The No. 9 McLennan Highlassies came up just short this afternoon, falling to the No. 8 Collin Cougars 70-68.
McLennan was fired up for the top-10 matchup. Collin began the scoring and led 5-4 with 7:24 to go in the first quarter. The Highlassies took the lead with a Chelsea Wooten jumper and took control of the game. McLennan outscored the Cougars 15-2 down the stretch to take the 19-7 lead into the second. Wooten scored eight of the Highlassies' 15 points in the run to lead the McLennan rally.
The Highlassies continued to dominate in the second quarter, keeping Collin at arm's length while pushing the lead to 18, 40-22 with 1:32 to play before the half. The Cougars ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to cut the McLennan lead back to 12 at the half, 40-28.
The third quarter was a tale of two teams. McLennan opened on an 8-0 run to push the lead to 20, 48-28 with 6:44 to play in the period. Collin responded with a 10-0 run to cut the lead in half with just under two minutes on the clock, 48-38. The Highlassies led by nine, 50-39, and added a free throw from Jaydyn Bullard and basket from Bineta Diatta in the final seconds to lead 53-39 going into the final period.
Collin continued to rally in the fourth, pulling within two at 66-64 with just over a minute to go. Aysia Ward added a pair of free throws to put McLennan back up by four, 68-64. A Mackenzie Buss shot from under the basket for Collin made it a two-point game with 30 seconds to go, 68-66. The Cougars added a long jumper from Adamari Waddell to tie the game at 68 with 8 seconds remaining. Following a Cougar timeout, another Buss jumper made it a 68-70 Collin lead with 0.7 seconds to go. McLennan advanced the ball but Wooten's last-second shot was blocked.
Chelsea Wooten led the McLennan scorers with 20 points, and Saneea Bevley added 17.
Collin: Talynne Buckmon 0 0-0 0; Caroline Glud Rasmussen 1 0-0 5; Mackenzie Buss 5 7-7 17; Beyonce Lane 2 0-0 4; Adamari Waddell 1 4-6 6; Jayden Smallwood 1 3-4 5; Mykaila Pickard 2 1-2 11; Kennadi Archibald 0 0-0 0; Waiata Jennings 8 6-10 22; Totals: 20 21-29 70.
McLennan: Aysia Ward 3 2-4 8; Chelsea Wooten 4 6-6 20; Miannah Little 0 7-8 7; Saneea Bevley 3 5-5 17; Jaydyn Bullard 2 2-3 6; Bineta Diatta 2 0-0 4; Aniya Williams 2 2-2 6; Aaliyah Holmes 0 0-0 0; Totals: 16 24-28 68.
3-pointers: Collin 3 (Pickard 2, Rasmussen 1), McLennan 4 (Wooten 2, Bevley 2); Total fouls: Collin 24, McLennan 25; Fouled out: Diatta (McLennan), Williams (McLennan); Halftime score: McLennan Highlassies 40, Collin Cougars 28; Record: McLennan 22-3 (10-2).
