Sophomore Jaylonn Walker poured in a season-high 31 points as the McLennan Highlassies crushed the Cisco Lady Wranglers 80-68 this afternoon in conference play at The Highlands.
The Highlassies were firing on all cylinders and dominated from the tip. Velma Mitchell’s opening 3-pointer was nothing but net; and she followed that with a stop-and-pop jumper to give McLennan the early 5-0 lead. Keviona Barber’s 3-pointer put Cisco on the board with a 7:55 to play in the first quarter, cutting the Highlassies’ lead to two, 5-3. That would prove to be as close as the Lady Wranglers would be in the contest. Walker hit back-to-back 3-pointers from the top of the key to put McLennan up 11-3. Barber added a pair of free throws but the Highlassies responded with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to break the game open. McLennan led 28-15 after one quarter of play.
McLennan opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run comprised of another 3-pointer by Walker and a driving layup by Colandria Haynes to give the Highlassies an 18-point lead. McLennan would lead 46-29 at the half.
The Highlassies opened the third quarter on another run, this time of the 6-0 variety. Anndrea Lloyd made a put-back off the rebound followed by a floater by Shekenia Green and a free throw by KeeKee Nowlin. McLennan led by as many as 25 in the period and held the 57-41 advantage going to the fourth quarter.
McLennan extended the lead back to 25, 68-43, with 7:20 remaining in the game. Cisco rallied late in the fourth, cutting their deficit to 12 several times down the stretch but they couldn’t overpower the Highlassies.
Walker’s 31 points, including six 3-pointers, led the Highlassies scorers. Velma Mitchell added 19, including four 3-pointers, and KeeKee Nowlin scored 14.
The win improves the Highlassies’ conference record to 6-3 and overall record to 13-10. McLennan continues conference play Wednesday, traveling to Terrell to face Southwestern Christian. The women’s game begins at 3 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 5 p.m.
