The 10th-ranked McLennan women opened North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference play with a walloping 90-59 victory over the Weatherford Lady Coyotes.
Weatherford began the scoring with a 3-pointer by Esther Daniels a minute and 30 second into the contest. A stop-and-pop from Hannah Mouton put McLennan on the board less than 30 seconds later. The Lady Coyotes began to pull away, building a seven-point lead with 3:13 to go in first quarter, 14-7. McLennan stepped up, ending the quarter on a 10-2 run including an and-one by Jalayah Ingram in the final 10 seconds to lead 17-16 going into the second quarter.
McLennan scored three more points to open the quarter, taking the 20-16 lead with 8:34 to go before the half. Weatherford briefly cut the lead back to two but McLennan pulled away. Already leading by five at 26-21, buckets by Kennedi Ard and Tyla Roberts gave McLennan a nine-point lead, 30-21. McLennan continued to lead by nine, 37-28, with 35 seconds on the clock but a last-second put-back by Amerie Flowers made it a 3-28 McLennan advantage at the break.
Weatherford kept the game close through the midway point of the third, trimming the lea to seven, 43-36, with 5:25 to go in the frame. McLennan responded with an 8-0 run including 3-pointers by Hannah Mouton and Tajenae Gooden to push the lead to 15, 51-36. The Lady Coyotes weren't giving up easily though. The team rallied down the stretch in the third and into the fourth quarter to cut the lead to five, 55-50, with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. Back-to-back buckets by Gooden extended the lead back to nine but Weatherford rallied once again, pulling within six at 61-55 with 6:46 to play but it was all McLennan from that point. The home team outscored the visitors 29-4 in the final minutes to secure the win.
Gooden led McLennan with 18 points. Ingram and Ard scored 12 each while Mouton and Amerie Flowers added 11 each.
Weatherford: Pearson McVay 4 2-4 10; Natalia Arseniadou 2 0-0 5; Mya Wesley 1 0-0 2; Esther Daniels 1 0-0 3; Jacque Giron 6 1-1 16; Anja Djukic 2 0-0 4; Zion Hayes 0 0-0 0; Panagiota Kalogirou 1 0-0 2; Klimentina Modeva 1 1-4 3; Naomi Wilson 0 0-0 0; Neso Anisiobi 4 69 14; Totals: 22 10-18 59.
McLennan: Hannah Mouton 4 2-2 11; Jalayah Ingram 4 3-3 12; Daija Mitchell 0 0-0 0; Kennedi Ard 5 1-1 12; Charnelle Hoof 4 1-1 9; Tajenae Gooden: 6 5-5 18; Madison Nesbit 1 0-0 3; Tyla Roberts 4 1-1 9; Amerie Flowers 4 3-6 11; Danai Lewis 2 1-2 5; Totals:
First Quarter score: McLennan 17, Weatherford 16; Halftime score: McLennan 39, Weatherford 28; Third quarter score: McLennan 53, Weatherford 45; 3-pointers: Weatherford 5 (Giron 3, Daniels 1, Arseniadou 1), McLennan 5 (Mouton 1, Ingram 1, Ard 1, Gooden 1, Nesbit 1); Total fouls: Weatherford 23, McLennan 19; Record: McLennan 13-0 (1-0).
