The eighth-ranked McLennan women bounced back into the win column, rattling the Hill Rebels 62-43 tonight at The Highlands.
Charnelle Hoof put McLennan on the board with a bucket-and-one less than 40 seconds into the game. Trinity Butler added a free throw to give McLennan the early four-point lead. A basket by Hill's Te'Lynn Lee-Rose followed by a pair of free throws by Kiah Goynes tied the game at four with 7:03 to go in the first. McLennan took control with Butler and Kaedynce Cox-Dunlap combined for a 9-0 run giving the squad the 13-4 lead with two minutes left in the period. Hill cut the lead to five before McLennan's Tajenae Gooden added an and-one to make it 16-8 McLennan going to the second.
In the second, Hill briefly trimmed the lead to six before McLennan put the foot on the gas. A 5-0 run including four points from Lanaijha Johnson made it an 11-point lead for McLennan at 21-10 with 8:53 to go before the half. Once again the Rebels would pull within six but it would be McLennan by 11 at the break, 31-20.
The third quarter was McLennan's time to start putting the game away. With three and a half minutes to go in the period and an 11-point cushion at 41-30, the squad began to pour it on. A pair of Butler free throws ignited a 13-3 McLennan run to close the quarter. The run included six points from Cox-Dunlap, and her squad led 54-33 with a quarter to play.
Both teams slowed the pace in the fourth, combining to score just eight points in the first five minutes. McLennan led by as many as 23 in the period to secure the victory.
Kaedynce Cox-Dunlap and Lanaijha Johnson led McLennan with 12 points each. Charnelle Hoof added 10.
Hill: Journee Chambers 1 0-0 2; Jaiona Jackson 0 0-0 0; Kiah Goynes 4 2-2 12; Ava Batty 1 5-6 7; Khylee Perry 1 0-0 2; Ty'la Broussard-Antoine 1 1-2 4; Kennedy Paul 0 0-0 0; Te'Lynn Lee-Rose 0 0-0 0; Ty'Ari Ray 0 0-0 0; Aniyah Thomas 0 0-0 0; Brooklyn Weier 0 0-0 0; Kamarie Hardeman 5 6-8 16; Totals: 13 14-18 43.
McLennan: Nevaeh Otis 0 0-0 0; Kaedynce Cox-Dunlap 6 0-0 12; Ar'Mya Amos-Horsley 1 0-0 3; Shakira Brown 1 0-0 3; Charnelle Hoof 3 4-5 10; Tajenae Gooden 3 2-3 8; Charravia Smith 1 0-0 2; Trinity Butler 2 4-5 9; Danai Lewis1 1-2 3; Lanaijha Johnson 5 2-2 12; Totals: 23 13-17 62.
Halftime score: McLennan 31, Hill 20; 3-pointers: Hill 3 (Gaynes 2, Broussard-Antoine 1), McLennan 2 (Amos-Horsley 1, Brow 1); Total fouls: Hill 15, McLennan 17; Record: McLennan 16-2 (4-1).
