MANSFIELD — It was Senior Night at Pete Henry Gym, but sophomore Kiyah Wentz stole the show.
Wentz scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in the second half as Mansfield Senior rallied for a 53-43 Ohio Cardinal Conference win over Lexington.
A point guard who came to Mansfield Senior when St. Peter’s suspended its basketball program, Wentz connected on 5 of 8 second-half field goal attempts as Senior High (7-11, 6-4) overcame a 25-23 halftime deficit. She added four assists and a pair of steals for good measure.
“I definitely did get more comfortable in the second half,” Wentz said. “I just got confidence.”
Senior High coach JeVar Hudgens missed the last three games while he was in quarantine. Hudgens returned to the team Monday.
“I told our girls the best thing that happened was me not coaching them and being a fan for those three games because I could see what each player can do to make us better,” Hudgens said. “I told Kiyah we would be more successful when she attacks the whole game instead of waiting until the fourth quarter.”
Lady Lex led 29-23 early in the third when Wentz and Julia Rizzo, another addition from St. Peter’s, went to work. The duo combined for all 15 Senior High points in the period.
The Tygers pulled even at 31-31 on a Rizzo layup with 4:40 to play in the third and took the lead for good on a steal and layup by Wentz with 4:01 remaining.
Mansfield Senior forced 16 turnovers, resulting in 16 points.
“We turned the ball over too many times in the second half,” Lexington coach Jessica Brokaw said. “We got some stops when we needed them, but then we’d turn the ball over and they converted our turnovers into points. That’s a big momentum swing.”
Mansfield Senior took a 38-35 lead to the fourth quarter and began pulling away. A layup by Kiersten Bradley followed by a Rizzon layup off a Bradley assist gave Senior High a 42-35 advantage less than a minute into the final period. A steal and layup by Wentz gave the Tygers a 50-39 lead, their first double-digit advantage of the evening, with 1:45 to play.
Mansfield Senior outscored Lexington 30-18 in the second half.
“That’s the way we want to play,” Hudgens said of the second-half surge. “It was Senior Night so I started a group that typically wouldn’t start. It kind of messed up the flow of the rotations and the combinations that play.”
Rizzo backed Wentz with 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting. Bradley added nine.
Maddie Basilone paced Lexington with 13 points. Avery Coleman had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
