The Scots (9-7) got 13 steals, on their way to hanging 18 turnovers on the Spartans. Leading the way for the Scots’ defense were Peyton Carpenter and Brooklyn Baird, who had four steals and four points, each. Teammate Savannah Fitzpatrick (five points) hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter and scored on a layup, off a steal, in the second quarter.
It was one of three 3-pointers Conklin had in the game as she scored 12 points for the Spartans, who led 36-31 through three quarters.
“We’re trying to stick with our strength, which is our defense and our aggressiveness in the half-court,” said Highland coach Whitney Levering-Smith. “The fact that we got them to commit 18 turnovers is exactly what we wanted and that was to our forte. They were just able to answer it on the offensive end.”
Alissa Holler led the Spartans with 13 points and teammate Kyla Columber added 10 more — including a pair of 3-pointers.
Highland’s Gena West managed nine points, but was 0-for-4 from the free-throw line. As a team, Highland was 4-for-12 from the line, but that wasn’t their only trouble around the basket.
“We struggled down low,” Levering-Smith said. “We shot 27 percent and we haven’t struggled like that in a long time. It’s just one of those things that, we kept taking it to them. I just don’t think we were focusing on finishing. Our girls work really hard. We just had trouble finishing our shots. I stressed to the girls that, if it wasn’t for that, it would’ve been our ball game.”
Fitzpatrick added five points and Baird and Carpenter chipped in four apiece to back the Scots.
The Scots will travel to KMAC rival Danville on Saturday. Tip-off time is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.