ANDERSON -- The lights went out on the McDonald County's offense in the second half Friday night on homecoming.
The Lady Mustangs were limited to just seven points over the final two periods as Nevada ran away with a 56-26 victory at Mustang Arena.
The Lady Mustangs had played tough in the first half, trailing 31-19 at halftime. Two baskets from Addy Leach and Samara Smith early in the third quarter kept the deficit at 12, 35-23, but Nevada would go on a 17-0 run spanning into the fourth quarter to put the game away.
McDonald County coach Sean Crane couldn't explain why the offense went cold, something which has been a trend this year for the Lady Mustangs (4-18, 2-4).
"If I knew what it was, we'd have fixed it," Crane said. "Everything with us comes down to consistency. Like you said, we played really well for a long time on both ends. I thought we played well defensively. We just kind of let it get away from us after a bit."
The early part of the game was highly competitive as Nevada led 14-12 after the first quarter.
The Lady Tigers (15-6, 6-0) hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter, but McDonald County stayed close. Smith had seven points in the quarter and Addy Leach had a basket. Meanwhile, Nevaeh Dodson's 3-pointer at the buzzer brought the Lady Mustangs within 14-12.
McDonald County took a 15-14 lead to start the second quarter with a basket-and-one by Smith, but Grace Barnes knocked down a 3-pointer to get the lead back for the Lady Tigers.
Abigail Heathman added an old-fashioned three-point play for a 20-15 lead, and Clara Swearingen swished two free throws to make it 22-15.
Smith scored off the glass to make it 22-17, but Nevada closed the half on a 9-2 run to go up 31-19 at halftime. Megan Elwood's basket was McDonald County's only points in that run.
The Lady Tigers outscored McDonald County 14-4 in the third quarter and 11-3 in the fourth.
"If we could pinpoint what it was we would," Crane said of the struggles. "We were still getting good shots. We've just got to try and keep developing offensively.
"We just went cold and you can rely on your defense for a long time, but after a while, you've got to score. They're a really good team. They did a really good job. They're a really good club."
Barnes led Nevada with 12 points on four 3-pointers, while Swearingen had 11.
Smith led McDonald County with 14 points, while Dodson had five, Leach four, Elwood two and Roslynn Hutson one.
The Lady Mustangs (4-19) fell to Aurora on Monday 60-42 in the Big 8 Crossover.
Nevada 56, McDonald County 26
Nevada^14^17^14^11^--^56
MCHS^12^7^4^3^--^26
Nevada (15-6, 6-0): Barnes 12, Swearingen 11, Majors 9, Ast 6, Johnson 5, Heathman 5, Mather 4, Eaton 2, Holcomb 1, Richmond 1.
McDonald County (4-19, 2-4): Smith 14, Dodson 5, Leach 4, Elwood 2, Hutson 1.
GRAHAM THOMAS/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County junior Samara Smith brings the ball up the floor against Nevada during Friday's homecoming game at Mustang Arena.