Lady Scots Suffer First District Loss
In an early battle for first place in the District 10-4A girls basketball standings, West Mesquite surged past Highland Park 59-54 on Tuesday in Mesquite, handing the Lady Scots their first defeat in league play.
It was the first loss since Dec. 3 for HP, which saw its four-game winning streak snapped. Tamia Cunigan scored a game-high 23 points for the defending district champion Lady Wranglers (15-4, 4-0).
Katie Thiebaud scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack for HP (12-4, 3-1), which dropped into a tie for second place in 10-4A but will host West Mesquite in a rematch on Jan. 24. In the meantime, the Lady Scots will return home to face Carrollton Creekview on Friday.
On the boys side, HP established a new season high for points by rolling past West Mesquite 86-59 on Tuesday. The Scots (16-3, 2-0) used a 31-point second quarter to take a commanding 47-28 lead at halftime.
Four HP players reached double figures, including Clayton Murtha (22 points), Derek Cahn (21), Evan Beucler (13) and Matthew Crites (11).
The offensive outburst came only a few days after the Scots were held under 50 points in each of their last three games at the Allen Holiday Invitational tournament over the weekend. HP hadn’t scored fewer than 50 points in any of its 15 games this season prior to the tournament.
The Scots split four games against tough competition during the three-day event, scoring wins over Rockwall (57-44) and Richardson (43-41) but falling to Duncanville (56-46) and Allen (44-41).
HP will travel to face Carrollton Creekview on Friday, looking to keep its unbeaten district record intact.
