ASHLAND, Ohio — Erica Johnson and her Mansfield Senior teammates stumbled out of the blocks before finding their stride Thursday at Arrow Arena.
The Ohio University-bound Johnson scored 30 points and the Tygers overcame a first-quarter deficit for a comfortable 58-41 win over Ashland in Ohio Cardinal Conference action.
The Arrows (2-9, 1-3) led 7-2 early before Senior High (5-5, 3-2) closed the quarter on an 18-2 run for a 20-9 advantage. Johnson scored 13 points in the period.
“We had a slow start,” said Johnson, who came in averaging 20.9 points a game. “We changed our defense. We were in man-to-man and then we went in a 2-2-1 and I don’t think they knew how to adjust to it until it was too late.”
The Tygers forced five turnovers in the first quarter and six more in the second.
“We like to pressure a lot. We tell our girls if we get turnovers we can get quick points,” Senior High coach Todd Krill said. “I think that’s what happened. We pressured them and they gave up the ball a little bit.
“It gets us going into our offense a little better.”
Mansfield Senior pushed its advantage to 38-15 at the break. Johnson scored 22 points in the first half.
“She’s such a threat,” Ashland coach Jason Snow said. “She’s so physically gifted. You think you do a great job and she finds somebody wide open on the back side. She makes the whole team go.”
Solid Half: Ashland outscored Senior High 26-20 in the second half, but couldn’t overcome a sluggish second quarter.
“We miss a couple easy ones and we can’t put it behind us right now,” Snow said. “We’ve just got to be more consistent and find a way, when somebody gets on a run, to stop it.
“That’s been a struggle for us all year.”
Junior guard Kylie Radebaugh paced the Arrows with 11 points. Sophomore Alyssa Steury scored all seven of her points in the fourth.
Supporting Cast: Jordan Thompson backed Johnson with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Lynda Wyndham added six points while Talayzha Catchings had five before leaving in the third quarter with an injury. Catchings had missed the last four games after suffering a concussion in a loss to Wooster in mid-December.
Mid-Term: The Tygers are at .500 as the season nears its midway point.
“We’ve come along pretty good,” Krill said. “We’re .500 right now … and we haven’t played any bad teams.”
