It was a tale of two halves in Lufkin as the 13th-ranked McLennan women's basketball squad defeated the Tyler Lady Apaches 69-58.
Tyler was in control in the first quarter, opening on a 4-0 run and pushing the lead to seven a 15-8 with 4:10 to go in the quarter. McLennan rallied late in the quarter, cutting the lead to three at the end 19-16. A Jalayah Ingram bucket cut the lead to one early in the second period, but Tyler responded with a 6-0 run to go back up by seven with 7:07 to play before the half. Another late rally put McLennan within one 33-32 with 30 seconds to play. Tyler added a 3-pointer just for the buzzer to make it a four-point game at the break, 36-32.
McLennan emerged from the locker room energized and rallied for a one-point lead early in the quarter before pushing the lead to four with a 3-pointer by Tajenae Gooden with 7:10 to go in the third, 42-38. Tyler cut the leas to two but McLennan ended the quarter on a 10-2 run to make it a double-digit lead heading into the fourth, 52-42.
McLennan continued to pull away early in the fourth, leading by 14, 59-45 with seven minutes on the clock. Kilgore used a 6-0 run to cut the lead to eight a couple times down the stretch but couldn't pull any closer.
Jalayah Ingram led McLennan scorers with 19 points, and Tajenae Gooden scored 17. Amerie Flowers and Hannah Mouton rounded out the McLennan players in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively.
McLennan: Hannah Mouton 3 2-6 10; Jalayah Ingram7 5-5 19; Kennedi Ard 2 0-0 5; Charnelle Hoof 0 0-0 0; Tajenae Gooden 6 2-22 17; Taylor Craver 1 0-0 2; Amerie Flowers 6 2-2 14; Danai Lewis 0 0-0 0; Pauline Maccarthy 1 0- 2; Totals: 59 44-15 69.
Tyler: Da'Lonna Choice4 1-4 11; Brandy Jones 1 2-2 5; Kamora Jackson 0 0-0 0; KeleChi Duke 0 1-2 1; Fenishka Bertho 1 3-4 5; Grace Ezebilo 6 8-12 20; Monica Bottley 2 0-0 4; Taler Thornton 1 0-0 2; Kyra Anderson 1 4-6 6; Clementina Odom 2 0-0 4; Totals: 18 19-30 58
First Quarter score: Tyler 19, McLennan 16; Halftime score: Tyler 36, McLennan 32; Third quarter score: McLennan 52, Tyler 42; 3-pointers: McLennan 6 (Gooden 3, Mouton 2, Ard 1), Tyler 3 (Chocie 2, Jones 1); Total fouls: McLennan 24, Tyler 14;
Record: McLennan 6-0.
