In a double overtime thriller, the McLennan Highlassies defeated the Ranger Lady Randers 67-64 in Ranger.
Points were hard to find for both teams at the start of the game with shots for both teams bouncing off the iron. Ranger opened the scoring with a pair of free throws from Wilashia Burleson. The Lady Rangers scored the first field goal of the game with 7:05 to go in the first quarter to take the early 4-0 lead. McLennan got on the board with a 3-pointer from the elbow 15 seconds later. A Burleson layup put Ranger up by three with 5:52 to go in the first. A pair of free throws from Little and a bucket from Demetrius Lewis put the Highlassies on top 7-6. Back-to-back Ranger baskets put the Lady Rangers back up by four, 10-7, with 1:47 to go in the quarter. Another Little 3-pointer tied the game at 10 with a minute to play in the first quarter. Ranger ended the period on a 5-2 run to take the 15-12 lead after one quarter of play.
Ranger pulled away in the second, opening on a 13-2 run. Ranger led by 14, 31-17 with 2:02 to play in the second quarter. McLennan stepped up down the stretch. A pair of Brielle Dorsey free throws ignited a Highlassie run. Lewis added two with a layup and a long 3-pointer from Dorsey at the buzzer trimmed the Ranger lead to seven at halftime, 31-24.
McLennan cut the lead to four a couple times early in the third quarter. Ranger pushed its lead up to eight, 37-29, on a pair of Lindsey Claude free throws with 6:13 to go in the third. The Highlassies responded with a nothing-but-net 3-pointer from Mersadez Nephew, 37-32. The two teams traded baskets, and McLennan trailed by seven, with just over three minutes remaining in the third. A free throw by Kinley Brown followed by a basket from Lewis pulled the Highlassies within four heading into the final period, 41-37.
The Highlassies rallied in the fourth, tying the game at 45 on a Brielle Dorsey basket from the paint with 4:33 remaining in the game. A Claude jumper put Ranger on top by two with just over four minutes to go, 47-45. McLennan's Little tied the game at 47 with 2:10 to play and a Nephew 3-pointer from the elbow gave the Highlassies the 50-47 lead with 1:20 to go. Ranger's Reaghan Ridge hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 42 seconds to play to tie the game at 50. The Lady Rangers then took a two-point lead on a Claude layup with 18.1 seconds on the clock, 52-50. Nephew made a jumper for McLennan with under 10 seconds to go to force the overtime.
The Highlassies opened the overtime period with a Valisa Millhouse bucket. Ranger responded with three points from Cyarah Kensmil and a put-back basket by Jayla Hall with 2:25 to play in overtime to o up 57-54. Millhouse banked another basket off the glass to pull the McLennan within one, and Nephew added a free throw to tie the game at 57 with one minute on the clock. After multiple possessions and timeouts by both teams, the game went into double overtime.
Ranger's Kensmil and Burleson both went 1-2 from the free throw line to give the Lady Rangers a two-point lead with 3:47 on the clock in the second extra period. Little put McLennan back on top with a long 3-pointer, 60-59. After trading baskets, McLennan led 64-63 with 2:33 to go. Nephew tacked on a pair of free throws to extend the Highlassies' lead to three, 66-63 with 1:51 on the clock. Claude added a free throw for Ranger and Millhouse added one for McLennan to make it 67-64 Highlassies with 7.7 seconds on the clock. Ranger's off-balance shot bounced off the iron at the buzzer to give McLennan the win.
Miannah Little led the Highlassies with 18 points. Mersadez Nephew and Brielle Dorsey added 13 points each.
McLennan 67, Ranger 64 (2OT)
McLennan: Valisa Millhouse 4 1-2 9; Miannah Little 5 4-4 18; Demetrius Lewis 4 0-2 8; Jaydyn Bullard 0 0-0 0; Mersadez Nephew 3 5-6 13; Gabby Owens 0 0-0 0; Kinley Brown 2 1-2 6; Brielle Dorsey 5 2-3 13; Kai Finister 0 0-0 0; Mariona Garcia 0 0-0 0; Totals: 23 13-19 67.
3-pointers: McLennan 8 (Little 4, Nephew 2, Brown 1, Dorsey 1), Ranger 3 (Ridge 2, Jonson 1); Total fouls: McLennan 20, Ranger 19; Halftime score: Ranger 32, McLennan 26; Record: McLennan 8-7 (2-1).