It was a hard-fought battle from the opening tip as the No. 7 McLennan women defeated Kilgore 67-54 at The Highlands.
Points were hard to come by for both teams in the first quarter. Aniya Williams went 1-2 from the free throw line a minute into to the game to start the scoring. Kilgore responded with a 5-0 run to lead 5-1 with 7:15 to go in the first and led 10-8 going into the second quarter.
McLennan tied the game at 11 with a Williams shot off the glass with 7:11 to play in the second. The teams traded baskets, and McLennan trailed 21-20 with two minutes to go before the half. A 6-0 run by the Lady Rangers made it a seven-point lead but McLennan's Saneea Bevley ended the period on a 5-0 run of her own to cut the Kilgore lead to two at the break, 27-25.
It was tit-for-tat between the two teams for the majority of the third quarter. McLennan trailed 39-38 with 1:46 to go in the third. Williams drained a pair of free throws to start a 7-0 run that concluded with a 3-pointer by Bevley to make it a 45-39 McLennan lead going into the final period.
Kilgore rallied to start the fourth and cut the lead back to one at 46-45 with 7:53 to play. McLennan responded with a 9-0 run to take the first double-digit lead at 55-45 on a Niyah Johnson bucket from the paint with 6-10 to go. McLennan led by 12 with 1:15 to play, 61-49, but Kilgore wasn't done. A 5-0 Lady Ranger run made it a 7-point game with 56 seconds to go. Nephew and Bevley combined to go 6-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the win.
Bevley led McLennan with 20 points and Williams chipped in 12.
Kilgore: Jordan Wright 1 0-0 2; Jarahle Daniels 2 1-2 6; BryKayla Hampton 7 1-4 18; Tylissa Henderson 0 0-0 0; Jazmyn Sostand 5 0-0 11; Nyla Inmon 2 1-4 5; Perina Lieme 0 1-2 1; Nakiyah Allen 3 1-5 8; Mercy Wamet 0 0-0 0; Erin Love 1 1-2 3; Totals: 23 6-19 54
McLennan: Aysia Ward 3 0-0 6; Saneea Bevley 5 8-9 20; Alaina Payne 3 3-4 9; Mersadez Nephew 3 4-4 13; Peyton Hearvey 0 0-0 0; Niyah Johnson 3 0-2 6; Aniya Williams 3 6-7 12; Peighton Jambor 0 1-2 1; Totals: 20 22-28 67.
First Quarter score: Kilgore 10, McLennan 8; Halftime score: Kilgore 27, McLennan 25; Third Quarter score: McLennan 45, Kilgore 39 ;3-pointers: Kilgore 5 (Hampton 3, Daniels 1, Sostand 1), McLennan 5 (Nephew 3, Bevley 2); Total fouls: Kilgore 23; McLennan 19; Fouled out: Johnson (McLennan); Record: McLennan 7-1.
