Bryleigh Young had the hot hand from deep to start the game, and the Highland girls’ basketball team (6-10, 5-6) rode their momentum from the opening quarter right to the end with a 49-24 win over Galion (3-14, 0-11) on Jan. 25.
Young started off the game with a pair of threes to make it a 6-0 lead for the Lady Scots with about 4:20 on the clock. They took a 12-4 lead after one, led by Young’s six points. MaKaylee Merckling did a good job getting to the line and making her foul shots going 3-for-3, and also added a steal.
At the start of the second quarter, Merckling got her second pick pocket of the game. Then with Highland leading 16-12, Alexis Brown showed off her defense with a steal of her own. The Lady Scots got a pair of threes in the quarter, and seven total points, by Kate Clements who just returned from injury. It was a 25-13 lead for Highland at halftime, led by Young and Clements with seven points apiece. Aubree Bellamy scored five points in the half for the Lady Scots.
In the third quarter it was all Highland with a 12-4 advantage to take a 37-17 lead into the fourth quarter. Merckling led the team with six points in the quarter, and Young and Bellamy each nailed threes.
Highland finished strong with a 12-7 fourth quarter, with Young and Merckling again sinking threes.
Young led all scorers with 13 points in the win for Highland. She hit four from downtown in the game. Young played an all-around great game with five rebounds and an assist, as well. Coach Matt Bradley was proud of her performance in the win, and said she has been a player to rely on shooting the basketball.
“Bryleigh has been a consistent scoring threat for us all year, and she made two early threes that got us going right away,” said Bradley. “She's become a shooter that you're expecting every shot to go in.”
Merckling put up 12 points and Bellamy also reached double figures with 10 points. Merckling added four rebounds and three steals, while Bellamy had two rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Clements scored seven points while dishing out an assist, grabbing a rebound and recording a steal. Amarie Morgan had three points, but found other ways to pitch in with six rebounds and two assists. Addie Mullins had eight rebounds, two steals and an assist to go with two points. Alexis Brown put up two points, two assists, a rebound and a steal.
“MaKaylee and Aubree stepped up and hit some big shots for us tonight too,” Coach Bradley said. “And it was great to get Kate Clements back from an injury tonight.
It has been a roller coaster season for the Lady Scots, and this was a great bounce back win against a conference foe following a blowout loss to Centerburg. Bradley was happy to see the team excelling in all areas to put together a solid win.
“I thought we executed really, really well at both ends tonight,” Coach Bradley said. “Offensively, we had a lot of great looks and had three girls in double-figures which is huge for us. Defensively, we settled in and made things really tough on them in the half-court.”
River Valley 40, Highland 28
On Jan. 27 the Lady Scots had another conference matchup, but Highland couldn’t carry the momentum from the previous game and fell 40-28 to River Valley (9-9, 6-4).
It was a 12-10 River Valley lead at halftime, and anyone’s game going into the third quarter. That is when the wheels fell off the bus, with the Vikings outscoring the Lady Scots 23-7. Highland finished with a 10-5 fourth quarter but the deficit was too great to mount a comeback effort.
Clements led Highland with 10 points including a pair of threes. Merckling also drained a three and had six points for Highland. Young and Reagan Maibach had four points apiece, while Mullins and Bellamy each scored two points.
