Shorthanded Manchester girls fall to Ripley, 54 to 40, despite rally

Playing on the road with a depleted lineup, Manchester struggled to find offense early and could not overcome Ripley despite a spirited second half comeback. Ripley built a commanding 30 to 10 halftime lead and held on for a 54 to 40 victory at the Ripley gymnasium. The Lady Jays improved to 2 and 4 overall, and 2 and 3 in conference play. Manchester slipped to 2 and 7 overall and 0 and 5 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference.

Manchester entered the game with only nine players available on the roster and was missing leading scorer Hayden Rideout along with sophomores Bella Hughes and Hope Scott. Faith Scott was one of the active scorers for Manchester, sinking the Lady Hounds only first quarter points on a free throw at the 3 minute 26 second mark. Ripley junior Brooklyn Manning led all scorers with 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for a double double. Abi Taylor added nine points, all from beyond the arc.

The first half was lopsided. Ripley poured in 12 first quarter points while Manchester managed a single free throw. Ripley extended the margin to 15 to 1 early in the second quarter before Manchester converted its first field goal, fueled by a Faith Scott three point play. Ripley pushed the lead to 30 to 8 on three pointers by Manning and Taylor before a last second steal and score by Maddie Easter made the halftime deficit 30 to 10.

Manchester showed resilience in the third quarter with a 9 to 3 run and later a 7 to 0 spurt that cut the gap to 38 to 26. A Ripley corner three and a Scott layup left the home team ahead 41 to 28 after three. Manchester opened the fourth with baskets from Scott to reach single digits, but Ripley answered with a 9 to 0 run that sealed the outcome.

Freshman Maddie Easter led Manchester with 18 points, 13 of them in the second half, while Lyrric Hanson added seven and Maddi Curtis six. Senior Mahayla Brown finished with four points and recorded her 500th career rebound, a milestone for the program.

For Adams County fans, the game highlighted the competitive cost of limited roster depth. With conference play ongoing, Manchester will need to manage player minutes and guard against fatigue and injury if it hopes to climb the Southern Hills standings. Manchester played at West Union on December 22 and is scheduled to return home on December 27 to face Western Latham.