The McLean Highlanders edged out a 45-41 victory over the host Yorktown Patriots on Friday night. After trailing for the entire game, the Highlanders took a 41-40 lead late in the fourth quarter and then went 8-for-11 from the free throw line to seal the victory.
"I thought our defense limiting them to very few second chance opportunities was the key to our victory tonight," said McLean Coach Mike O'Brien. "I told the kids that after the game and we hit some key free throws down the stretch too."
Highlanders sophomore forward Lexi Slotkoff finished the game with a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. O'Brien was very impressed with Slotkoff's play considering that she is only a sophomore and a first year varsity player.
The game was close throughout all four quarters, with Yorktown mainly playing a half-court trapping zone, and the Highlanders sticking to man-to-man defense throughout. Yorktown hit two huge 3-pointers with less than two minutes to go, but McLean's two steals with fewer than 20 ticks on the clock in the fourth quarter sealed the victory, as they got fouled on both possessions and hit their free throws to stretch their lead to 5 points.
With the victory McLean improves to 2-2 overall on the season. Their next matchup is a home game against North Stafford High School on Monday, Dec. 13.
