Monday (Dec. 20) was the latest example of a Scott High team that continues improve but hasn't reached a point where it can win games it isn't expected to.
Against a team that dominated them to begin the season, the Lady Highlanders played neck-and-neck with Sunbright on the opening day of play at the South Fork Physical Therapy Christmas Classic at Oneida, before ultimately losing 55-52.
Sunbright jumped out to a 10-0 lead and looked set to cruise against Scott High for the second time this season. But then things flipped. Annalyne Woodward had the best game of her high school career, scoring 10 in the first quarter en route to a team-high 16 for the game.
Woodward powered a 15-4 run by the Lady Highlanders, who closed out the first quarter with a 15-14 lead.
Sunbright would go back in front in the second quarter, and this time the Tigers did not relinquish the lead. Ashlin Trent scored six of her 11 in the second, while Lindsey Brown knocked down five of her 12 to power a 15-9 run.
Zoey Terry hit a 3-pointer for Scott High, but that was the only field goal for the Lady Highlanders in that period. Scott went 6 of 9 from the free throw line to keep things relatively close at the half.
The third quarter saw both teams struggle to score, but Brittany Morrow — who had been held scoreless in the first half — came alive on the offensive team to help her team with 10 second half points, including five in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter saw Jalin Young score six points, while Julie Lewallen knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and scored seven. Scott scored 19 fourth quarter points.
But Sunbright's Holly Nitzchke was good enough from the free throw line to seal it for the Tigers. She had not scored all night, but hit 7 of 10 free throws in the final period to help her team go up 55-49 before the Lady Highlanders hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
A scary moment in the game saw Woodward go down with a knee injury early in the fourth quarter. While she left the floor with assistance and immediately went to the doctor for evaluation, initial indications were that a bone bruise might be the extent of her injury. If that is the case, she will miss only a couple of weeks of action.
SCOTT (52): Woodward 16, Young 11, Morrow 10, Lewallen 8, Terry 5, Jeffers 2.
SUNBRIGHT (55): Brown 12, Trent 11, Newport 8, Northrup 8, Nitzchke 7, Ad. Shannon 5, Al. Shannon 4.
