The Manhattan girls built a 14 point second half lead and held on for a 48-44 win over Valley Center in the first round of the Mid America Classic in McPherson Thursday afternoon.
It was the second straight win for the Tribe without the services of leading scorer Elayna Spilker who is out with a leg injury. MHS was led in scoring for a second straight game by Caroline Ballard who racked up 14 points and 8 rebounds. Kristen Thompson had 13 points thanks in large part to a 3-5 night from 3-point range.
Manhattan led 31-17 early in the third quarter but saw their lead cut to three late in the fourth quarter. MHS then got three straight stops on defense and iced the game at the free throw line.
Next up Manhattan will play top seeded Andale at 6:00 Friday night.
