Manual’s varsity girls’ basketball team defeated the Pleasure Ridge Park Panthers on Tuesday night with a score of 60-45.
The Crimsons started with a strong defense that suffocated the PRP Panthers in the first quarter. Ashlinn James (#13, 10) scored the first points of the game after many steals.
James got fouled and made a free throw then missed the second, where PRP got the rebound but the Crimsons were quick to get it back to our side.
The Panthers were in the lead, as a result of rebounds and free throws, with a score of 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.
After a slow start to the second quarter, the Crimsons made a comeback with two baskets made by Brooklyn Davis (#24, 10) in a row. Alana Smith (#25, 12) tied the score 19-19 soon after. To end the first half, Davis blocked a basket, which made the score 25-20 in favor of Crimsons.
The Crimsons started the second half off strong, as Electra Lovely-Tolbert (11, #4) made multiple baskets throughout the entire third quarter.
“I had a slow start, but coming out the second half I turned it up,” Tolbert said.
Manual gained control with multiple rebounds and strong defense as well. The score at the end of the third quarter was 43-31, with Manual leading.
The final quarter was intense through the entire game with Manual Head Coach Ashley Franklin getting a warning from the referee and two technicals being called on the Panthers head coach.
“Sometimes in the heat of the moment, a single call or… continuously bad calls, questionable calls can make or break,” Coach Franklin said.
Despite the calls made by the referee, the Crimsons dominated the fourth quarter, especially during the final minutes. This dominance led to the victory for Manual with a final score of 60-45.
“If we learn from today’s game, we’ll do fairly well. We’ll continue to get some W’s,” Coach Franklin said.
The boys and girls varsity basketball teams will make their way to Central High School on Friday, December 8th to play. The girls will play at 6 p.m. and the boys at 7:30 p.m.
