By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
A run of 18 consecutive third-quarter points propelled the Union City girls to a 46-22 victory over Peabody on Monday night.
The Lady Tornadoes’ second win in three days avenged an earlier 17-point loss to Trenton and moved them to 12-12 on the season. More importantly, the District 14-AA triumph lifted them into third place in the league standings with just two games remaining before the postseason begins next week.
Sh’Nyla Moss had half of her game-high 22 points in that third-quarter flurry, helping UC to recover from a shaky first half in which they made just four field goals.
The Twister boys couldn’t complete the sweep in the nightcap, falling 64-55 to the fifth-ranked Golden Tide.
Union City fell behind by as many as 16 points in the second half, and, despite continued gritty play, could never quite get over the hump in their comeback effort and lost for the second time this season against Trenton.
Freshman Brayden Marshall netted a career-high 17 points to lead three Tornado players in double figures.
UC will play at Gibson County on Thursday night before ending the regular season at home on Saturday against Westview.
UC 46, Peabody 22 (G)
The Lady Tornadoes caught fire immediately after the intermission, following a lackluster first half in which the two teams combined to hit but five field goals while committing a number of turnovers.
Union City found its rhythm after the break, though, putting together a string of solid offensive possessions – created by turnovers caused by their scrambling full-court pressure.
Peabody, in fact, failed to score in that third stanza and had just one made shot and eight points for the game after three periods.
In addition to Moss, who made 4-of-4 from the free throw line, a pair of deuces, and a 3-pointer in that telling frame, Blair McKinnis sank a triple and two foul shots to end up a point shy of twin digits in the contest.
The Lady Tornadoes also got some solid reserve minutes from freshmen Maddie Steward and McKinley Dean during the second half before head coach Mason Storey emptied his bench in the final three minutes.
Trenton had beaten Union City 57-40 in an earlier meeting, with Moss out of the lineup due to injury.
Peabody 64, UC 55 (B)
A run of 11 unanswered Tide points in the second quarter, coupled with seven missed Union City free throws during that time, put the Twisters in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.
The Tornadoes (9-14, 2-4) cut a 29-18 halftime deficit to 31-24 on a Will Kail bucket early in the third quarter. But Peabody spurted again with 14 of the next 20 points to rebuild its lead late in the period – one that ended with the teams separated by a 50-36 count.
UC refused to quit, however, sparked by Marshall, who had 13 of his markers after the intermission. Marshall’s trifecta in the waning seconds accounted for the final margin.
Kail ended up with 13 points, and J.B. Thompson totaled 10. Four of Trenton’s five starters finished in double figures scoring-wise.
The Twisters, who lost an earlier meeting by 10 points to Peabody, hurt themselves at the charity stripe, missing 10 of their 19 opportunities.