Manhattan High School girls basketball fell short in an away matchup against a competitive Washburn Rural team on Friday, with a final score of 48-32. Manhattan’s solid defensive stand in the first half yielded only a five-point deficit at halftime, but Washburn Rural’s 11 unanswered points at the beginning of the second half set the tone for the remainder of the game.

“I feel like we were right there in the first half,” freshman Kat Ball said. “We just need to keep the momentum going and we can’t stop [the energy] for even a second when we’re playing a team like that.” 

Ball led MHS in scoring with 15 points, shooting 4 of 5 from three-point range. Junior Emery Ruliffson also contributed 8 points and 4 steals.

MHS will next take the court at home against Emporia on Tuesday and against Blue Valley Stilwell on Friday.