OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce avenged a road loss from a week earlier, beating Redwood Christian 63-32 on Thursday night to improve to 9-4 and extend its winning streak to three games. The Jayhawks never trailed and controlled the boards 49-17, a big turnaround from the 53-50 loss at Redwood Christian on Jan. 25.
Morgan R. scored the first basket of the game, and Sara answered with a layup off a turnover to tie it at 2-2, the only tie of the night. Head-Royce then scored 11 straight points. Leila H. hit a jumper, Hailey H. scored three straight baskets and Melina M. finished inside to make it 13-2. Morgan R. added a free throw and two baskets off turnovers for an 18-3 lead. Redwood Christian answered with a 9-0 run, including a 3-pointer from Nia, to get within 18-12. Elena K. stopped the run, and baskets by Melina M. and Morgan R. gave the Jayhawks a 24-15 lead after one quarter.
The second quarter decided the game. Morgan R. hit a 3-pointer and two free throws in a stretch that pushed the lead to 33-17, and Nia answered with five straight points to make it 33-22. Head-Royce closed the half with a 14-0 run. Hailey H. and Ella S. scored back-to-back second-chance baskets, and Melina M. scored three times in the run as the Jayhawks went up 47-22. A free throw by Nia left the score at 47-23 at halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Morgan R. opened the fourth with a basket off a turnover, and after a Lilliana free throw, the Jayhawks scored 10 straight points. Morgan R. had six points in that run, Hailey H. finished an assist from Leila H. and Tara P. scored to make it 59-24, Head-Royce's largest lead at 35. Nia scored the last eight Redwood Christian points, including a second-chance 3-pointer, and Abigail K. closed the scoring with a basket for the final margin.
Morgan R. led the way with 25 points on 9-of-23 shooting, going 6-of-10 at the free-throw line. She added 19 rebounds (nine offensive), seven assists and five steals without a turnover. Hailey H. had a double-double with 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 10 rebounds, plus four assists, two steals and a block. Melina M. added 12 points, 13 rebounds (nine offensive) and three steals. Leila H. dished out six assists.
Head-Royce shot 40 percent (28-of-70) and held Redwood Christian to 25.6 percent (11-of-43). The Jayhawks grabbed 23 offensive rebounds, more than the Eagles' 17 total rebounds, and outscored them 6-3 on second-chance points. Head-Royce also had 14 steals and a 19-1 edge in assists, and eight players scored. Nia led Redwood Christian with 24 points on 8-of-26 shooting, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, and no other Eagles player scored more than five.
Head-Royce is now 9-4 on the season and has won three straight.