HIGHLAND, Kan. - Looking to maintain its unbeaten record and continue to climb in the NJCAA Divsion 2 coach's poll, Highland Community College (7-0) made the most of an explosive third quarter on Wednesday night to defeat Southeast Community College (4-3) 79-34. The Scotties launched into a 24-0 run coming out of the locker room at halftime and held the Bobcats to just six free throw makes in the third quarter lock in the win. Destiny Moore finished the night with a double-double (10 pts, 10 reb) with Cameron McNamara leading all scorers with 22 on the night.

For as clinical as the third quarter was, the remaining 30 minutes of the contest were not nearly as aesthetically pleasing. Highland was a bit sluggish out of the gates, turning the ball over on its first possession of the night as Aleziah Anderson opened the scoring for Southeast with a layup.

Highland rallied on the offensive glass, with Destiny Moore drawing a foul and knocking down both free throws to tie the game at 2-2, part of an 8-2 spurt by the Scotties.

A second-chance jumper for SCC after a big block by Cameron McNamara out of bounds pulled the Bobcats to within one point, but that would be the closest point of the rest of the night for the visitors, as Highland raced out to a 22-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

HCC extended its lead to 35-18 at the break despite struggling to find a shooting range. The Scotties mustered just 14-43 field goal shooting (32.6 pct.) in the first half and just 2-13 (15.4 pct.) from three-point range.

After the intermission, it was evident that head coach Saundra Proctor had delivered a rousing halftime talk, as Highland picked up steals of five of Southeast's first six possessions of the quarter, forcing a 30-second timeout and a full line change from the Bobcats at the 7:36 mark. The swap did nothing to slow down Highland, as Ja'Nisha Caldwell picked off Grace Lai on the next inbound play, leading to a three-pointer by Lucy Hardy. In total, HCC turned in 13 steals as part of a stifling third-quarter defense.

To their credit, the Bobcats came out strong in the fourth quarter but were unable to make a dent in the margin.

Highland heads to Fort Dodge, Iowa, for a pair of road contests this weekend, taking on Anoka Ramsey Community College and tournament host Iowa Central Community College in the ICC Classic. Friday's tipoff against Anoka Ramsey is set for 3 p.m.