By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Despite Atchison's second-half comeback, the Highland Park girls locked in and earned their eighth Meadowlark Conference victory on Tuesday night with a 65-51 home win.
Highland Park had a stable 28-18 lead to end the first half but had to keep its foot on the gas to outpace Atchison in the second half.
Sophomore Amelia Ramsey scored 23 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in Highland Park's 65-51 Meadowlark Conference win over Atchison Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
The Scots outscored the pesky Phoenix 37-33 in the third and fourth quarters.
Although Highland Park is brand new to the Meadowlark Conference, Tuesday night's contest felt like a pure rivalry. A back-and-forth contest played with a significant amount of intensity made the victory much sweeter for the Scots'.
"I think it has built up to be a bit of a rivalry," Highland Park coach Rob Brown said. "With Atchison and us, I think it started during the football season with our boys doing what they've been doing. And I keep telling our girls that (Atchison) keeps getting better and better since we've played them. So we are going to get everyone's best shot from here on out."
Highland Park's 6-foot standout sophomore Amelia Ramsey was a thorn in Atchison's side for the duration of the four-quarter contest, scoring a game-high 23 points. Along with Ramsey's 23-point night, the post collected 19 rebounds, five blocks and three steals.
"I feel like as a team, we are learning how to pass the ball better and move more which is helping me in my game," Ramsey said. "Angelique (Gowan-Britt) had some great assists to everyone, which helped me and the team move and get better shots off. I think I can carry my momentum by keeping my confidence up. I have to keep coming in and work hard every day."
A. Gowan-Britt's sensational stretch has been noticed this season in the Highland Park locker room. A. Gowan-Britt's spark, defensive motor, shooting and passing ability will be a key for the Scots to keep up its collectively excellent team basketball.
On Tuesday night, A. Gowan-Britt joined Ramsey as the other double-digit scorer for Highland Park with 17 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Scots.
The standout duo of A. Gowan-Britt and Ramsey impacted the game immediately.
The Scots jumped to a 7-2 run in the opening quarter before Atchison took a timeout. The Phoenix cleaned it up defensively as the Scots just outscored Atchison 9-6 for the remainder of the quarter.
A. Gowan-Britt (8) and Ramsey (7) had 15 of its 16 total points in the first quarter. The duo shot an eye-opening seven of nine from the field in the opener.
The second quarter wasn't as smooth as the first quarter for Highland Park, as Atchison made the Scots pay for fouling them.
Atchison shot an unfavorable one of 16 in the second quarter, but the Scots fouled the Phoenix a significant amount. Eight of Atchison's 12 points came from the charity stripe.
Highland Park turned the ball over more, shot four of 17 and didn't look like themselves thoroughly in the second quarter. However, despite Highland Park's struggles in the second period, the Scots played well enough to extend its lead to 10 at the halftime break.
"We were at a standstill in the second quarter," Brown said. "We turned the ball over and missed a lot of free throws. That second quarter put us in a bit of a funk, but we were able to go into halftime and make adjustments. I thought the girls responded well. We had to re-confirm our message, get the ball inside and get some transition buckets as well."
Atchison got the game within five points to open up the third quarter with a run; Brown would go on to take a timeout that paid dividends. The timeout was crucial, and Highland Park was able to come out of that short hiatus with an edge.
The Scots slammed its foot on the gas and got its first-quarter offensive production back with a 6-0 run.
Ramsey had all six points from underneath the basket. With Ramsey taking the game over, Atchison would call a timeout after losing its smallest deficit since the first quarter.
"Being a team leader, I did my best to pick my teammates up and help get them through the (slump)," Ramsey said. "It was a slow start, but then once we realized we could get back within the game, everything became easier. Basketball is a game of runs, and everybody makes mistakes."
Atchison would regain its momentum with a 10-4 run in the first 2:17 of the fourth quarter.
"We always preach that we don't want dog fights," Brown said. "We got a good tough group. If we get ourselves in a dog fight, I think the girls here can respond and get a grind-out win, like we did tonight."
It took everyone for Highland Park to hold its lead and keep Atchison away. Five players scored in the remainder of the quarter, making its unit a threat.
Highland Park sophomore Tahtionna Broils led the Scots in scoring in the final quarter with seven points. Ramsey had six points, while juniors A. Gowan-Britt and Seonna Gowan-Britt each had four.
Atchison couldn't keep up with Highland Park's scoring, and the Scots were able to pull away with the 65-51 victory.
"It was good for us to make adjustments, and it was also good for us to respond in the right way," Brown said. "We always want single-digit quarters because we live off of our defense, so it was big for the girls to see everything through and follow through with it."
Highland Park (13-3, 8-0) will get on the bus and go to Schlagle for a Meadowlark Conference matchup on Wednesday night.
HIGHLAND PARK GIRLS 65, ATCHISON 51.
Atchison 8 10 15 18 – 51
Highland Park 16 12 15 22 – 65
Atchison (9-8, 6-3) – Snoddy 5-20 8-9 19, Heyward 1-8 1-2 3, Boldridge 1-4 0-0 2, Downing 2-6 2-2 6, Simpson 4-20 6-10 14, Seymore 3-6 1-2 7. Totals – 16-64 18-25 51.
Highland Park (13-3, 8-0) – A. Gowan Britt 8-14 1-3 17, Sanders 3-13 2-6 9, Broils 3-5 2-4 9,, S. Gowan-Britt 2-8 0-1 4, Ramsey 9-14 5-8 23, Jones 1-2 1-2 3. Totals – 26-56 5-8 65.
3-point goals – Highland Park 2 (Sanders, Broils), Atchison 1 (Snoddy). Total fouls – Highland Park 19, Atchison 16. Fouled out – Broils, Highland Park. Technical fouls – none.
