Sophomore sparkles for Western Branch girls

SUFFOLK

Alexis McKay is a difference-maker.

With the Western Branch sophomore benched for seven games early in the season because of a concussion, the Bruins went 3-4 - including a 22-point thrashing at the hands of King's Fork.

On Friday in a rematch on the Bulldogs' home court, McKay was back.

And she was hot.

McKay scored 29 points

and guided the Bruins (9-8 overall, 9-4 Southeastern District) to a 47-42 victory that makes things a little more interesting in the district race.

McKay made seven 3-pointers and two long deuces where her foot just touched the line.

"Yes, I've been feeling it," said McKay, who also had nine rebounds. "It was tough sitting out and seeing my team struggle. This was a great win and a good way for us to get our focus back."

How sharp Western Branch would be was a question heading into the game. The Bruins had lost 52-50 in overtime to Grassfield the previous night.

Western Branch missed six free throw tries in the extra period and watched as the Grizzlies' Nola Anderson banked in a half-court buzzer-beater for the victory.

On Friday, the Bruins were 6 of 7 from the line.

"Last night was very hard on us," Western Branch coach Troy Terry said. "This was a significant win for us and it showed we have a lot of heart and haven't given up.

"This is just what we needed to jump-start us into the rest of the season."

King's Fork (14-2, 12-1) led throughout the game, but just barely because of the hot hand of McKay, who scored 19 of her team's 28 first-half points.

"She's a good one," King's Fork coach Maurice Fofana said. "I think our young girls forgot who she was because she didn't play in the first game.

"This will be a good wake-up for us."

Western Branch took its first lead of the game with 3:31 left on a 3-pointer that gave McKay 25 points. After frantic action because King's Fork had only four team fouls at the time, McKay eventually was sent to the line for a one-and-one with 42 seconds left - draining both for a 45-42 lead.

King's Fork missed three desperation three-point tries from there out, and McKay calmly hit both ends of another one-and-one with 11.8 seconds left to secure the win.

Western Branch's Da'Lishia Griffin had 14 rebounds to go with her eight points. Khadedra Croker's 16 points and 10 rebounds led King's Fork. Chantel Roberts had 10 rebounds to go with her eight points.

Lee Tolliver, 757-222-5844,lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com