Zalina Proper and Allie McMillen each put up a double-double, leading the West Holmes Knights (5-4, 4-1) to a 44-37 win over Mount Vernon (2-8, 1-5) on Dec. 30.

Mount Vernon went on a 9-0 run to open the game, but it was halted by a three for Chloe Patten of West Holmes with 4:55 on the clock. Mount Vernon took a 17-10 lead to start the game. Keegan Uhl had a pair of steals in the quarter for the Knights.

The Knights battled for an 11-4 advantage in the second quarter to tie the the game 21-21 at halftime. Allie McMillen hit a three to tie the game before the second quarter ended. McMillen had a pair of steals and and Aveona Yoder had a steal in the second quarter. West Holmes outscored the Yellow Jackets 17-14 and 6-2 in the final two quarters to take the win. 

West Holmes Coach Lindsy Belden was pleased with the win, which snapped a streak of back-to-back losses.

“We needed that win, and the girls persevered through being down early in the first quarter,” said Belden. “We have struggled in the first quarter all season, so that is something that we are working on. We have a few week stretch before we play at the Classic in the Country, so we are looking to continue to get better each game until then.

Allie McMillen led the team in scoring with 13 points, to go with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Proper had 11 points, 10 boards, three steals and a block to lead the charge for the Knights. 

Uhl scored eight points, while tallying three steals and two assists. Chloe Patten had four points, four assists, three boards and two steals. Nealie Fair scored four points and had two rebounds. Aveona Yoder added four points, a steal and a block in the win for the Knights.

“Allie and Zalina were big parts of our win on Saturday,” said Coach Belden. “They were both very aggressive on their drives and rebounding. I am really proud of the example that they set that day.”

Mount Vernon was led by Rees Lepley, who had 13 points, two assists, three boards and two steals. Kymber Bell also reached double figures with 11 points. She also tallied four rebounds, one assist and one block. Kaitlyn Dapprich had five points, four boards, two assists and two steals. Madelyn Jones scored three points and had an assist, and a block. Kaitlyn Thompson scored two points and also had four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Ellie Jones had two points to round out the Mount Vernon scoring.

West Holmes shot 38% but only 14% from three, while making 80% of their free throws. Mount Vernon shot 32% and 67% from three, and made 57% of their foul shots. The Knights had advantages in rebounds (31-21), assists (10-9) and steals (11-9). Each team had two blocks.