It’s been an up and down season for the Mansfied Christian girls program. With 1:30 to go, the Lady Flames turned what might have been heartbreak into elation with a 43-40 victory.
The teams battled to a 21-18 score at half. The teams remained close until Plymouth extended their lead by 9 points with 90 seconds remaining on the game clock.
The Lady Flames only had 3 team fouls and were able to manage the clocksend Plymouth to the line and capitalize on missed free throws. The strategy whittled the lead to one basket.
In the games final seconds, Mansfield Christian’s Char Adkins stole the ball, drove to the opposite end and missed. Teammate Katie Ritz took a backside rebound and forced overtime at the buzzer.
“It was exciting,” summarized head coach J.R. Wilson, when asked about his young team’s third victory on the season. “It was a team effort on defense.”
The coached praised his team for coming together and starting “to believe in themselves.” He also recognized freshman point guard Allie Maiyer for scoring 3 key points and a foul shot in overtime to give the team a win.
Addie Daughtery lead the Flames with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Char Adkins followed with 11 points and 5 steals. Emily Smith added 9 points.
Senior post Morgan Fletcher led Plymouth with 13 points and 7 rebounds. Plymouth freshman point guard Janet Arnold followed with 6 points.
Up next, Plymouth will play St. Paul and MCS will play Cardington-Lincoln. Both games will take place on Thursday.