Manchester junior forward Gracie Lauer goes up for a shot in the paint and is met by Whitko senior Kirsten Schipper. Lauer finished her night with a game-high 14 points.
Manchester junior forward Gracie Lauer goes up for a shot in the paint and is met by Whitko senior Kirsten Schipper. Lauer finished her night with a game-high 14 points.
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The Manchester Lady Squires basketball team has had its ups and downs this season, beginning the year with a three-game losing streak and then following it up with three wins in four tries in the team’s next four contests. Looking for its second Three Rivers Conference win in a row Friday night, Manchester played host to the visiting Whitko Lady ‘Cats, a team still searching for its first TRC win of 2022.

It would be Manchester picking up the win at home, defeating Whitko 46-30 in a game that was controlled by the Lady Squires for most of the way. Manchester is now 5-6 this season, with four of those wins coming in the team’s last six games. Whitko is now 4-5 this winter, suffering its second loss in a row after a stretch in which the team won three of four.

The win for the Lady Squires keeps them in striking distance in the conference early in the season. Manchester currently sits in fourth place at 2-1, while the Lady ‘Cats remain one of two teams (Wabash) without a TRC win.

Manchester controlled the action early and was able to get out to a quick lead thanks to some good defense leading to some Lady ‘Cat turnovers. For most of the evening, the Lady Squires offense operated in transition. Junior forward Gracie Lauer got it done offensively all night long for the home team, scoring 14 points to go along with eight rebounds and four steals. It’s the second time this season that Lauer, the team’s rebounding leader, has reached the double-digit point mark. The Lady Squires’ leading scorer Brookelynn Buzzard (15.8 points per game) was held to just nine in the contest, four of those points coming in the final two minutes to help put away the game for good.

The win also marked a season-low in points allowed by Manchester. The Squires are now 3-0 when holding teams to less than 35 points. On the other side, it’s the fourth time this season Whitko has been held to 30 points or fewer in a game.

The Lady ‘Cats were led in scoring by senior forward Brookelynn Coburn, who finished with 10 points, a season high. Sophomore center Gwen Howard scored six points, all in the fourth quarter, to try and help her team come back from a large fourth quarter deficit. Trailing by as many 20 points late in the third quarter, the visitors were able to shrink the lead to 10 with just over two minutes to play.

Turnovers were the story of the game. Every time the visitors tried to get something going or showed signs of life, the Lady Squires would respond with a trap or by deflecting a pass, making life incredibly difficult for the Whitko hoopers.

Manchester has a quick turnaround, traveling to Carroll (Flora) Saturday evening for a meeting with the 9-1 Cougars. Carroll has won its last eight games, seven by double digits and four by 20 or more points. Whitko is off until Tuesday, when the team travels to Ligonier for a meeting with West Noble. The Chargers have struggled to start the season and are winless at 0-8.