Photo by Gary Nieter, Times-Union Manchester senior Keilan Creager heads to the basket as Wawasee's Grace Smith tries to keep pace during the second quarter of Wednesday’s girls basketball season opener for both teams at Manchester Junior-Senior High School.
Photo by Gary Nieter, Times-Union Manchester senior Keilan Creager heads to the basket as Wawasee's Grace Smith tries to keep pace during the second quarter of Wednesday’s girls basketball season opener for both teams at Manchester Junior-Senior High School.
• •
NORTH MANCHESTER – On what was opening night for both the Wawasee and Manchester girls basketball teams, it was the Warriors who came out on top, winning 58-39. Wawasee starts the season off with a 1-0 record, while the Lady Squires drop to 0-1.  

For the Warriors, it was domination on both ends, as the Warriors were able to score in bunches while defending at an elite level. Manchester reached the double-digit mark in turnovers before the end of the first half as Wawasee took a 30-16 lead into the locker room. The team struggled with some undisciplined play in the third quarter, committing six team fouls in the first 3 minutes, though some off of questionable calls. Top performers for the Warriors included Becca Smith, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds, as well as Kennedy White, who had eight points and six boards. Emily Haines finished with nine points.  

On the other side, it was a sloppy start to the game for the Lady Squires. The team was only able to manage five points in the first quarter, and was unable to score its first field goal until a minute into period number two. Manchester went on a big run in the third quarter, but was unable to get the deficit below 12.

Leading the way for Manchester in defeat were Ainsley West, who notched a double-double in the first game of her senior year with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Keilan Creager also handled a majority of the scoring, piling up 10 points and grabbing six boards of her own. Brookelynn Buzzard made two three-point field goals and finished with seven points.

In the junior varsity game, Wawasee came out on top 50-22. Mackenzie Hackleman led the Warriors with 12 points, while Brooklyn Gibson scored eight.

The leading scorer for the Lady Squires was Maddy Miller, who had 12 of Manchester’s 22 points.  

Wawasee opens the home portion of its schedule Saturday night against Prairie Heights, while Manchester travels to Bourbon to take on Triton Friday night.