Middleton, Fla. — All victories might count the same, but Friday night's assuredly meant a little more to Marquez Porter. 

The fifth-year head coach of The Villages High School girls basketball team became the program's all-time wins leader with a 52-31 win over Vanguard (Ocala) at VHS in Middleton, earning Porter his 56th career victory in his 100th game as head coach.

Behind 28 points from junior guard Zion McRae, the Buffalo (5-3 overall) cruised to their second win in three days, allowing Porter to pass Rick Corley on the program's all-time wins list.

"It's been very, very rewarding," Porter said of his five-year journey as VHS head coach thus far. "It's had its ups-and-downs at times, but there's been more ups than downs, for sure. I can't put into words how thankful I am to be a part of this program and this school."

It was all McRae in the first quarter, as she scored all 10 points in the opening period to push VHS out to a 10-4 advantage. That was a much-needed sign of support early for the Buffalo, who were without their second leading scorer in Evah Watterson due to a leg injury.

Visting Vanguard (1-6 overall) struggled mightily when shooting from distance, missing all nine first-half attempts from beyond the arc en route to 16 missed 3-pointers on the night. Those failed opportunities set up the Buffalo for numerous transition looks, with The Villages cashing in throughout the second quarter to eventually hold a 27-14 lead at the break.

McRae splashed a pair of 3-pointers early in the third quarter — her second coming from just outside of the half-court circle — to spark a run of four made 3-pointers in the third quarter.

VHS eventually led 44-20 through three periods of play, before closing out the victory with a well-executed half-court trap in the fourth quarter that stymied Vanguard's two-guard look on numerous occasions in the final stanza.

Amiyah Flowers finished with seven points and Makayla Crews added six for the Buffalo in Porter's milestone win.

"So many girls have come through this program and helped me — and us as a program — reach this point," Porter said. "Those girls sacrificed their time and effort to make this program better, and I'm just very proud of where it's at and how far we've come."

The Villages will now look ahead to its first Class 4A-District 6 matchup of the season next Tuesday night, when the Buffalo hit the road to take on back-to-back district champion Eustis at 7 p.m.



Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org or by calling (352) 259-6890.