MANSFIELD — The Flames haven’t been this deep into the postseason in more than a decade.
Fourth-seeded Mansfield Christian won its first girls sectional basketball title since 2006 over the weekend, knocking off No. 6 Norwalk St. Paul 54-36. MCS will play top-seeded and state-ranked Buckeye Central at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Willard in the district semifinals.
MCS reached the sectional championship game in 2019 and again last year only to come up empty-handed. The Flames avenged last year’s loss to South Central with a 49-38 overtime win over the Trojans in last week’s sectional semifinals.
“Last year winning a sectional championship was on our radar and this year it has been our goal for the season,” MCS coach Megan Young said after the win over South Central. “The girls have talked about it all season.”
Mansfield Christian beat South Central handily twice during the regular season, but had its hands full in the tournament opener. The Trojans led 23-16 at the half.
“They really showed up and played us tough,” Young said. “They are aggressive and they are scrappy.”
It wasn’t quite as close against Norwalk St. Paul in the sectional final. Mansfield Christian trailed 8-7 after the first quarter, but outscored the Flyers 41-18 in the middle two quarters to win going away.
Anna Sparks led four Flames in double figures with 14 points. Alexis Rippel had12, while Aubrynn Maiyer added 11 and Abby Little had 10.
“We’ve had good balance all season,” Young said after the win over SC. “A lot of girls are contributing.”
The Flames will face their biggest challenge to date in the nightcap of Thursday’s district doubleheader at Willard’s Robert L. Haas Gymnasium. Buckeye Central is the five-time defending district champ and finished fourth in Division IV in the final Associated Press state poll.
The Buckettes opened tournament play with a 72-25 win over Plymouth in the sectional finals. Claudia Pifher led the charge, scoring 24 points.
Buckeye Central coach Abram Kaple said his team will have to play better against the Flames.
“Mansfield Christian is athletic,” Kaple said after Saturday’s win over Plymouth. “They play with a lot of energy. We’re going to have to be better than we were tonight.”
