JONESBORO—The Manila Lady Lions and the Cedar Ridge Lady Timberwolves got off to a slow start in their NEA Tournament semifinals Friday afternoon and the two teams kept it low scoring all the way down to the wire as the Lady Lions prevailed, 37-35, to put them in the finals of the Division 1 Girls bracket.
The first bucket in the game didn’t take place until one minute remaining in the first quarter as senior guard Brailey Hampton drained a three-pointer.
The Lady Lions led 5-2 at the end of the first quarter. Cedar Ridge, however, made up for their slow start as they outscored the Lady Lions 14-9 in the second quarter and led 16-14 at the half. MHS came back in the third quarter and held a one-point lead heading into the final quarter.
A scary moment came midway through the final quarter as Hampton hit her head on the floor and was forced to exit by the referees. Hampton sat out for roughly a minute before returning to the game.
The Lady Lions were helped tremendously with their work at the charity stripe as they went 7-of-8 from the line in the final quarter.
Manila outscored the Lady T-Wolves in the fourth quarter 9-8 and defeated Cedar Ridge 37-35.
Hampton led the team with a game-high 17 points. Sophomore guard Macy Darby chipped in 11-points and junior guard Sadie Massey added seven-points.
They will be the home team in the finals matchup as they face the ICC Lady Cougars Tuesday at noon at First National Bank Arena.