McNeil hit seven 3-point shots and had a 15-1 second-quarter hitting streak to beat Round Rock 56-38 on Friday night, giving both teams a 5-2 record in a District 25-6A mid-race game.
Overall, the Dragons fell to 21-7 and the Mavericks went 18-8.
“It was a huge win for us tonight,” McNeil’s coach Kenny Mann said. “We hit the ball as best we could. They surrounded us in defense, and today we hit from the outside, which was lacking in our attack. It was a great way to finish the first half of the district.”
The teams tied 13–13 after the first quarter as the Dragons’ Bailey Featherstone wing scored seven of her team’s best 13 points, while McNeil had a balanced attack and scored one of her three-point shots by Calea Vazquez.
The Dragons opened up a 16–13 lead in the second, but McNeil responded with three straight 3s from Taryn Smith, Riley Samples and Lauren Rowan, who ended the streak with a steal and layup. The Mavericks added a three-pointer from Taylor Snyder to end the quarter 15-1. Samples scored seven points, giving her 11 of the top 20 points in the game for the half.
“We got into a rhythm and the shots came pouring in,” Mann said. “When you make the baskets light, everything just relaxes and the team plays better. Tonight against a really good Round Rock team, it was just our night.”
Round Rock had a 6-0 lead at the start of the third period, cutting the lead to 33:25, but McNeil responded with two more Snyder three-pointers and a couple of Samples’ paint shots to end the third quarter. up to 43-29. McNeil finished the game with a 13–9 scoring lead in the fourth quarter.
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Sams led McNeil with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, while Snyder and Rowan added 11 points each. Rowan finished with five interceptions and four rebounds, while Snyder had three shields and three interceptions. Featherstone led Round Rock with 13 points, while Deja Zuniga had 11 points on five rebounds and five steals. Danai Jones added seven points and six rebounds for Round Rock.
In the other place
Vista Ridge (18-8, 7-0) opened up a two-game lead at 25-6A, beating Manor 64-56. Abby Seitz led the Rangers with 17 points, while Kianna Wormley added 14 and Sailer Burland added 12. The loss saw the Manor fall to 15–12 overall and 3–4 district, while Cedar Ridge took fifth place.
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Stony Point (22-5, 4-3) single-handedly finished fourth, beating Westwood 46-34. Ava Knipstein scored 16 points and grabbed three rebounds for Stony Point, while Ayma Ofunrein doubled with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Haviland Booker scored 10 points with three assists and three steals. Cedar Ridge (14-10, 3-4) drew against the Manor after beating Vandegrift 36-29.
Mia Galbraith scored 16 points as Lake Travis beat Akins 76-13. Reagan Hassenfratz scored 14 points for the Cavaliers, while Riley Moore and Bella Germond finished with 10 points each in the win. In other district action, number one Austin High beat Dripping Springs 52–15, Johnson beat Del Valle 55–29, and Bowie beat Anderson 58–35. McCallum beat Northeast Early College 65–10.
State-ranked Hayes finished the first half of District 25-5A 7-0, defeating Lehman 74-15, while Glenn edged out Liberty Hill 31-29 to move to second and push the Panthers to third. Cedar Park is fourth in the county after defeating Rouse 62-34.
At 22-4A, La Grange remained in first place in the district after beating Manor New Tech 63-20. Caldwell defeated Giddings 40-2.7 and Taylor defeated Smithville 58-44. At 23-5A, Pflugerville scored Connally 75-10, Elgin cut Bastrop 44-23 and Georgetown blasted Cedar Creek 89-14.
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