By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
A spectacular 43-point performance by sophomore guard Sh’Nyla Moss led Union City to a thrilling 77-73 overtime victory at Dyer County on Tuesday night.
Moss’s career-best scoring output was just one off the program’s single-game record and included six 3-pointers, 15-of-16 free throws, and 10 of her team’s 11 markers in the extra period.
Equally as critical was her blocked shot at the end of regulation that led to the OT.
UC improved to 7-2 with the win and beat the Class 3A Lady Choctaws (5-4) for the second time in as many meetings this season.
The Twister boys duplicated that feat against DC in the nightcap, rallying from a 14-point first-half deficit to claim a 71-62 triumph.
A huge third quarter, during which Union City made seven of its 14 3-pointers and outscored the Tribe 29-13, was key to the Tornadoes’ victory.
Ben Kail buried a trio of triples, Zak Summers drained two, and Kobe Maddox and Kwinton Purifoy each knocked down a trifecta in the third stanza for the Tornadoes (3-7), who supplemented their comeback by forcing 27 turnovers.
Both UC teams will play in holiday events to close out their pre-Christmas slates – the girls opening play in the Gibson County Pre-Christmas Tournament on Thursday night against the host team, while the Twister boys face the hometown Trojans in the Charles Cowles Classic in Dyersburg on Friday.
UC 77, Dyer Co. 73, OT (G)
Moss was nothing short of sensational in the breakout performance of her still-young career.
She banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap a 19-point first half and give Union City a 40-29 intermission lead. Moss then added 10 more markers in the third period to keep her team in front. She shined the brightest, though, after DC took its first lead late in regulation and later went up by four points in overtime.
Moss hit two foul shots with 28 seconds showing in the fourth quarter to knot the count at 66 before denying a Lady Choctaw game-winning shot from the perimeter with just a few ticks left.
With her team down 73-69 in the OT, she hit UC’s only field goal, then calmly bottomed six consecutive free throws after being hacked on drives to the bucket. Two of those foul shots and an extra possession came after a technical foul on the home team.
All totaled, the Tornado girls hit 22-of-27 from the free-throw line and nine 3-pointers. Freshman Alli McMillan sank two of those trifectas – one in each half.
Debrionna Jones was a solid post presence for Union City, recording another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
UC 71, Dyer Co. 62 (B)
Union City trailed by double figures before the game was six minutes old and 35-21 in the second stanza of an intense first half that saw seven technical fouls whistled on the two teams combined.
Behind 38-26 at the intermission, the Tornadoes found their groove offensively and fueled their attack by harassing DC into a handful of turnovers on the defensive end with a stepped-up effort.
Maddox capped a flurry of 12 unanswered points by UC with a triple after Kail had drained a pair, and Summers also connected for the second time. Purifoy, who turned in his best performance of the season, tickled the twine with his first 3-pointer of the year to finish the Twisters’ third-stanza flurry and give Union City a 55-51 lead.
Triples by Summers at the six-minute mark and Maddox with 2:30 to play kept the Tornadoes in control down the stretch.
Kail’s 21 points topped all scorers and led a quartet of double-figure scorers for UC. Purifoy finished with a career-high 13, while Summers and Jarmarious Abbot had 12 apiece – all on 3-pointers.