MANNFORD — The Mannford Lady Pirates took the long way around this week — they hiked through frustration forest on Tuesday, then went skipping through Demon country Friday.
That’s basketball in February.
On Tuesday, looks did’t count, buckets did Tuesday night at Kiefer was one of those games that felt close, but the scoreboard says you’ve been chasing it the whole way.
Mannford fell 52–41, but the damage was done early. A seven-point first quarter put the Pirates in catch-up mode the rest of the night, and against a team like Kiefer, that’s a tough way to live.
“We missed shots and they didn’t,” said Lady Pirate head coach Nathan Reed after the game — blunt and honest. “I feel like we got the looks we wanted, but we have to hit them to beat a team like Kiefer.”
The Lady Trojans are ranked fifth in Class 3A.
Addison Pehrson did everything in her power to drag momentum back Mannford’s way, pouring in 21 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Adley Elliott flirted with a double-double, finishing with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Marin Chapman added 5. Ashlyn Elliott chipped in 4 points and 3 boards, and Emma McCrackin filled out her stat sheet row with 2 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Lexi Lovekamp pulled down 4 rebounds.
Effort wasn’t the issue. Getting the lid off the basket was.
“Our girls took care of the ball for the most part,” the coach said. “And we didn’t let Kiefer get tons of run-out buckets, which they’re very good at.”
But basketball has a cruel mandate: defense buys you chances, it doesn’t guarantee points.
“We just could never get the momentum back after a slow first quarter,” Reed said.
For the Mannford girls, that loss stung — and it showed up again three nights later, in a very different way.
Friday night, Mannford played like a team that wasn’t about to let things slip.
The Pirates edged Perkins 44–39 in a game that had no easy baskets and a kind of toughness that defied polish. The score was tied after the first, tight at halftime, and still anybody’s game going into the fourth. It was the kind of night where eventually, you find out who wants it more.
“This was a grind-it-out win, and I loved every minute of it,” Reed said.
Mannford embraced the grind. Perkins… not so much.
Addison Pehrson was a problem all night, stacking 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and an eye-popping 9 blocked shots that made the paint on her end a no-fly zone for the Lady Demons. Adley Elliott delivered a textbook double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and abut the time Perkins started to adjust for her dominance,, the other Elliot — Ashlyn — brought her strength and energy with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Marin Chapman added 1, but her presence mattered.
“We challenged our girls to be the aggressor and be the more physical team,” Reed said. “And they went out and accepted the challenge.”
That showed up clearly on the defensive end.
“We were communicating very well defensively and we were on the same page,” said Reed. “On the offensive end, we had some really timely buckets from different girls all game.”
Translation: when the game tightened up, Mannford stayed loose.
“This was an awesome team win on senior night,” the coach said.
“
—Nathan Reed