Last week the Highland girls’ basketball team (2-2, 0-1) was down big early against Northridge (1-2, 0-0), but Kate Clements and the Lady Scots battled back and took a 53-52 win at home on Nov. 25 to pick up their first win of the season.
“Credit to Northridge for their fast start to the game,” said Coach Matt Bradley. “They were ready to play and we weren’t, so we had to climb out of a 17-4 hole. Our girls played incredibly hard after the first few minutes to put ourselves in a position to win.”
Northridge led 17-10 after one quarter, but the Lady Scots had a 16-11 second quarter advantage and trailed 28-26 at the half. Each team scored 12 points in the third quarter, and Highland finished off strong with a 15-12 fourth quarter to take the one-point victory.
Clements was 6-for-11 shooting and 2-for-3 from downtown, leading the Lady Scots with 16 points and three boards. Addie Mullins had a solid night, scoring nine points along with five boards, three steals, one steal and one block. Amarie Morgan had seven boards, four steals and two assists. Aubree Bellamy had nine points, three assists and a steal.
“Kate stepped up and made some huge shots for us,” said Coach Bradley. Even though she’s just a sophomore, she’s an experienced player. She’s our point guard and had a great night. We have started slow in both our games to start the season, so that’s definitely an area to address and improve. As we get into MOAC-play, teams are too good and we can’t afford to get behind early.”
On Nov. 30 Highland fell to a talented Pleasant (5-0, 2-0) quad in their first MOAC matchup of the season, 33-23.
It was a tough start for the Lady Scots as they fell behind 6-2 in the first quarter with the Morgan hitting a pair of free throws for the only points. Both teams scored seven points in the second quarter, and it was a 13-9 lead for Pleasant at halftime. Bellamy led the way in the half with a pair of three pointers.
In the third quarter the Lady Scots were outscored 13-5, with Makaylee Merckling hitting a three and Reagan Maibech making a basket. They had a 9-8 fourth quarter advantage, with threes by Alexis Brown, Merckling and Morgan, but Pleasant was able to hold on for the 10 point win.
Merckling led the scoring for Highland with seven points, and also had a rebound and a steal. Mullins was the top rebounder with six boards. Clements did not hit a basket, but she was effective with three rebounds and two assists. Brown scored three points while grabbing four boards to go with two steals and an assist. Morgan had five points and two rebounds and Bellamy had six points, one rebound, one assist and two steals. Maibach had two points, three boards and an assist, while Bryleigh Young grabbed a defensive rebound.
Highland got back to .500 with a tight win over Marion Harding (0-3, 0-1), where the Lady Scots battled back from an early deficit to take a 29-27 win.
“We're excited to win and get back to .500, but really it's about getting better every day,” said Bradley. “We want to be the best we are capable of becoming this year, and to continue to improve each day. The girls have bought into being a team and having genuine excitement for each other's success. It's contagious and fun to be around.”
The Lady Scots have had trouble scoring so far this season, and that is especially true for the early goings of the games. The Presidents outscored Highland 9-1 to open up the game, and then 7-4 in the second quarter to take a 16-5 lead at halftime. The Lady Scots dominated the third quarter with a 10-3 advantage and also finished with a 14-9 fourth quarter to come-from-behind for the two-point victory.
Bryleigh Young led Highland in scoring with six points and Makaylee Merckling, Reagan Maibach and Alexis Brown each had five points in the win. Brown had the lone make from downtown for Highland.
Defense was the name of the game on both sides, with Highland forcing 17 turnovers.
“Harding is such a tough team to play with their two guards (Aniya Mitchell and Kamarice Jackson) - they are so talented and experienced,” Bradley said. “And it's always hard to play over there. I'm so proud of our girls for their resiliency. We strung together just enough stops throughout the game, and our offense finally caught up. We talked at our gameday practice that ‘defense always travels’ and it was true tonight. Our defense won us the game.”
