Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Malakoff’s Hillary Dawson, who scored 23 points against Grand Saline Jan. 17, shoots from outside.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Malakoff freshman Cameryn Cheek (center) defends a Grand Saline shot attempt Jan. 17.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Shatarria Dowell of Malakoff puts up a shot under the basket at home Jan. 17 against Grand Saline.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Malakoff’s Kaitlyn Massingill, who made two first-period 3-pointers Jan. 17, looks for a teammate.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Malakoff guard Dailynn Jackson drives to the basket during a Jan. 17 District 15-3A contest.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Ava Perkins of Malakoff drives inside against Grand Saline during her team’s 64-18 win Jan. 17.

MALAKOFF–The Malakoff Lady Tigers continued their winning ways Jan. 17 with a 64-18 victory over the Grand Saline Lady Indians, moving Malakoff’s overall record to 25-3 and 8-0 in District 15-3A play.
Kaitlyn Massingill started Malakoff’s scoring with a 3-pointer, one of two such shots in the opening period. Ava Perkins and Hillary Dawson added two more Malakoff 3-pointers, respectively, to increase the Lady Tiger lead to 9-0. Dawson made a steal and followed with a bucket for an 11-0 Malakoff advantage, then made a turnaround basket in the lane for a 13-0 Malakoff lead.
The Lady Tigers continued with the hot hand by grabbing multiple offensive rebounds and finalizing the possession with another Dawson bucket, which extended the Malakoff margin to 15-0. Grand Saline got on the board by banking in a 3-pointer with 4:50 remaining in the first period.
With 1:49 left in the first, Kenna Bivins fought for an offensive rebound and follow-up bucket for a 24-4 Malakoff lead (Grand Saline had made a free throw 26 seconds earlier), then the Lady Tigers closed out their opening-period scoring with two Shatarria Dowell free throws 1:20 before the end.
Now leading 26-4, Malakoff surged to a 33-6 lead on a Cameryn Cheek 3-point play with 3:59 left in the second period. Dailynn Jackson made a Malakoff layup with 57 seconds left until halftime, extending the Lady Tigers’ lead to 40-10. A Grand Saline free throw cut that margin to 40-11 with 7.34 seconds remaining in the first half. Then, late in the third period, Haylee Holder’s 3-pointer increased the Malakoff lead to 55-15. Bivins’ offensive rebound and bucket with 5:30 left in the contest had the score at 60-15, Lady Tigers.
Dawson led Malakoff with 23 points, with 11 of those scored in the first period. Massingill, Bivins and Dowell each scored 8 points, Cheek contributed 7 points, Jackson scored 4 points and Perkins added her first-period 3-pointer (as did Holder with her third-period 3-pointer) to the Lady Tigers’ scoring total.