Second-half Rally lifts Harding girls to Big Victory

 Story from Commercial Appeal

The Harding Academy girls basketball team sent a message in the second half of Tuesday’s game against Northpoint: They are still going to have a say in deciding who wins the region title.

Morgan Murphy scored 20 points as the Lions shook off a sluggish second half to defeat Northpoint, ranked No. 11 in The Commercial Appeal’s Dandy Dozen, 74-64.

“We didn’t play as hard in the first half,” said Murphy, who also connected on four 3-pointers. “Coach (Becky) Starks told us that they were playing harder than us on every play, getting to every loose ball.

“She told us this has been our district ... It’s really good to get a good team win. It’s going to give us a lot of confidence.”

Harding (10-4, 3-1 Division 2A-1) also got a big boost from the return of senior Rachael Maynard, who didn’t play over the Christmas holidays because of the flu and a broken finger.

After trailing 30-27 at halftime, Maynard made some big shots in the third quarter, one in which the Lions outscored the Trojans 26-11 to take control of the contest. Maynard finished with 11 points, including three 3s.

Harding also got fine games from its young inside players, freshman Antoinette Lewis and sophomore Anna Horner who scored nine and eight points respectively and controlled the glass.
Northpoint, which falls to 15-3, was led by eighth-grader Lauren Gross, who scored 17. Freshman Ashtyn Baker and senior Kimberlee Keltner chipped in with 15 apiece.