After splitting the regular season matchups on their respective home courts the #6 Highland women's basketball team hosted #9 Labette for the rubber match this time it was for the right to play in the Region VI Championship.
Behind a strong start to the game lead the Scotties to their 38
th straight win at home and an appearance in their third straight Region VI Championship game, winning the Semifinal matchup 78-69 over Labette. The win also moves the team to 24-2 on the season giving Head Coach
BJ Smith at least 24 wins in all eight seasons at Highland and marking his sixth trip to Region title game. The win is also the 20
th all-time against Labette and gives
BJ Smith a 13-2 record against Labette.
After a 9-2 start over nearly the first three minutes of the game Highland saw Labette call a timeout but the Scotties continued their strong start working to double figure lead at 16-6 with 5:29 left in the first quarter and by the end of the quarter led 27-12. Scotties forced Labette into nine first quarter turnovers and the Cardinals were just 4-13 from the floor to start the game while the Scotties were 12-16.
Highland continued to push the lead out as halftime approached and took a 44-25 lead into halftime. Labette took control out of halftime opening the second half on a 15-2 run over the nearly the first six minutes of the third quarter and drew within six-points at 46-40 with 4:14 left in the third. Scotties answered to head into the fourth up 57-44 and despite efforts by Labette to get with striking distance again in the fourth Highland secured the 78-69 win hitting some free throws down the stretch.
Scotties shot 48.5% from the floor in the win, hitting eight three-points and on defense forced 20 turnovers marking the 21
st game this season a Scottie opponent has had 20+ turnovers.
Tiana Gipson paced Highland with 19 points on 6-11 shooting, while
Stefania Chiziane tallied 14 points and added six rebounds.
Keondra White had her third double figure game of the season all coming in the last six contests as she scored 12 points adding three rebounds.
Janiya Davis put in 10 points and six rebounds for the Scotties, while
Tuana Dinc had eight points and seven rebounds.
With the win #6 Highland will now play in the Region VI Championship game on Tuesday, March 5
th in Park City, Kansas at Hartman Arena at 5:00pm against #7 Kansas City Kansas CC who beat Johnson County in their Semifinal matchup. Highland will provide a Fan caravan to the game leaving at 11:45am on Tuesday from the Wellness Center; to ride on the bus it is a $10 charge (limited seating) – please contact
tnordman@highlandcc.edu to secure a spot.