Career-high outputs from both Mykia Lee (26 points) and Taliyah Hopkins (22) were nearly enough to topple Amherst by themselves, as the Lady Warriors capped a busy stretch of four games with a 67-52 conquest Monday.

Lee, who also pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds to go along with three steals and two assists, and Hopkins, who also had seven rebounds, seemingly willed their teammates close to their in-game goal of scoring 70 points. Hitting that milestone wasn’t meant to be, though, despite a 21-point outburst in the third quarter that broke open a 30-30 game and left the Lady Warriors comfortably ahead (51-34) going into the final frame.

“Even though we didn’t get the 70 points that the girls wanted, we still had an amazing offensive effort compared to what we had been getting,” coach Lynnae Fenton said. “Our backdoor cuts were working, as were a lot of things that we had been focusing on in practice. We also had a season-high team rebounding total, so it was nice to see us hitting the glass as hard as we did.”

Andrea Montgomery chipped in with 10 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and a block for the victors, while Jazzae Verse contributed three points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Cheektowaga entered this week’s opening game looking to bounce back after going 1-2 last week, which included a 60-32 setback to Hamburg Friday. The Lady Warriors found themselves trailing 15-5 after the first quarter and could never really get into the flow of the game offensively, but Fenton was still pleased with her players’ defensive efforts.

“We wanted to hold them to 60 points and score at least 35 ourselves, so it was good to meet those goals,” Fenton said. “Hamburg is a very good team, and we felt it was respectable to hold them to 60 points.”

Lee finished the game with 12 points to lead Cheektowaga, while Verse added five points.

Cheektowaga’s week also started on a sour note, as the Lady Warriors were tripped up by Williamsville South on January 17, 47-40. An 18-9 scoring advantage in the third quarter pulled Cheektowaga within three (37-34) going into the final frame, and though the Lady Warriors stayed within three points for most of the fourth quarter, they could never get over the hump.

“South came out of the games strong, and we just couldn’t get our offense firing on all cylinders for some reason,” Fenton said.

Montgomery led the Lady Warriors with a career-high 15 points, while Lee finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Hopkins pitched in with nine points, two assists and a block.

The Lady Warriors did bounce back two days later against Depew, though it took an overtime session before they secured the 59-56 victory. Depew opened up the game with a 17-5 run, but the Lady Warriors didn’t relent, answering back with a 21-12 run of their own to close the gap to three points (29-26) going into the second half.

Verse came to the team’s rescue in overtime, nailing all four of her free throw attempts to help secure the win — after Depew rallied from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to send the game to the extra session.

Verse finished the game with 23 points, four rebounds, three assists and a block, while Lee added 19 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Montgomery chipped in with 13 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block.

Cheektowaga (5-7, 3-4 league) returned to action Wednesday against Eden, but information about that contest was not available at press time. The Lady Warriors close out their week Friday by facing crosstown and league rival Maryvale.

“Winning Friday’s game is vital for us,” Fenton said. “They beat us at our place, so we’re hoping to split with them.”

email: jnadolinski@beenews.com