The No. 11 McLennan Highlassies held off a late charge by the Ranger Lady Rangers to pick up the 70-55 victory this afternoon at The Highlands.
It was a relatively low-scoring first half between the Highlassies and Lady Rangers. Ranger began the scoring with a Chloe Malone jumper over a minute into the game. McLennan responded with a 6-0 run with buckets from Chelsea Wooten and Bineta Diatta followed by a pair of free throws from Saneea Bevley to take the early four-point lead. Ranger tied the game at 10 with 3:11 to go in the first. A 7-0 Highlassie run put McLennan back up by seven but Ranger added a 3-pointer late in the quarter to cut it back to four, 17-13.
The Highlassies extended the lead back to seven with a Saneea Bevley 3-pointer early in the third and held the three-point lead at 26-23 with 4:31 to play in the second. McLennan ended the quarter on a 6-0 run including four points from Aniya Williams to take the 32-23 lead into halftime.
McLennan led by 11, 39-28 with 5:48 to go in the third. Back-to-back 3-pointers for Ranger cut the Highlassies lead back to five, and McLennan led by six going into the final period, 45-39.
The fourth quarter started with a Miannah Little 3-pointer from the top of the key followed by a layup by Bineta Diatta. McLennan led by 13 at 52-39 with 8:53 remaining in the game. Ranger began to rally and cut the lead back to three, 56-53, with 5:55 to go. Jaydyn Bullard and Bailee St. Romain stepped up for McLennan, combining for an 8-0 run over the next minute and a half to help seal the win.
Chelsea Wooten led the way for the Highlassies with 14 points. Miannah Little and Saneea Bevley scored 10 points each.
Ranger: Sanaiya Morris3 3-4 11; Emily Vidal 6 2-2 19; Kayla Peoples 3 1-2 8; Chloe Malone 1 0-0 2; Destinee Paulk 1 1-1 3; Zaria Brown 0 0-0 0; Keaundra Kelly 5 0-0 12; Alyssa Bell 0 0-0 0; Totals: 20 7-5 55.
McLennan: Alicia Mills 0 0-0 0; Aysia Ward 1 1-2 3; Chelsea Wooten 4 4-4 14; Miannah Little 3 3-6 10; Kennedi Rowland 0 0-0 0; Saneea Bevley 3 2-2 10; Jaydyn Bullard 2 2-2 6; Niamh Heath 2 0-0 4; Bineta Diatta 3 0-1 6; Aniya Williams 3 1-2 7; Cynaye Bobbitt 1 0-0 2; Aaliyah Holmes 1 0-0 2; Bailee St. Romain 3 0-1 6; Totals: 26 13-20 70.
3-pointers: Ranger 9 (Vial 5, Morris 2, Kelly 2, McLennan 5 (Wooten 2, Bevley 2, Little 1); Total fouls: Ranger 19, McLennan 10; Fouled out: Paulk (Ranger), Malone (Ranger); Halftime score: McLennan 32, Ranger 23; Record: McLennan 25-3 (13-2).
Next Up: McLennan closes out the regular season next Saturday, hosting Southwestern Christian at 2 p.m.
