KEYSTONE HEIGHTS - Back-to-back assists to layups from senior guard Kadence Massey-Hoadley to Raven Bastin and Daisy Hubbard secured a 40-31 win over West Nassau for the undefeated (5-0) Keystone Heights High girls basketball team in a game that saw the Lady Indians control all but about the last two minutes of the game.

"That last three minutes, their number one got a little hot and our defense got a little cold," said Keystone Heights High girls basketball coach Sarah Andrews, now in her third year. "The team picked it up at the end and Kadence did what she needed to do. She is a little bit of everything this year and settling in with that role."

The team had a Monday, Dec. 15 home date against another vastly improved county team, 5-1 Clay High, showcasing two pretty drastic season turnarounds by both schools.

"If you were to say to someone that Clay and Keystone Heights girls basketball would be playing in the second or third week with just one loss between them, you would have people laughing," said Clay coach Doug Deter, who won a tight 27-22 game with Baldwin to enter the Monday clash at 6-1. "We were both coming off of pretty bad seasons last year, but it looks like both teams, both coaches and, more importantly, the kids themselves, worked their butts off to not repeat last year's season."

Last year for Clay, Deter finished at 4-16 while Keystone Heights, under Andrews, finished at 5-18.

Andrews' five-game season opening win streak is the best opening in the last five years for the Indians. Keystone Heights last winning season was in 2023 under coach Jessica Sykes-Carter who finished 16-9 but lost in the district semi-final to North Marion. Carter was 19-6 in 2022 with a district final loss to Dunnellon and a region quarterfinal loss to Bishop Kenny, who finished in the Class 4A Final Four.

Carter opened with four wins and finished with 11 wins in the first 12 games in 2022.

Against West Nassau, Andrews' girls opened with a 6-0 opening salvo off a layup by Hubbard, a three pointer from Alexandra Papaioannou and a steal to layup from Papaioannou.

"Alexandra is my energizer bunny out there," Andrews said. "She never stops attacking and that makes offenses nervous and making mistakes. It's a five-man game out there and everyone contributes."

With Papaioannou stealing and dealing, and Hubbard and Rigby Morford attacking rebounds, Keystone Heights kept West Nassau's top two players off balance until the final four minutes.

Up 14-7 after the first quarter and 25-12 at the half with strong defense and reliable layups and shots in the paint, Keystone Heights kept West Nassau trying to play catch up with three pointers, but the rim was not being friendly to the Warriors.

In the third quarter, West Nassau was able to close the game to a 31-20 gap with Massey Hoadley dishing assists to Grace Keaton and Morford to keep the score gap.

In the fourth, with West Nassau creeping closer with a hot scoring surge, it was Bastin's three pointer at 4:08 that gave Keystone Heights a little breathing room at 36-24 with West Nassau answering with their own three to 36-31. Three missed free throws on a foul off a three-point attempt preempted a rebound by Massey Hoadley and a long pass to Williams under the basket for the first of a four-point swing with Hubbard also getting an assist under the boards for the final points.

"We needed a big play at that point and Kadence delivered to Melissa (Williams) and Daisy for the insurance points," Andrews said.