SHELBY, Ohio — Jiselle Thomas and the Truckers found another gear during the second half Saturday.

Thomas scored a game-high 27 points and Norwalk overcame a first-half deficit in a 54-46 win over Mansfield Senior in the final game of the Richland Source NOL-OCC Challenge at Shelby High School.

Trailing 31-30 at the break, the Truckers outscored Senior High 24-15 in the second half. Thomas scored 14 points after intermission.

“We fixed some things defensively that we thought we had to adjust,” Norwalk coach Brock Manlet said. “For doing that on the fly, I thought our girls did a good job.

“Early on Jiselle was trying to force it. In the second half she was more under control and things opened up for her.”

The Tygers opened a 29-18 lead on an Alaya Grose layup with 3:55 remaining in the second quarter before Norwalk mounted a comeback. The Truckers closed the half on a 12-2 run, then outscored Senior High 12-4 in the third to take a 42-35 advantage to the fourth.

A Thomas layup with 2:24 to play gave Norwalk a 50-38 lead, but the Tygers made one final push behind Erica Johnson. The Ohio University-Bound senior scored six points during an 8-0 run to cut Norwalk’s advantage to 50-46 with 47 seconds remaining.

“She’s so hard to guard,” Manlet said. “She does so many good things for them. She’s very hard to guard one-on-one, so we doubled-teamed her a lot in the second half.”

Free Throw Woes: The Tygers connected on just 3 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter and 6 of 15 for the game.

“We played well, but where we got caught was at the free throw line,” Senior High coach Todd Krill said. “We haven’t been a very good free throw shooting team. We make them in practice, but when we get to the game they don’t fall for us.”

Leaders: Johnson and Talayzha Catchings each scored 15 points for the Tygers. Jordan Thompson added six.

Jasmine Thomas and Marly Geretz each had eight points for the Truckers.

Sponsors: Events such as the The Richland Source NOL-OCC Challenge do not happen without tremendous partners. The NOL-OCC Challenge is presented by Mechanics Bank Be the Change scholarship program in partnership with The Holden Agency and Marco Photo Service. Supporting sponsors include Olive Garden, North Central State College, Rinehart Walters Danner Insurance, Prospering Life Events, Best Buy, TextLoyal, The Vault Wine Bar, The Ohio State University at Mansfield, and Lantz Star Graphics.