By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Senior Night at Highland Park Friday belonged to Koralee Jones.
Senior Koralee Jones scored 30 points in Friday's 62-11 Highland Park Senior Night win over Kansas City-Sumner. [File photo/TSN]
With three seniors playing their final home game against Meadowlark Conference foe Kansas City-Sumner and the Lady Scots riding a three-game losing streak, the message was clear.
“This is my final home game and we are going to win,” Jones, known as CoCo, said before tipoff.
Highland Park took control early against the Sabres and went on to post a 62-11 victory as Jones poured in 30 points.
KC-Sumner struck first, but that would be its only early highlight as Highland Park responded with a dominant 22-5 run to close the first quarter, sparked by Jones’ 11 points.
Feeding off the energy in the gym, the senior guard set the tone on both ends of the floor.
“It being Senior Night, I had a lot of family coming out tonight,” said Jones. “With it being the last home game of the season, I wanted to play my hardest for everybody.''
The second quarter was even more lopsided.
Highland Park’s defense completely overwhelmed Sumner, holding the Sabres scoreless in the period.
The Lady Scots combined relentless pressure with disciplined play, never allowing KC Sumner to find a rhythm.
“It was big, just the girls responding,” said Highland Park coach Rob Brown. “We had a couple rough ones coming into this game. We’ve been on the other end of that situation. But it’s about coming in locked in and not getting loosey-goosey and playing bad basketball.
"I commend them for coming out, especially in the second quarter, and playing defense the right way without fouling.”
Meanwhile, Jones kept attacking. She poured in 13 more points in the second quarter alone, giving her 24 by halftime and pushing the Scots to a commanding 47-5 lead at the break.
“CoCo, I’ve been saying the whole year — she’s an athlete,” Brown said. “When she’s going in for those layups, you think she’s about to dunk that thing. She’s just an athlete. I’m happy to be able to coach her. I wish I had her longer. Three years went by fast with her.”
The Lady Scots maintained control in the second half, outscoring Sumner 10-4 in the third quarter to trigger a running clock in the fourth. Highland Park added a 5-2 edge in the final period to secure the 51-point victory.
Beyond the final score, Brown said the win reflected his team’s resilience through a challenging season.
“It’s been a roller-coaster ride, but I always commend the girls at practice that keep showing up,” Brown said. “That means you really care. That means you care about each other and about your school. I’ve seen situations where it could go the other way. But they keep coming back, wanting to get better every day, showing the freshmen how it’s supposed to be done.
“We are a really young team. So the upperclassmen showing the freshmen the right way, not giving in to the results and not giving up -- that says a lot about their heart.”
HIGHLAND PARK 62, KC-SUMNER 11
KC-Sumner 5 0 4 2 -- 11
Highland Park 22 25 10 5 -- 62
KC-Sumner (3-15, 3-10) -- A. Lopez 2-11 0-0 4, Powell 2-7 0-2 4, B. Lopez 1-5 0-0 2, Chambers 0-0 0-2 0, Hinman 0-3 0-0 0, Sims 0-1 1-4 1, Stewart 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 5-28 1-8 11.
Highland Park (7-14, 6-4) -- Jones 14-23 2-2 30, Cosey 3-16 3-4 10, Barnett 3-7 1-2 7, Atkins 1-6 0-0 2, Cameron 0-1 0-0 0, Inyard 2-6 0-0 5, Kincade 1-13 1-2 4, Parades 2-3 0-0 4, Watson 0-1 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-77 7-10 62.
3-point goals — Highland Park 3 (Kincade, Cosey, Inyard).
