LINWOOD – A strong duo was too much for the Mainland Mustangs in the War V the Shore girls basketball showcase Saturday.
Howell High School’s duo of Kylee Beam and Kiera McKown combined for 39 points as they led the Rebels to a 50-38 victory over Mainland Regional High School Feb. 1.
Beam, a 5’11” sophomore who scored 20 points, and McKown gave the Mustangs trouble all game long, especially on the defensive end in the paint. Every attempt at a short-range shot or driving layup was met with heavy resistance or was outright blocked by McKown.
McKown finished the game with 19 points and 15 rebounds, but also had 10 blocks for a rare triple double that featured blocks and not assists. McKown, a 6’1” senior center, is closing in on 1,000 career points and after Saturday’s game had 882 rebounds and 271 blocks along with 140 steals.
Jade O’Neil found the most success attacking the rim for Mainland with her 11 points followed by Sammy Funk, who had 10. O’Neil and the offense finally broke through the Rebel defense after a tough first half where points came at a premium.
Mainland trailed by as many as 21 points but cut into the Howell lead in the second half. Sophomore Reilly Nagle returned to the game after some foul trouble early on and forced two Rebel turnovers for a quick four points. O’Neil drew a foul on a layup to convert a successful three-point play for a promising sequence for Mainland.
Callie Smith kept the pressure on Howell and started the fourth quarter with a wide open three-pointer and drew a foul for two free throws. She scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter to bring Mainland within reasonable striking distance of the lead.
Smith has had a solid second half of the season and came off a 15-point performance one day prior in a 46-37 win over Absegami High School.
With all the momentum on the Mustangs’ side after cutting the lead to a reasonable 41-30, the Rebels called a timeout. The Rebels came out of the timeout and put the ball into its best players’ hands to end the 10-2 Mustang run.
McKown hit a back-breaking three-pointer seconds after the timeout was over to reinforce the lead.
Funk brought the Mustangs back to within 10 points, but time was not on their side with only 3:18 left in the game. Mainland sold out on defense to force some turnovers in a last-minute push but could not make up the remaining 10 points.
Mainland played Howell as part of its annual War V the Shore event in which Mainland Regional hosts teams from the Cape-Atlantic and Shore conferences and pits them against each other.
Howell left the game with an impressive 14-3 record but are in third place in their division in a stacked Shore Conference.
The loss dropped Mainland to a 7-13 record amid a rebuilding year from the state championship team a year ago. Brielle Smith leads the team with more than 250 points this season followed by three other players with at least 110 points. Her sister Callie Smith, a junior, is the only non-sophomore in the starting lineup as Mainland has found promising young players in Funk and O’Neil.
The Mustangs only have one more game scheduled currently before the Cape-Atlantic League tournament starts around Feb. 10. Mainland’s final game before the tournament will be on Feb. 5 on the road against Middle Township High School (15-4). Middle won the team’s first meeting 44-32 back on Jan. 17 despite 20 points from Brielle Smith. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
