The McLennan Highlassies stomped the Southwestern Christian Lady Rams tonight at The Highlands to pick up the squad's first conference victory.
McLennan led from start to finish. The Highlassies opened on a 5-0 run as Anastacia Mickens grabbed an offensive rebound and quick bucket followed by a 3-pointer from the corner by KeeKee Nowlin. Southwestern Christian kept it close until the midway point of the first quarter. McLennan led 15-11 with 5:32 to play in the first. The Highlassies ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 22-11 lead after a quarter.
The Highlassies run continued in the second quarter as they extended the lead to 17, 28-11. McLennan held Southwestern Christian to one field goal for the first six minutes of the period. The Highlassies poured on the buckets and led by 28 at the break, 46-18.
The second half was much the same. McLennan led 65-33 going to the fourth quarter and cruised to the easy victory.
It was a balanced scoring attack for McLennan as all the Highlassies found the basket. KeeKee Nowlin led the way with 16 points while Anastacia Mickens and Raveen Blue scored 14 points each. Kenidi White rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10.
The men's game would prove to be a much more competitive affair with the McLennan Highlanders picking up the 98-69 victory over the Southwestern Christian Rams.
McLennan's Casey Armour opened the game on a 4-0 run. A pair of free throws from Southwestern Christian's Da'lante Brooks and a 3-pointer from Ro'yel Everson would give the Rams the early 5-4 lead. That would prove to be Southwestern Christian's only lead of the contest. The Highlanders took the lead on an easy 3-pointer from Xavier Armstead and rattled off a 9-0 run to build an eight point lead with 15:52 to go in the first half. McLennan extended the lead to 14 with 12:08 on the clock. The Rams rallied late in the half to trim the lead to eight at the break, 40-32.
The Highlanders began to distance themselves from Southwestern Christian early in the second half. McLennan opened the second half on a 10-2 run to extend the lead to 16. Mike Adewunmi scored 15 consecutive points for McLennan as the Highlanders continued to pull away en route to the victory.
Mike Adewunmi led the Highlanders with 28 points. Casey Armour and Xavier Armstead added 14 and 13, respectively.
McLennan travels to Sherman Saturday to face Grayson in another conference doubleheader. Women's action begins at 2 p.m. followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.
Southwestern Christian: My'Kalah Johnson 2 2-3 7; Tereneisha Washington 1 0-0 2; Zyria Hill 0 1-2 1; Amber Bishop 1 0-0 2; LaDaijah Ellis 0 0-0 0; Kayla Cobb2 2-4 7; Courtnee Griffin 1 2-2 4; Chrishawna Jones 0 0-0 0; Adeci Brown 3 0-0 6; Ayesha Davis 4 2-4 10; Ericka Douhitt 0 0-0 0; Totals: 14 9-15 39.
McLennan: Jada McHenry 1 0-0 2; Ny'Asia Goldman 4 0-0 9; Kenidi White 5 0-0 10; Gabby Cleveland 1 0-0 2; Harmony Pettis 1 0-0 2; KeeKee Nowlin 7 1-2 16; Annya Moss 1 0-0 2; Raveen Blue5 0-0 14; Elizabeth Critton 3 1-2 7;Anastacia Mickens 6 2-3 14; Arial Elzie 0 2-4 2; Desirae Devine 1 0-0 2; Totals: 35 6-13 82.
3-pointers: Southwestern Christian 2 (Johnson 1, Cobbs 1), McLennan 6 (Blue 4, Goldman 1, Nowlin 1); Total fouls: Southwestern Christian 14, McLennan 16; Halftime score: McLennan 46, Southwestern Christian 18; Record: 10-9 (1-5).
Southwestern Christian: Malik Cooper 2 6-6 12; Antonio Dorsey 0 0-0 0; Da'lante Brooks 6 6-9 22; Joe Byrd 2 0-2 5; Trevic Atkins 3 6-6 12; Jordan Hall 1 0-3 2; Cratezz Graves 2 0-0 5; Ro'yel Everson 1 2-3 5; Dahji Davis 3 0-0 6; Totals: 20 20-29 69.
McLennan: Javen Hedgeman 4 1-3 9; Creighton Avery 0 4-4 4; Jimmie Kelly 1 0-0 3; Mike Adewunmi 9 6-9 28; Kameron Ivory 1 0-0 3; Xavier Armstead 5 2-3 13; Casey Armour 6 2-3 14; Garrett Shaw 1 3-4 6; Devyn Brewton 1 2-2 4; Dayante McClellan 3 3-3 9; Willie Thomas 1 1-2 3; Tevis Stukes Jr. 0 0-0 0; Ja'Lyn Banks 1 0-0 2; Totals: 33 24-33 98.
3-pointers: Southwestern Christian 9 (Brooks 4, Cooper 2, Byrd 1, Graves 1, Everson 1), McLennan 8 (Adewunmi 4, Kelly 1, Ivory 1, Armstead 1, Shaw 1); Total fouls: Southwestern Christian 25, McLennan 23; Fouled out: Southwestern Christian (Hall, Dorsey); Halftime score: McLennan 40, Southwestern Christian 32; Record: 16-5 (2-3).
