MADISON TOWNSHIP — Mansfield Senior needed a spark. Rajaa Anderson provided it.
A junior forward, Anderson scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the Tygers held on for a 59-56 Ohio Cardinal Conference win at Madison on Thursday.
Anderson sat out the last three games after suffering a concussion. She was sorely missed as Senior High (9-6, 4-3) suffered a disheartening 63-12 loss at OCC-leading West Holmes a week ago.
“We needed this pretty bad. This win will bring back some of our confidence,” Mansfield Senior coach Todd Krill said. “This is a good win for us. We’ve just got to keep going now.”
Nobody was happier to see Anderson return than teammate Jeryn Reese. The senior, who drew constant double-teams at West Holmes and was 0-for-19 from the floor, overcame early foul trouble to score a team-high 19 points Thursday. Her driving layup with less than a minute to go gave the Tygers a 57-54 lead.
“She played well and when she was sitting down I think Rajaa stepped up and really played well,” Krill said. “The problem (at West Holmes) is they were double-teaming her. They came out and got all over her because that was the only scorer we had on the floor.”
Undersized guard Chadaybria Feagin scored 10 points and grabbed 10 boards.
“She played very physical for the size she is,” Krill said. “She’s skin and bones, but she’s got a toughness to her.”
Free Throw Woes: While Senior High was 18 for 22 from the free throw line, Madison (4-10, 2-6) was just 8 for 17. The Rams also committed 22 turnovers.
“The girls played hard. They just battle,” Madison coach Brian Davis said. “It was just lack of execution at the end of the game (and) some costly turnovers.”
Mekaila Grose led Madison with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Alexis Smith added 17, including nine in the fourth quarter. Her traditional three-point play with 46.9 seconds remaining cut Senior High’s advantage to 55-54.
“I’ve really been working with her trying to get her to take over in the fourth quarter of a close basketball game,” Davis said. “She’s finally taken it upon herself to be a leader of the team.”
Split: Mansfield Senior avenged a 49-44 loss to its crosstown rival earlier in the season.
“I don’t care how good Madison is and how bad we are or how good we are and how bad they are, it seems like it’s always like this,” Krill said.
Junior Varsity: Brianna Howard scored five of her game-high nine points in overtime as Madison won the junior varsity game 47-45. Kiarra Mathews and Amarioze Brooks scored seven points apiece to lead the Tygers.
