MANSFIELD – It was a night of firsts – achieved and missed – on Monday night at Mansfield Christian School.
The Flames girls basketball team won its first game of the season with a 50-32 verdict against the Lucas Cubs.
It was the first Mid-Buckeye Conference win for the first-year league member, now 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the MBC.
It was the first win for new head coach J.R. Wilson, who has coached at the Peoples Baptist Academy in Mansfield and in the junior high program at Clear Fork.
And it was a failed attempt at a first win for Lucas, now 0-7 overall and 0-3 in the MBC.
“It feels great,” a smiling Wilson said afterward in The Furnace. “This is the school’s first time in a conference in a long time and it’s great to get that first league win.”
Sophomore center Addie Daugherty dominated the game for MCS, despite missing almost six minutes of the second half in foul trouble.
The 5-10 post poured in 20 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass. She did most of her damage in the first half, knocking in 15 points as Mansfield Christian opened a 15-10 lead after one quarter and 27-18 at the half.
Wilson said the outburst was not planned or designed.
“We don’t run our offense through any one player,” he said. “This was just the result of Addie playing more aggressively.”
Daugherty and her teammates dominated the boards at both ends. The Flames had 42 rebounds, including 17 on the offensive end, while limiting the Cubs to just 30 total.
The offensive rebounds also helped MCS build a huge edge in FG attempts, 58 to 31. Compounding that deficiency was the fact Lucas committed 33 turnovers, averaging more than one per minute, many coming against a stiff full-court zone press by the Flames.
“This was the first time this season we have installed and used that press,” Wilson said. “We hoped by being more aggressive on defense that it would translate into more offense.”
Lucas coach Chad Garberich only has eight players in his program and the Cubs have no JV team. There are no seniors on his roster. It’s the perfect storm for a difficult season.
“We can’t get a real look in practice with just eight girls,” he said. “The girls know they will get to play if they come to practice or not. We just lack effort and discipline. And we got into foul trouble in the first minute tonight, just like we do every game.
“This was probably our worst game of the season,” Garberich said. “That’s probably because we have been off and couldn’t get into the gym at all for the last three days. We are unsound fundamentally and our girls revert back to bad habits when they get too much time off.”
Junior guard Paige Sauder led Lucas with 14 points. “She comes off the bench and is probably our leading scorer. She has some defensive lapses, but she is a really good shooter and we try to create some opportunities for her,” Garberich said.
Senior forward Emily Smith had nine points for MCS while sophomore forward Katie Ritz added eight.
The Flames shot 31 percent from the field (18 of 58), 56 percent at the line (13 of 23) and committed 24 turnovers. Lucas shot 29 percent from the floor (9 of 31) and 58 percent at the line (11 of 19).
Mansfield Christian hosts East Knox on Saturday in another league game. Lucas plays at Loudonville on Saturday. There was no JV game on Monday night.
