Union improves to 11-3 overall for season
The Union Lady Yellowjackets got off to a good start in region play with a pair of wins last week.
The Lady Yellowjackets opened with a 50-41 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday and then beat Eupora 49-39 on Friday.
The Union boys weren’t as fortunate as they dropped a pair of tight games, losing 49-43 to Philadelphia and 48-46 to Eupora.
Union returned to action this week as they traveled to Enterprise on Tuesday and will play at Sebastopol on Friday.
Union girls 50, Philadelphia 41
The Lady Yellowjackets pulled away in the fourth period and took a nine-point win over the Lady Tornadoes on Tuesday.
Union led 11-8 at the end of the first and each team scored 11 points in the second period as the Lady Yellowjackets led 22-19 at the half. Philly then outscored Union 13-12 in the fourth as Union held a slim 34-32 win. The Lady Yellowjackets then pulled away in the fourth period and outscored the Lady Tornadoes 16-9 to take the win.
Kylee Madden led Union with 16 points and three assists while Gracyn Tillman had 12 points and six steals. Rymia Craft had eight points and 10 rebounds while Tiara Campbell had seven points and six rebounds. Elle Killen also chipped in seven points and six rebounds.
Philadelphia boys 49, Union 43
The Tornadoes overcame an early deficit and took a hard-fought six-point win over the Yellowjackets.
Union held a slim 13-11 lead at the end of the first before Philadelphia outscored the Yellowjackets 13-9 to take a 24-22 lead at the half. Philly extended the lead in the third period, outscoring Union 18-13 to lead 42-35 going to the fourth. Union took the fourth period 8-7 for the final margin.
Keon Hutchins led Union with 14 points while U’Darrion Hickmon had 10 points. Mason Tucker had eight points and Kamarion Rushing added seven points.
Union girls 49, Eupora 39
The Lady Yellowjackets jumped out to an early lead and held on to take a 10-point win over the Lady Eagles in region play on Friday.
Union jumped out to a 24-9 lead in the first period while Eupora came back and outscored the Lady Yellowjackets 10-6 in the second period to cut the lead to 30-19 at the half. Union extended the lead in the third, outscoring Eupora 9-6 to lead 39-25 going to the fourth. Eupora outscored Union 14-10 in the fourth for the final margin.
Kylee Madden led Union with 15 points, seven assists and three rebounds while Rymia Craft had 12 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three deflections. Sydney Coward had six points, three rebounds and three assists while Gracyn Tillman had six points, four rebounds and four assists. Tiara Campbell had four points and five rebounds while Elle Killen and Destiny Campbell each had three points and three rebounds.
Eupora boys 48, Union 46
Eupora’s Tie Johnson scored a lay-up as time expired before the ensuing inbounds pass to break the tie and give the Eagles the win.
Union led 6-5 at the end of the first but Eupora outscored the Yellowjackets 17-13 in the second to take a 22-19 lead at the half. Eupora outscored Union 14-12 in the third to extend the lead to 36-31 going to the fourth. Union outscored Eupora 15-12 in the fourth for the final margin.
Kamarion Rushing made a 3-pointer in the last two minutes to give Union a 44-42 advantage, but Eupora immediately answered. Then U’Darrion Hickmon was fouled to put Union back up 46-44 with 1:07 remaining.
The Eagles responded and tied the game with 50.7 remaining. Union had several good looks to take the lead in the final minute, but Eupora finally garnered a rebound in the waning moments as Johnson went coast-to-coast to score the game winner with about 1 second remaining. Union could not stop the clock.
Kamarion Rushing and Hickmon led Union with 14 points apiece while Zi Buckley had 11 points.
