MANSFIELD

It took a steady comeback to keep their playoff hopes alive, but the Midlothian Lady Panthers found just enough offense late to pull out a three-point road win Friday night against Mansfield Lake Ridge.

The Lady Eagles rode a six-point first quarter lead (19-13) well into the fourth quarter before Midlothian closed the game on an 8-2 run for the 48-45 win.

"We struggled," Midlothian head girls basketball coach Amy Tennison said. "We are kind of going through a little bit of adversity right now, but we have to give Lake Ridge some credit. It was their senior night, so we knew they were going to play with a lot of emotion, and they are a well-coached team. We were just able to pull it out in the last few minutes of the ballgame in a couple of possessions."

Tennison added that she hopes her Lady Panthers will take a little confidence away from the win as they head into the win-or-stay-home regular season finale.

"We have probably had 15 to 20 games that have been determined by three or four points or less. We have been in these scenarios all season, so I am proud of the way they executed when we had to have something in the last few minutes of the game," Tennison said.

Kierra Middleton led the Lady Panthers with 19 points, while Tatum Sorrels scored 14.

Maeghan Palmer added six, Cristina Balderrama had four, and Hallie Mayfield and Sarah Williams both scored two. Jerica Henderson rounded out the Lady Panther offense with one point.

Arieona Rosborough led the Lady Eagles with a game-high 21 points and Kennedi Burns scored 10.

UP NEXT

Midlothian, who is now 19-12 on the season and 7-6 in District 10-5A, will face Mansfield Summit on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at Panther Arena. Summit is currently 11-2 in district action and defeated the Lady Panthers 53-50 on Jan. 12.

Midlothian guarantees itself a playoff spot with a win or a Mansfield Legacy loss to Mansfield Lake Ridge.

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Fred Phipps/Mirror contributed to this report.