Emotions were high in Highland where the Lady Scots (8-13, 5-9) honored the late Emma West, and Highland was able to put that energy into their play with a 50-30 win over a talented Danville (15-7, 8-4) team on Feb. 13.
“It was a great night at Highland,” said Coach Matt Bradley. “We honored our forever teammate Emma West who was tragically taken from us in September of 2022. The whole gym was wearing teal, her favorite color. The win was icing on the cake.”
Highland took a 3-2 lead in the first quarter when Young sank a three from the corner. After a steal by Danville’s Ella Proper, they threatened to score but Aubree Bellamy was able to reject a shot close to the basket to retain the lead. Danville recovered and tried to hit another shot, but it was knocked away and recovered by the Lady Scots. Highland went up 4-3, but Kelsey Hackman of the Blue Devils got her hand in for a steal. Proper also recorded her second steal of the game in the quarter. However, it was all Highland the rest of the first quarter, as the Lady Scots went off for an 8-0 run to go up 12-3. Kylee Hess was able to tack on a late three and it was as a 12-6 lead for the Lady Scots after one.
MaKaylee Merckling got the scoring going in the second quarter with a three to go up 15-6. They would also score the next five points to make it an 8-0 run, highlighted by a three for Bryleigh Young. Highland’s dominance in the quarter continued, and Alexis Brown turned a steal into a bucket on a fast break layup to go up 26-8. Highland had a commanding 28-13 lead at halftime, led by Young’s eight points.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Bellamy had her second block of the day when she swatted away a layup coming off a baseline drive. They went up 32-13 when Reagan Maibach scored on a layup after a steal by Bellamy. The Lady Scots outscored the Blue Devils 11-4 in the quarter, and after three it was a 39-17 lead.
Up 40-22 in the fourth quarter, Bellamy sank a shot from deep to make it a 21 point lead for Highland. She was on fire, and hit another three to put the Lady Scots up 46-22. After the Blue Devils went on a 6-0 run, Brown stole the ball and put up a layup to make it a 48-28 game. Highland was able to hold on the rest of the way for a convincing win over a tough Danville squad.
Highland shot 33% and most importantly made 54% of their threes. They held Danville to 21% and 18% from deep. The Lady Scots dominated the glass 38-27 for rebounds, and also led 10-4 in assists, 18-11 in steals and 4-1 in blocks.
Young led all scorers with 14 points, and also tallied three rebounds, an assist and a steal. Bellamy scored 12 points, and grabbed six boards. She also had three assists, three steals and three blocks. Brown also hit double figures with 10 points, and she was huge on defense with five steals and a defensive board.
Addie Mullins had seven points, six boards, two steals and an assist. Merckling had a quality all-around night with five points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Maibach had two points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Kate Clements didn’t score but found other ways to make a difference with four defensive rebounds and an assist. Amarie Morgan had five boards, three steals and a block, as well.
Danville has some firepower on the team, with Proper a member of the 1,000 point club. However, the Lady Scots did a good job limiting to her to only four points. Hess had nine points to lead the Blue Devils in scoring, which included a pair of threes.
“I thought our energy on defense was outstanding,” Proper said. “We really bothered Danville, who is a veteran, talented team. I was really proud of how we established the lead then didn't let them back in the game. Offensively, we continue to share the ball and play unselfish. We made 14 field goals and had 10 assists.”
