Gwinnett Daily Post

Staff Photo: John Bohn Mill Creek's India Dillard (33) battles Mountain View's Jordan Stallworth (23) for a rebound during the second period of Tuesday's game, played at Mill Creek.

HOSCHTON --In a three-game stretch of subpar shooting, the Mill Creek girls basketball team got a nice lift early Tuesday night.

Meredith Schulte hit her shots in the opening quarter, providing a much-needed spark as the Hawks defeated Mountain View 53-43 in Region 7-AAAAAA play. Schulte scored her team's first six points and had 10 points in the first quarter.

The sophomore finished with a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds.

"(Schulte) came out and shot the ball well," said Mill Creek girls coach Ashley Phillips, whose team broke a three-game losing streak that included two tournament games and a loss to powerful North Gwinnett. "We depend on a lot of jump shots and it's good when someone comes out and knocks some down. It lets the others relax."

Schulte averages seven points as the second-leading scorer for a balanced Mill Creek team that had to replace a lot of offense off last season's team. She did her part and more Tuesday, as did leading scorer Nadiya Miller (14 per game), who had 15 points and made four 3-pointers.

"We lost a lot of players off last year's team, so a lot of people had to step up and perform this year," Schulte said.

Miller, after going scoreless in the first quarter, stepped up with a pair of 3-pointers in the second and helped build a 30-17 halftime lead.

Post India Dillard also played a major role in the victory with nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Her offensive rebound, sandwiched between two Miller 3-pointers, fueled a critical 10-0 run in the second quarter.

"As much as Meredith was scoring, India came out rebounding and set the tone of the game," Phillips said.

The Mill Creek (9-7, 6-2) lead was trimmed to single digits just once, when Mountain View's Iceis Walker scored the first two baskets of the second half. But Schulte answered with a 3-pointer for a 33-21 edge and the hosts never let the lead dwindle out of double figures from there.

Shannon McCrosson also contributed a game-high six assists for the Hawks.

Mountain View (11-4, 4-4) was led by Kelsey Hutchins (nine points, six rebounds), DiAndra Pringle (nine points) and Walker (eight points). The Bears had a 9-2 edge in bench points, led by Arianna Williams' four points.

Mill Creek boys 65, Mountain View 42

Eleven different Hawks scored in a decisive, 65-42 win over Mountain View on Tuesday.

Trevon Shaw led Mill Creek (11-5, 4-4) with 17 points, Kris Milon had nine points and Austin Ragsdale scored seven. The Hawks jumped ahead by nine points after a quarter and doubled up the Bears to 32-16 by halftime.

Wil Hartter led Mountain View (2-13, 0-8) with 10 points and Mike Jenkins scored eight.