Entering Tuesday at 7-0 on the season, the Manhattan High girls basketball team had not needed to make many comebacks.

In an atypical scenario, the Lady Indians trailed Topeka High by eight in the first quarter last Friday, but they made up the ground quickly and led at halftime.

Manhattan made two comebacks Tuesday night on the road against Washburn Rural, but both came up short: MHS dropped its first game of the season, a 54-52 decision to Rural.

The first rally came in the third quarter, after the Lady Indians entered halftime down 31-16. Junior Gigi McAtee led the charge on an 11-0 run to open the frame, knocking down two triples and a jumper to help her squad pull within five. Senior Madison Mittie converted an and-one, and with three minutes left in the third, Manhattan had clawed to within two.

But that’s when the Lady Blues squashed MHS’ momentum.

After Mittie’s basket-plus-the-foul, Rural ended the quarter on an 11-6 run, engineered largely by Lauren Biggs, who totaled a team-high 20 points.

“They’re really good at driving baseline and kicking it to [Biggs],” Mittie said. “We worked on that, but we couldn’t stop it.”

Manhattan made another resurgence late in the fourth. McAtee connected with Mittie on a pass that covered nearly the entire length of the floor, and after Mittie finished on the layup, the Washburn Rural lead was down to 49-45 with two minutes left.

After the teams traded baskets, and with her team trailing 52-47 with 20 seconds left, Mittie deposited a three into the basket. A flailing fist pump immediately followed.

But the drama did not stop there.

On the ensuing Rural inbounds play, Biggs threw the ball out of bounds, and suddenly, after trailing by as much as 15, Manhattan had life.

Mittie caught the inbounds pass, but on her baseline drive, she stumbled, and the loose ball made its way into Washburn Rural’s hands.

The play featured a fair amount of contact, enough for the senior guard to ponder whether a foul was warranted.

“I felt like I got fouled,” Mittie said. “But the refs didn’t lose us the game.”

Head coach Scott Mall thought the Lady Blues attempted to foul Mittie.

“It looked to me like they were trying to foul her to make her shoot free throws,” Mall said. “It just didn’t work out.”

After Biggs hit two free throws on the other end, stretching the Rural lead to 54-50, McAtee was fouled beyond the arc and nearly banked in the shot, but the ball careened off the rim. She converted on two of the three resulting free throws, but the four-point lead put the contest out of the Lady Indians’ grasp.

The two comebacks were necessary, in large part, due to the outcome of the second quarter. Washburn Rural outscored Manhattan 22-8 in the frame, and the Lady Indians turned it over on four occasions.

“We didn’t play defense like we have been, and they took advantage of what was there [in the second quarter],” Mall said. “Offensively, after we didn’t shoot well, it felt like we just stood around a little too long.”

Whether it will need a comeback or not, Manhattan is set to host on Highland Park Friday night. Mall said the Lady Scots provide some matchup problems underneath.

“Highland Park is going to be a challenge,” he said. “They have good big girls, and we’ve had trouble stopping big girls this year, so we’re going to have to really work hard on that.”