HIGHLAND, Kan. - Fresh off of her selection as the KJCCC Division II Women's Basketball Player of the Week,
Cameron McNamara turned in another solid performance for no. 7 Highland Community College (10-0) on Tuesday night as the Scotties rolled past Iowa Western Community College (6-4) by a 61-42 margin.
Highland opened the first quarter with smothering defensive pressure, forcing Iowa Western into misses on its first three possessions and first six shots overall from the floor, while
Lucy Hardy and
Madison Brittle each hit triples to give the Scotties a 6-2 lead inside the first three minutes of the contest.
The Scotties extended a 14-7 first quarter lead into a 33-18 lead at halftime, with McNamara handling the bulk of the scoring for HCC. The sophomore tallied 11 of the team's 19 points in the second frame, closing out the half with four straight free throw makes.
Lucy Hardy helped Highland extend as far as a 21-point lead in the third quarter, knocking down a three-pointer with 3:43 left for a 44-23 Scotties lead. Iowa Western tried to answer but was rebuffed quickly as Hardy drew a foul on the break with 1:31 left in the period, knocking down both free throws before
Jalasia Hull dropped in a layup with 50 seconds left.
The Reivers came out of the break with one final surge, briefly closing the gap to 48-26. Savanah Appel forced a quick turnover for a layup on the break then bookended a single free-throw make around a three-pointer by Kyra Wooden, but Hardy found a wide open
Brooklyn Pierce on the ensuing inbounds to put Highland across the 50-point plateau. Both teams got locked into a bit of less than careful ball handling over the next three minutes, with the Scotties righting the ship first as McNamara checked back into the game with just over six minutes remaining and immediately found herself open for a layup.
Highland finished the night shooting at a 33.3 percent clip (22-66) and held Iowa Western to a 26.8 percent (15-56) pace. The Scotties also controlled the glass, with a 44-40 overall edge and a 29-26 edge on the defensive glass.
After the Thanksgiving break, Highland travels to Lincoln, Neb., for a pair of contests in the SCC Holiday Classic. First up for HCC is a rematch against Central Community College, with Friday's tipoff set for 2 p.m.
