The Lady Warriors staged a defensive lock down in the second half to take a 91-36 win over the Johnson County Lady Longhorns.

After giving up 27 points to Johnson County in the first half, the Lady Warriors (17-6, 6-2) held the Lady ’Horns to just nine points in the second half.

“Offense was great, but I challenged them at the half and told them that we have to play a lot better defense in the second half,” Happy Valley head coach Larry Abel said. “We buckled down, and they took the challenge to heart on the defensive end that created a lot of opportunities on the offense side.”

It was a double-double kind of night for Happy Valley senior Kalee Johnson as she post 27 points and 11 rebounds. It was also a big night for Johnson’s teammate Charli Bare, who posted a career-high 17 points while almost pulling a double-double of her own with eight rebounds.

“She has been very consistent,” Abel said about Bare. “She has been going to the boards for us. She just missed a double-double tonight. She had a lot of good assists to her, and she took advantage of them.”

Happy Valley’s Adrienne Henegar also broke into the double digits with 11 points. Lady Warrior Emily Whitaker busted three 3-pointers to give her nine points on the night.

The Lady Warriors got down to business in the opening period. Behind nine points from Bare and six from Johnson, Happy Valley rocked out to a 26-14 lead heading into the second period.

The second frame saw Whitaker pop a 3-pointer and Johnson chip in five points, while Kaitlyn Roberts, Haley Green, and Makayla Fraizer all posted two. The Lady Warriors headed into the half up 45-27.

Bare conducted a 6-point run in the third to give Happy Valley a 56-29 lead with 2:10 left to play in the quarter. The rest of the period was all Henegar, who went 4 of 4 from the foul line while draining a three to give her seven points in the frame. Heading into the final quarter, the Lady Warriors led 65-34.

In the final frame, the Lady Warriors out scored Johnson County 26-2. Both Brianna Buck and Johnson posted six in the period, while Whitaker and Roberts both sank treys.

The Lady Warriors will be back in action Friday night for senior night as they host Sullivan East for a conference show down.

“This will be a big game Friday night for second place,” Abel said. “We didn’t play well over there. We have some things we have to fix. But the girls have a good mentality right now, and they are hungry.”

Happy Valley 91-36

Johnson County 36

Johnson County 14 13 7 2 — 36

Happy Valley 26 19 20 26 — 91

Johnson County (36)

Michela Cretsinger 9, Brittney Brooks 9, Destiny Cole 5, Kaitlyn Nichols 5, Kelsie Terrill 5, Kelsey Duperry 2, Courtney Brooks 1.

Happy Valley (91)

Kalee Johnson 24, Charli Bare 17, Adrienne Henegar 11, Emily Whitaker 9, Kaitlyn Roberts 7, Kenzie Davis 6, Brianna Buck 6, Makayla Frazier 4, Bayley McGee 3, Sydney Puckett 2, Haley Green 2.

3pt goals— JC 3 (B. Brooks 2, Terrill 1) Happy Valley 5 (Whitaker 3, Henegar 1, Roberts 1)