The Manual Lady Crimsons erased an early deficit and pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the South Laurel Lady Cardinals 55–43 on Saturday.
South Laurel (8-3) came out sharp, building a 22–10 lead at the end of the first quarter and carrying a 33–22 advantage into halftime. Ryleigh Bretz controlled the paint early, while the Lady Cardinals’ defense set the tone in the opening half.
Manual began to chip away after the break, trimming the deficit to 38–35 entering the fourth quarter.
The momentum shifted in the final quarter, as Manual outscored South Laurel 20–5 to secure the win.
Bretz led South Laurel with 16 points while Callie Jones added 11 and Maci Messer finished with nine. McKenzie Fannin provided a spark off the bench with six points.
South Laurel coach Tod Windlan credited his team’s early performance but pointed to defensive breakdowns after halftime.
“Played a great first half,” he said. “Manual’s zone allowed us to get good looks and Ryleigh Bretz was dominant inside. Our defense was very solid as well.
“The second half, we came out flat, turned ball over, could not make shots and Manual turned up the pressure and caused us issues,” Windlan added. “Our defense was pitiful in second half and that is on me. When we don’t defend well, we will struggle against elite teams and that showed in second half. Hoping we can rebound as we play at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday versus a top-ranked team in Calloway County and then cap it off against another top-ranked team in Cooper at 6 p.m. Playing great teams will help us down the road.”
