven once again, 47-40. Weatherford chipped away at the lead, pulling with one at 52-51 on a Zion Hayes 3-pointer with just under a minute to go. Gooden drained a pair of free throws with 22.5 seconds to go, giving McLennan a slight cushion, and the squad was able to hold off the Coyotes in the final seconds.
Tajenae Gooden led McLennan with 18 points.
McLennan: Hannah Mouton 1 1-2 4; Jalayah Ingram 1 4-6 6; Andrea Johnson1 0-0 3; Daija Mitchell 0 1-2 1; Kennedi Ard 2 0-0 6; Charnelle Hoof 3 0-0 6; Tajenae Gooden 7 2-2 18; Taylor Craver 0 0-0 0; Tyla Roberts 3 0-1 6; Amerie Flowers 2 0-0 4; Danai Lewis 1 0-0 2; Totals: 21 8-13 56.
Weatherford: Pearson McVay 5 1-3 11; Natalia Arseniadou 0-0 0; Esther Daniels 0 0-0 0; Jacque Giron 5 2-2 14; Anja Djukic 1 0-0 2; Zion Hayes 1 1-2 4; Naomi Wilson 5 4-9 14; Neso Anisiobi 4 0-0 8; Totals: 21 8-16 53.
First Quarter score: McLennan 14, Weatherford 10; Halftime score: McLennan 27, Weatherford 22; Third quarter score: McLennan 41, Weatherford 38; 3-pointers: McLennan 6 (Ard 2, Gooden 2, Mouton 1, Johnson 1), Weatherford 2 (Giron 2); Total fouls: McLennan 21, Weatherford 22; Fouled out: Djukic (Weatherford); Record: McLennan 20-2 (9-1)
