MANSFIELD — Mansfield Senior coach Todd Krill sat behind the desk in his office, poring over the stat sheet and shaking his head.
The Tygers had just fallen to crosstown rival Madison on Dec. 11 and the prospect of playing the remainder of the season without standout Erica Johnson was beginning to settle in.
“We need to get more production out of our experienced players,” Krill said after the 49-44 loss to the Rams. “We need the established kids to step up.”
Senior Jeryn Reese answered the call.
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, Reese has taken her game to new heights in Johnson’s absence. She is averaging 21.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 1.6 blocks per game for the Tygers (7-3, 2-1 Ohio Cardinal Conference).
The 6-foot senior averaged 20.3 points and 6.7 rebounds as the Tygers were 2-1 last week. She scored 18 points in a loss to Reynoldsburg before leading the Tygers to a 57-54 win over St. Peter’s with 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals. She added 21 points, six rebounds and four steals in a 55-52 win over Wooster on Saturday.
“We are going to rely on Jeryn even more,” Krill said after the loss to Madison. “We are asking a lot of her.”
Senior High opened the season with a championship at the Bucyrus Tip-Off Classic, knocking off Riverdale and Bucyrus. Reese was selected the tournament Most Valuable Player after scoring 42 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the two games.
The Tygers improved to 3-0 with a win over Shelby the following week, but that is when Senior High’s season nearly came off the rails. After the game, Johnson experienced swelling in her knee. The do-it-all sophomore — she was averaging 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists — was lost for the season.
Consecutive losses to Findlay and Madison followed.
Since then, however, Senior High is 4-1 and Reese is averaging 23 points a game. Less than a week after the loss to Madison, she scored a season-high 31 points in a 72-66 overtime win against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, a Division II Final Four qualifier last year.
The Tygers are at Lexington on Saturday, the second of eight consecutive road games. The stretch includes OCC match-ups against Clear Fork, West Holmes, Madison and Ashland in January.
West Holmes, the defending Division II state champ, is alone atop the conference standings. Senior High is one game back in the loss column.
“We have got a big stretch coming up,” Krill said after the loss to the Rams. “If we don’t have some girls step up, it could be a long season.”
Reese has anwered the call.
