Lady Lions remain unbeaten in league play

Manila brushed off a sluggish start and went on to post a convincing 69-35 victory over Osceola in 3A-3 conference senior girls basketball action Monday night in the Lions' Den.

Osceola got out of the gates quickly by banging home three consecutive treys to jump ahead of Manila 9-2. But the state's fourth ranked 3A Lady Lions retaliated by going on an 18-3 surge to take a 20-12 lead at the end of the first break. Devin Burrow started the Manila spurt with a three pointer, followed by a steal and lay-in by Emily Cook. Kirsten Adcock's long range bomb from behind the three point arc gave Manila its first lead of the night, 10-9. Back to back treys by Adcock and Shelby Wallace, plus a Kimberly Wise basket gave the Lady Lions an eight point advantage heading into the second quarter.

The Lady Lions continued to extend their lead behind Wallace, who scored 11 second quarter points, as Manila took a 22 point bulge, 47-25, into the dressing room at intermission. Cook also had a big second stanza, scoring eight points.

Manila stretched its advantage to a whopping 35 points by the end of the third quarter, capped off by Burrow's three point play, and held a 62-33 lead heading into the fourth period. A pair of Charlie Smith baskets in the closing minute capped off the Lady Lion offensive parade as Manila improved to 17-2 overall and a perfect 10-0 in conference play.

Wallace led four Lady Lions in double figures, scoring a game high 18 points. Adcock recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Cook tallied 13 while Burrow chipped in 11 points. Wise netted six, Smith tallied four while Taylor Teague added two points. Manila finished 19-23 from the foul line and connected on four three pointers.

Kalisha Gibson led Osceola with 17 points. The Lady Seminoles connected on five three pointers, including four in the first quarter.

In junior high action, Manila downed Osceola 45-30 behind Taylor Harmon's 17 point performance. Shae Kulin scored eight, Lauren Woody had seven, Kaityn Boatman netted five, Jordyn Wheeler tallied four while Sarah Pentecost and Hannah Teague added two points apiece.

Kyra Guy led the Lady Seminoles with nine points.

The two teams battled to an 11-11 tie after the first quarter before Manila pulled away for a 23-17 halftime lead. The Lady Lions held a 34-26 advantage after three quarters.

Manila will return to action Monday night when they take on second place Corning in a battle for the 3A-3 conference lead. The Lady Lions will close the week playing host to Hoxie Thursday night in another league battle.