The Highland girls basketball team passed an early season road test Tuesday night in a hostile environment in Lone Tree, beating the Lady Lions 50-29 in the Area Game of the Week heard live on KCII.
The contest proved it would be a back-and-forth affair early, with Lone Tree ahead after one period of play 15-12. However, it was also early in the game when star Lady Lion senior Finley Jacque would hit the deck hard, injuring her head and out of the competition. With Jacque out, the Huskies made their move in the second, going on a 17-6 run to retake the lead at 29-21 going into the half. Out of the locker rooms, both sides struggled to make much happen, as only 14 combined points were scored in the third period. Down to the last eight minutes, and with a win in sight, the Huskies wouldn’t be denied, closing the game on a 11-4 run to capture the win.
Unofficially, Highland won the contest after taking both the rebounding and turnover battles by 19 and two, respectively. Co-Washington County Hospital and Clinics Player of the Game, Kamryn Fink, dazzled for the Huskies, scoring a team-high 19 points and pulling down multiple rebounds. Fink joined KCII Sports postgame to talk about her team’s mentality and the performance.
“ We were coming for it,” Fink said. “We had payback to get, and we knew how we played last January, and we wanted nothing to do with that. And we had so many turnovers, and that’s one thing that we really focused on, was just our defensive efforts and then limiting our turnovers tonight.”
Fellow co-Washington County Hospital and Clinics Player of the Game, Katelyn Thomann, followed up Fink with 10 points. Lone Tree was led by their WCHC Player of the Game, Dalanie Graap with seven points.
With the win, Highland improves to 2-1 on the season ahead of a home date with Hillcrest Academy next week. Lone Tree drops to 1-2 before a road trip to Columbus next week. The Area Game of the Week will also make its return next week, with the WACO Warriors facing Holy Trinity Catholic in a doubleheader on Monday.