For the second time in five days, the McLennan Highlassies and Ranger Lady Rangers met on the basketball court for a conference show down, and for the second time, the Highlassies come out on top, 57-50.
As it was in the previous game, the two teams were evenly matched. Brielle Dorsey began the scoring for McLennan two minutes into the contest. The Highlassies led by one, 7-6, midway through the quarter. Mersadez Nephew drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:59 to extend the lead to four, 10-6. Ranger stepped up, ending the period on a 7-0 run to take the 13-10 lead after the first quarter.
The Lady Rangers added to their run to start the second, extending the lead to seven, 17-10. The Highlassies began to rally and tied the game at 21 on a Raija Todd 3-pointer from the elbow with 3:35 to play before the half, and the game was tied at 24 at the break.
Nephew drained another one of her six 3-pointers less than a minute into the third quarter to put McLennan up by three, 27-24. Ranger responded with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to build a six-point lead at 33-27. The Highlassies rallied again, taking the one-point lead on another Nephew 3-pointer and led 42-41 after three quarters of play. McLennan pulled away midway through the final period, leading by as many as eight down the stretch to secure the win.
Mersadez Nephew led the Highlanders with 26 points and Miannah Little added 12.
McLennan will close out conference play Saturday against Grayson at The Highlands. Women's action will tip off at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.
Ranger: Lindsey Claude 1 3-4 5; Jakoriah Long 1 0-0 2; Emily Vidal 2 1-1 6; Melvin Iminza 0 0-0 0; Cyarah Kensmil 2 1-2 5; Reaghan Ridge 0 0-0 0; Kaysha McCloud 3 1-4 7; Jayla Hall 0 0-0 0; Wilashia Burleson 7 2-4 1; She'Ray Wilson 3 2-2 9; Totals: 19 10-17 50.
McLennan: Raija Todd 3 0-9 8; Miannah Little 4 1-2 12; Jaidyn Fontenette 0 0-0 0; Ahlura Lofton 0 0-0 0; McKenzie Piper 2 0-3 4; Mele Kailahi 1 0-0 3; Mersadez Nephew 7 6-6 26; Judith Moya 0 0-0 0; Brielle Dorsey 2 0-0 4; Mariona Garcia 0 0-0 0; Totals: 19 7-11 57.
3-pointers: Ranger 2 (Wilson 1, Vidal 1), McLennan 12 (Nephew 6, Little 3, Todd 2, Kailahi 1); Total fouls: Ranger 13, McLennan 17; Halftime score: McLennan 24, Ranger 24; Record: McLennan 9-10 (8-7).
