Lake Highlands women’s basketball dominated Irving Nimitz (14-10, 3-2 District 7-6A) on Friday, winning 72-30, to extend the Wildcats’ winning streak to three games.
Lake Highlands women’s basketball sets up before the start of the second quarter in a 72-30 win versus Irving Nimitz on January 9, 2026, at Lake Highlands High School.
With the victory, Lake Highlands (16-9, 3-1) has now won eight straight games against the Vikings, dating back to January of 2022, when Nimitz last defeated the Wildcats, 48-29.
Senior guard Kate Duffield brought energy for Lake Highlands from the second she stepped on the court for tipoff. After the Wildcats earned the first possession, she spotted up deep from the left wing and drilled a 3-pointer for a quick 3-0 lead.
After the Vikings split a pair of free throws on the other end, Duffield initiated the offense, driving into the lane and kicking out to the open shooter – Brystol Steeley. Steeley, who set a program record with eight made 3-pointers against MacArthur, calmly hit the shot from downtown.
Then, with under four minutes left in the first, Duffield nailed another three, this time from the right wing.
A few plays later, she stripped the ball from Nimitz, setting up a transition layup for Kari Tillman to stretch Lake Highlands’ lead to 18-11 with 2:52 left in the opening quarter.
To cap off the first, the Vikings almost intercepted a Wildcat inbound, but Lake Highlands secured it and found Duffield one more time. Once again from the right wing, she swished a 3-pointer. That shot gave the Wildcats the 21-11 lead that they would take into the second quarter.
Duffield, the daughter of Lake Highlands’ men’s basketball coach, Joe Duffield, scored all nine of her points in the first quarter. That being said, she continued to do what the children of coaches often do – play tough defense and make the right plays.
She guided the Wildcats to dominance by forcing turnovers and finding open teammates through the rest of the game.
Tillman was a great beneficiary of that willingness to pass, using her size to get advantageous positioning around the basket. She finished the evening with 14 points, most coming off of good feeds from Duffield and others.
Despite a scare that saw Nimitz’s Madysyn Causey score seven first-quarter points to cut Lake Highlands’ lead to 16-11, the Wildcats were able to hold her to just three points the rest of the game and take control of the Vikings.
Steeley continued to stretch the floor for Lake Highlands, completing four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 17 points. In the fourth quarter, she really came alive.
First, Steeley used a head fake to get her defender out of position. Then she drove left and threw up a high-arcing teardrop that fell through the net as the referees whistled for a foul and signalled for an and-one.
She made the free throw, of course, and hit two more threes in the period, including one from several steps beyond the 3-point line.
Causey led Nimitz with 10 points and Camila Diaz contributed nine of her own for the Vikings.
Nimitz next hosts JJ Pearce (7-15, 3-0) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Irving.
The Wildcats return to action at 7 p.m. next Tuesday on the road versus Richardson (5-16, 3-1).
