Lady Lions clinch fourth straight league crow

MANILA – The Manila Lady Lions continue to rule the 3A-3 Conference as they clinched their fourth straight league title.

One thing different this year from the three prior – no losses.

Yes, with a 68-22 win over Osceola, the Lady Lions (21-6, 12-0) finished the conference slate perfectly or as head coach Chad LaRose says, “no hiccups.”

“I’m so proud of these girls,” said LaRose whose team not only won the title but did so in a convincing fashion defeating their league opponents by an average margin of 39 points. “I do know how much we put into this and I’m not saying other teams don’t work hard. But even on games days like today we go hard at practice for 45 minutes. We still get after it.

“We focus defensively a lot,” added the head coach who is the coach of record for three of those titles.

Yes, the defensive intensity was evident as Manila held Osceola scoreless for nearly 15 of the 16 minutes in the second half, while collecting 13 steals and forcing 12 turnovers. The Lady Noles (3-14, 2-10) managed just 13 percent shooting, missing 42 of their 48 attempts.

“I definitely not trying to embarrass any team,” explained LaRose, “but I’m not going to ask any player to go in and gear down. We’re not going to press you and do anything fancy. It’s going to be man-to-man (defense). Whoever’s on the floor is going to go 100 miles per hour. Again, I’m not going to ask anybody not to play hard.”

The Lady Lions went full speed from the outset as they scored the game’s first bucket on a Madysen Deeds inside move off an assist from Chloe Helms. And they never relinquished the lead.

Manila continued to share the basketball throughout the game as the team accounted for 19 assists on 29 made field goals. Yet another staple of the Lady Lions offensive strategy.

By first quarter’s end, the host team was on top, 21-7, and stretched the margin to 23 points at the break leading 41-18.

And when the second half began, Manila kept rolling outscoring the visitors, 23-0, in the third period.

Osceola wouldn’t score again until Teriyah Lee went the length of the court for a deuce with 1:25 left in the game.

The sportsmanship clock had been invoked at the beginning of the fourth quarter as the score stood at 64-18 at the end of the third stanza.

Hadlie Goodson and Lucy Farmer led Manila with 14 points each. Goodson also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists. Farmer accounted for a team-high five assists and collected three steals. Deeds posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards and Addison Stabbs joined her teammates in double figures with 10 points too. Jenna LaRose finished with nine points, three steals and two assists.

Lee reached double figures with 10 for Osceola. America McNeal only scored two points but pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Lady Noles.

“We can’t relax,” concluded LaRose, “because there’s two big games to close out the regular season and then that district. Our plan is to go in and take care of business at the district tournament.”