MANSFIELD, Ohio — If there was ever any question about Rajaa Anderson’s value, it was answered during her absence from Mansfield Senior High girls basketball starting lineup.
With Anderson, the Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, on the floor, Senior High was 8-3 overall and 3-1 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference. Without her, the Tygers lost three straight, including blowout setbacks at Columbus Northland (82-46) on Jan. 10 and at West Holmes (63-12) on Jan. 15.
The 5-foot-10 junior wing returned last week after missing almost three weeks because of a concussion and led the Tygers to a 59-56 win over crosstown rival Madison. She scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Senior High avenged an earlier loss to the Rams. Anderson added 16 points in Saturday’s 50-45 loss at Clear Fork and is averaging 13.6 points and 8.7 rebounds a game.
“We get Rajaa back, that gives us another scorer,” Mansfield Senior Coach Todd Krill said after the win over the Rams. “I think we needed it pretty bad. We just got some girls back. This is a good win for us to get confidence back and know we can win. We’ve just got to keep going now.”
The Tygers have resembled a MASH unit for much of the season. Senior High lost standout sophomore Erica Johnson to a season-ending knee injury early in the year and was without Dezeon Brooks, who injured her ACL.
The bulk of the scoring load had fallen to Jeryn Reese, who was facing constant double-teams in Anderson’s absence.
“Rajaa didn’t play because of a concussion and we had an ACL with Dezeon (Brooks),” Krill said. “They got all over Jeryn because realistically that was the only scorer we had on the floor.”
Reese scored a team-high 19 points in the win over Madison despite getting into early foul trouble.
“When Jeryn was sitting down, Rajaa was playing well,” Krill said. “Sometimes when they both play together they kind of watch each other to see what’s going on. When they get cohesive we can really start pounding the ball down in there and that is what we are really trying to do.”
After traveling to Ashland on Thursday, the Tygers will close the season with five straight OCC home games. The sectional tournament draw is Feb. 8 and postseason play begins the week of Feb. 23.
“[The postseason] isn’t too far away now,” Krill said. “We want to get everyone healthy and playing well for the sectional.”
“This is a good win for us to get confidence back and know we can win. We’ve just got to keep going now,” said Mansfield Senior Coach Todd Krill.
