MANSFIELD — Richland County’s leading rebounder outdid herself and Mansfield Christian coach J.R. Wilson couldn’t be any happier.
The red-hot Flames have won four consecutive games thanks largely to the post work of Addie Daugherty. The 5-foot-10 junior has a streak of three straight 20-rebound performances to her credit.
“She has been on a tear,” Wilson said of the Richland Bank Athlete of the Week. “She has been our top rebounder the last two years.”
As a sophomore, Daugherty averaged 10.6 boards a game. She has upper her average to 14.1 rebounds a night to go along with 10.9 points a game.
In a Jan. 31 win over Lucas, Daugherty scored 17 points and grabbed 21 boards. She had six points and 20 rebounds in a 56-17 win over Canton Heritage Christian on Feb. 5 and followed it up with 17 points and 20 boards in a 52-39 win over Ridgemont.
Daugherty also averages 3.5 blocks and two assists a game.
“She has done a great job for us all year,” Wilson said. Between her and Katie (Ritz), we have a pretty good combination. They are our twin towers.”
A 5-foot-9 junior forward, Ritz has been on a tear in her own right. She had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Lucas, then erupted for 20 points and 20 boards in the win over Heritage Christian. Ritz added 17 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday’s win over Ridgemont as the Flames (7-9) inched closer to the .500 mark. She is averaging 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds a game, giving Wilson the rare luxury of two double-double performers.
“They have both been playing very well for us,” Wilson said. “They are smart players and they are very coachable. Both of them have 4.0 GPAs.”
The Flames will open tournament play against Old Fort on Feb. 25 at Ontario.
“We don’t know a lot about Old Fort yet,” Wilson said. “We want to be playing our best basketball going into the tournament and then we will see what happens.”
Regardless of postseason outcome, the future looks bright for the Flames.
“We will have both Addie and Katie back next year,” Wilson said. “If we can stay healthy, it should be one of the best seasons at Mansfield Christian in quite some time.
“We’re looking forward to it.”
