Lady Tigers play tough game on home court

Nick Ianniello

Mineral Independent

The St. Regis Lady Tigers lost a tough game at home against the Noxon Lady Red Devils after falling behind in the second half Saturday night.

“They all played really hard tonight,” said Lady Tigers Head Coach Kevin Managhan.

The Lady Tigers started out the game giving the Lady Red Devils a run for their money, outscoring them 13 – 12 in the first quarter for an early game lead.

Brianna Managhan pounded in nine points, including one three-point shot, for the Lady Tigers while Brittany Smith and Tyler Cheesman each brought in two points during the first quarter.

The Lady Tigers did not play as tough offensively heading into the second quarter, but they stayed in the game, only allowing the Lady Red Devils to outscore them 19 – 6 for a 31 – 19 lead.

Managhan, Cheesman and Morgan Hill each scored for the Lady Tigers in the second quarter.

The Lady Tigers took what proved to be the toughest hit of the game in the third quarter when the Lady Red Devils outscored them 14 – 5 and pulled out into a 45 – 24 lead.

Cheesman and Managhan both scored for the Lady Tigers in the third quarter.

The Lady Tigers got back into their stride in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lady Red Devils 13 – 12. The push proved to be too little too late however, and the Lady Red Devils won the game 57 – 37.

“We got out-hustled on the floor and we weren’t getting back on defense like we should have been,” said Kevin Managhan.

Managhan added that losing two players when they fouled out put a lot of pressure on the players that remained on the court. Both Leandra Balwin and Hill fouled out of the game, leaving the team with fewer players to cycle onto the court.

Both teams played a very physical game and overall the night was foul-heavy, with the Lady Tigers racking up 22 fouls and the Lady Red Devils posting 24 fouls throughout the game.

Managhan said that on the free throw line the Lady Tigers only made 16 out of 36 free throws. Had they made more the Red Devils might not have maintained such an outstanding lead throughout the game.

“Free throws make or break a game,” Managhan said.

Brianna Managhan led the team in scoring with 19 points, while Cheesman racked up 11 points for the Lady Tigers. Smith scored six points for the team and Hill also nabbed one point with a free throw.

“They were all out there hustling,” Kevin Managhan said.

Managhan said that the team’s offense has shown some significant improvement over the season, but the team needs to improve on defense and start picking up some crucial rebounds if they want to succeed this year at districts.

“Our defense needs some work for sure but we’ve been executing our offense a lot better over the past few games and it’s becoming more of an offense than just scattering everywhere. It’s getting better and I hope by tournament everything comes together,” Mangahan said.