Welcome back: Mansfield Senior Tygers regain top spot in Richland County Girls Basketball Power Poll
MANSFIELD — After a couple of weeks away, the Mansfield Senior Tygers did enough to reintroduce themselves to the No. 1 spot in the Richland County Girls Basketball Power Poll.
Four teams remain above .500 with three of those teams picking up double-digit wins on the season. It is starting to get down to the nitty-gritty with teams in the middle of league championship races and tournament draw scenarios.
Let's check in with this week's Richland County Girls Basketball Power Poll and see how your favorite team performed.
1. Mansfield Senior (12-3)
The Tygers regain the top spot in the power poll this week after turning in their best win of the season last week beating West Holmes 45-43 to put themselves in a tie for first place in the Ohio Cardinal Conference with the Knights. The Tygers were well-balanced with Kiersten Bradley scoring 13 points as Kyeona Myers added 10, Monetta Hilory had nine and Annaleise Norris collected six points and 12 rebounds. The Tygers are 7-1 in the OCC with their lone loss coming to Wooster earlier in the season. They really avenged that loss and if they can continue picking up league wins, their game at West Holmes on Jan. 28 will be massive. A win there puts them in the driver's seat for an outright OCC title. First, they have to take care of business against Lexington on Thursday.
2. Shelby (10-4)
The Whippets drop down just one spot to No. 2 this week after going 1-1 since the last power poll. a 37-32 loss to Pleasant puts their Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title hopes in serious jeopardy, but they are not completely out of it. They knocked off Marion Harding on Saturday 64-34 to move to 7-2 in the league, just a game behind River Valley, whom the Whippets play on Jan. 28. Trinity Baker had 19 points in the win over Harding while Eve Schwemley had 13 and Audi Albert added 11 for a nice balanced game. The Whippets host Lexington and travel to Galion this week for two winnable games and ones that can get them ready for a big week next week.
3. Clear Fork (10-5)
The Colts stay put at No. 3 this week after going 2-1 since the last power poll. They started their week off with a 53-44 win over Lexington behind Annika Labaki's 11 points. Then, the Colts suffered a deflating loss to River Valley that put them behind the 8-ball in the league race, 45-28. Labaki drilled five 3-pointers and scored 15 points in that loss. Clear Fork rebounded nicely with a 72-15 win over Galion to close out their week. Labaki had 21 points as she set a new school record with seven 7-pointers to round out a special week for the junior. Mel Blubaugh also added 10 points in that win. The Colts have just one game this week, at Ontario on Friday, so it is a perfect time to rest up and get ready for a stretch run in the last seven games of the regular season.
4. Mansfield Christian (7-5)
The Flames just cannot seem to get healthy. Still, they are 7-5 and No. 4 in this week's power poll with a 1-1 record last week. The Flames beat Central Christian 44-21 as Raegan Standridge led the way with 13 points and Abby Little added 10 as the Flames were without their Top 2 scorers in Alexis Ripple and Kyleah Jones and still won. They then took a 59-33 loss to Loudonville as Noelle Beare, who is fighting through an injury herself, scored 11 points. Ripple did make her return from a broken ankle to score six points, so that was a positive sign for the Flames. Jones will be out a while with a shoulder issue so that will be something to keep an eye on. Still, the Flames are battling and have a couple of key games this week against Tree of Life and Lucas.
5. Madison (4-12)
The Madison Rams made a huge leap in this week's power poll with two very nice wins. First, the Rams beat Crestview, last week's No. 5 team, 46-37 as Chloe Ebeling had a game-high 18 points. That win really gave them a major boost in the power poll rankings. The Rams did take a 54-43 loss to Ashland in OCC play on Thursday but followed that up with a nice 53-44 win over Danville on Monday to double their win total coming into last week. Madison Berry had a game-high 15 points while Natalee Back added 13 and Savanna Rachel had 10 to give the Rams three players in double figures. Ebeling also had nine. The Rams travel to Mount Vernon on Thursday with a chance to give them three wins in their last four games and that could go far as the season winds down.
6. Ontario (5-11)
The Warriors roll in at No. 6 this week after going 1-1 since the last power poll. Ontario beat Highland 46-39 behind Lauren Sexton's 16 points to get them on the winning side of things. They ended the week with a 50-27 loss to River Valley, the leader in the MOAC. Ontario has a tough week this week with a trip to Fredericktown and Clear Fork coming in so this will be a nice test heading into the final month of the season.
7. Crestview (6-10)
The Cougars went 1-1 since the last power poll and now own a 6-10 overall record. Madison beat Crestview 46-37 to start the week as Tori Kidney and Lily Cline had nine points apiece in the loss. But the Cougs rebounded nicely with a 40-38 win over St. Paul last Friday as Elyse Belcher had a breakout game with 16 points and Emma Aumend added 13 for a nice 1-2 punch. Crestview hosts South Central on Thursday and travels to Monroeville on Saturday to see if they can keep the door slightly open on a chance to catch the leaders in the Firelands Conference.
8. Plymouth (5-10)
The Big Red roll in at No. 8 after going 1-2 since the last power poll. They did earn a 38-34 win over Lucas to start the week as Destiny Detillion had 16 points and Jaylin Branham added 11, but then they lost two Firelands Conference games including a 48-15 loss to Western Reserve and a 54-46 loss to South Central. Branham had 16 in the loss to South Central while Detillion had 13 so those two are really emerging as the go-to scorers. Plymouth travels to Monroveill on Thursday and New London on Saturday.
9. Lucas (4-10)
The Cubs improved to 4-10 on the season by going 1-1 since the last power poll and nearly had a 3-game winning streak going. A 38-34 loss to Plymouth prevented that, but they did pick up a 52-24 win over Central Christian giving them two wins in their last three games. Shelby Grover had 21 points against Plymouth and 19 against Central Christian while Olivia Brown had 14 in the win over the Comets. The young Cubs continue to grow and with Grover healthy, there could be some impressive wins on the horizon. Lucas has Galion at home on Wednesday before hosting St. Peter's on Saturday in two very winnable games.
10. Lexington (4-12)
Lady Lex comes in at No. 10 this week after going 0-2 since the last power poll with losses to Clear Fork (53-44) and New Philadelphia (46-41). Against CF, Madi Basilone had 12 points while Cora Palmer added 11 and against New Philly, Palmer had 12 and Kaitlyn Delano-Goodman had a nice game with 11 points. Lex is still working to get healthy. It did get Tatum Stover back from an illness and are waiting for Ava Brown to recover from a foot injury that had her in a walking boot. Once everyone gets back to 100%, Lex could be a dangerous team down the stretch. They travel to Shelby, Mansfield Senior and Norwalk this week, the toughest 3-game stretch on the schedule.
11. St. Peter's (0-8)
The Spartans dropped to 0-8 on the year after falling twice last week. First, they put up a great fight at Gilead Christian falling 39-32 behind Makenzie Hardin's 17 points. The Spartans then lost to Crestline 35-9 over the weekend. What is great about the Spartans is that they continue to show up and play the game hard and that was proven against Gilead Christian in a game they may win if they meet again. They travel to Lucas on Saturday.
jfurr@gannett.com
740-244-9934
Twitter: @JakeFurr11
Last Week's Rankings
Shelby
Mansfield Senior
Clear Fork
Mansfield Christian
Crestview
Plymouth
Lexington
Lucas
Ontario
Madison
St. Peter's
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield Senior Tygers regain top spot in Richland County Girls Basketball Power Poll
