Rachel Kleine did not expect a tight game between a pair of teams she labeled as “streaky.”

Kleine’s assessment proved spot on Wednesday night as Morristown and Waldron exchanged runs during their Sectional 60 quarterfinal round contest at Southwestern High School.

Three players produced double-double performances and five players scored in double digits while two more players finished with nine points in Morristown’s 67-54 victory over Waldron that avenged a 56-47 loss to the Mohawks on Dec. 8.

The Yellow Jackets have now won five of its last six and 10 of its last 14.

“I really just had a feeling with the way we are playing, when we get hot and I talk about finding that zone a little bit, or when Waldron gets hot, it’s just one of things where I felt like whomever got hot first would take the game,” said Morristown head coach Rachel Kleine.

Morristown freshman Jayla Keithley scored a game-high 21 points and had 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block. Danika Rutledge, a junior, finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds to get the Yellow Jackets a rematch with Class A, No. 11 Oldenburg Academy (18-4) in Friday’s sectional semifinal round. The Twisters defeated Morristown 50-33 on Dec. 14 which left the Yellow Jackets just 2-10.

Morristown built a 12-3 lead after one quarter Wednesday as Waldron struggled to knock down shots — a constant source of frustration all game long. The Mohawks missed 15 of their first 16 shots over the opening eight minutes.

Keithley and Rutledge combined to score 10 points in the first half of the second quarter to extend the lead to 22-9 before Waldron found momentum.

The Mohawks scored nine of the next 11 points to cut the lead to 24-18 with 77 seconds left in the half. Emma Nelson followed with back-to-back three pointers and Rutledge hit a 3 just before time expired to almost instantly push the lead to 33-18.

“That was so huge,” said Kleine. “Emma got a little discouraged early and during a timeout I told her shooters have to have amnesia. You have to forget about that one and you have to pull the trigger for the next one – and credit to her that is exactly what she did.”

Nelson missed her first four 3-point attempts in the game before closing out the half with consecutive makes from beyond the arc.

Waldron never got closer than nine points in the second half. The Yellow Jackets pushed the advantage to 39-20 early in the third quarter before the Mohawks went on an 8-0 run sparked by a Grace Fischer 3. The freshman added a pair of free throws with 2:13 remaining in the quarter and the “streak” grew to a 13-3 run.

Keithley responded with a drive in the lane and score and Alexia Rogers, Morristown’s only senior, followed suit for two more points and the Yellow Jackets closed out the third quarter leading 48-35.

“Every time we felt like we really needed a stop or needed a bucket, even if we didn’t get that stop we found that bucket,” said Kleine. “I am so proud of our kids for stepping up. We had three or four kids on the floor really willing to make that flash to the basket, that cut or that drive and go get the rebound. They are stepping into their roles.”

Waldron scored 19 points in the fourth quarter but Morristown matched that output with a more efficient shooting performance.

Fischer missed all nine of her shot attempts in the final quarter and still finished with a team-high 16 points. She pulled down a game-high 18 rebounds (10 offensive) and had three assists.

Senior Alyssa Benson had 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. Audrey Hogg, Waldron’s only other senior, had six points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.

Waldron shot 26% from the field on a staggering 80 shot attempts. The Mohawks hit just 5-of-27 shots from beyond the arc.

Rogers finished with 12 points for Morristown. Nelson had nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Waldron closed out its second season under head coach Ilea Shipp at 8-14.

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