Lady Buffs use second-half surge to win over Holland Hall

Feb. 9—When the Lady Buffs came out for the second half of play, they did so with a whole new attitude.

McAlester hosted Holland Hall Friday inside the McAlester Activity Center, where the Lady Buffs used red-hot second-half shooting from beyond the arc to take a 63-50 win.

The Lady Dutch broke the ice with an opening three-point ball, but the Lady Buffs punched right back with a triple from Katie Allen. Rylan Lesnau followed with back-to-back scores, putting McAlester out front.

Holland Hall responded with a 10-0 run to end the first quarter, taking a 16-7 lead into the second.

Allen and Madi VanDorpe hit consecutive shots to start the next period, with Tori Kilbrun earning a cleanup score to cut into the deficit. Allen and Kilburn next combined for five more points, trimming the Holland Hall lead to four at the break.

Avrey Alberson fed Kilburn in motion for the opening score of the second half, and Kilburn added another post cleanup bucket to tie up the game. Holland Hall earned a score, but the Lady Buffs rattled off a 5-0 run with scores from Allen and VanDorpe to rocket into the lead.

VanDorpe later hit another swishing trey, with the Lady Dutch calling a timeout. On the other side, Kilburn kept McAlester moving with a post score to extend the lead to eight points. VanDorpe next added another triple for good measure on the way to a 40-28 McAlester lead after three periods.

Kilburn and Rylee Forehand hit back-to-back threes to start the fourth quarter, with Holland Hall responding with a quick 5-0 run in response. Kilburn and Alberson hit a pair of threes to bookend a McAlester timeout, sending the fans to their feet.

Alberson next hit another swishing trey, and McAlester were off to the races — running away with the win.

Kilburn led the way for McAlester with 21 points, VanDorpe with 13 points, Allen with 12 points, Alberson with nine points, Lesnau with six points, and Forehand with three points.

Next up for the Lady Buffs, they'll travel to Sapulpa Saturday before returning to the MAC Tuesday for Senior Night against Coweta.