Dreher’s Tequila McNeal looks to shoot against B–C’s Laura Matney and Kayla Stinson. Photos by Paulene Cruse After a slow start, the Dreher Blue Devils used a 13–3 run late in the third quarter to pull away from Brookland–Cayce 50–37 at Dreher Tuesday, January 26. Seventeen points from Tequila McNeal led the way for the Lady Blue Devils. Lauren Dreher chipped in with ten. Brookland–Cayce was led by Asia Benn with 14 points, and Taylor Vinson added nine.

The Blue Devils jumped out to an early 3–0 lead. McNeal hit the first shot then Dreher chipped in with a free throw. However, the Lady Bearcats came storming back. A bucket from Laura Matney and a three pointer from Kayla Stinson gave the Bearcats a 5–3 lead. McNeal answered with two buckets of her own to give Dreher a 7–5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

After an even second quarter kept the Dreher lead at two, 14–12, the Blue Devils came to life in the third quarter. After Kacie Silver tied the game with a bucket, Shakeina Smith and McNeal combined for three straight buckets to give the Blue Devils a 20–14 edge.

Brookland–Cayce’s Asia Benn drives against Dreher’s Gerrysha Sullivan. The Bearcats answered. A Benn free throw, followed by buckets from Vinson and Matney cut the deficit to one. The Blue Devils regained their advantage with a 6–0 run to extend the lead to 26–19.

Matney ended the Dreher run with a bucket of her own, but Dreher countered with five straight points to extend the lead to double digits at 33–20. Vinson cut the deficit to 11 at the end of the quarter with a bucket.

The Bearcats opened the fourth quarter with a 10–6 run to tighten the score to 39–32. It was Benn who helped push the Bearcats back into contention with eight of Brookland–Cayce’s ten points during that run. However, Dreher proved too much to overcome.

Buckets from McNeal and Smith extended the lead back to double digits.

After Brookland– Cayce cut the lead to eight, later in the quarter, Dreher ended the game with five straight points to ensure the 50–37 win.