By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Sh’Nyla Moss scored 18 points to lead a trio of Union City players in double digits and help the Lady Tornadoes beat Trinity Christian Academy 57-39 on Monday night in Jackson.
Uriah Davis added 14 points to the winning cause, and Blair McKinnis tallied 11 as the UC girls improved to 3-1 heading into the Thanksgiving break.
The Twister boys continued their early-season trend of giving maximum effort yet coming up short as they lost 62-56 in the nightcap.
A 26-10 second-quarter surge had Union City in front 37-32 before a pair of turnover-plagued offensive lulls in the second half put the Tornadoes behind.
Ben Kail had a team-high 24 points to lead UC, which has dropped each of its first four games by six points or less.
Union City will play host to Gibson County on Tuesday night.
GIRLS
UC 57, TCA 39
The Lady Tornadoes spotted the host team the first bucket of the game, then took over and posted their highest point output of the young season to hand TCA (3-1) its first loss.
UC forced 14 first-half turnovers with its fullcourt pressure, racing to 26-8 intermission advantage after holding the Lady Lions to just three field goals over the first 16 minutes of the contest.
Davis dropped in a pair of 3-pointers in the opening stanza and Jayla Turner hit another trey to help the Twister girls to a double-figure lead (15-5) after the first period.
Despite TCA cutting the difference to 37-27 at the third-quarter horn, Union City remained firmly in control. Moss bottomed a pair of triples and had 10 of her game-high total down the stretch, while McKinnis made the second of her two trifectas to help the Lady Tornadoes outscore their opposition 20-12 in the final frame.
Debrionna Jones was a warrior inside for UC, pulling down a game-high 16 rebounds to go along with her eight points.
BOYS
TCA 62, UC 56
The Twisters displayed their best offensive stretch so far in the second quarter when they erased a double-digit deficit and assumed a five-point halftime lead.
Helped by their harassing defense that forced a handful of turnovers, UC made five 3-pointers – two by Zak Summers and one each by Kail, Finn Frankum, and Jamarious Abbott – during their impressive flurry.
Five Union City turnovers in the first three minutes of the third stanza, though, fueled a run of 12 consecutive points by the Lions, sending them back in front. A Kobe Maddox triple with 1:05 left in the period briefly knotted the count at 46 before TCA edged ahead 51-47 to begin the fourth quarter.
The Tornadoes, who were guilty of 14 of their 22 turnovers in the second half, again hurt themselves with floor mistakes to begin the stretch run. The Lions led by as many as nine before settling on the final margin.
Kail scored 12 points in both halves and was the only Union City player to reach double digits.