MENTONE - With 21 seconds left, Manchester basketball coach Jody Shewman looked each of her players in the eye during a timeout. Each girl extended one arm into the middle of the huddle, like players always do before they break a huddle.

"This," Shewman told her players, "is what we have waited a long time for."

Manchester entered its Thursday game with Tippecanoe Valley with a 10-4 record. In those 10 wins, Manchester led pretty much all of the way through.

This was different. To win this one, the Squires had to come from behind.

The Squires chased Valley throughout the evening but caught up with two minutes left. They got a 46-45 lead, their first lead since the first quarter. They went on to win 52-49.

"I told them at the timeout, If you believe it, you can get it," Shewman said. "They came through for me."

The win did two things for the Squires.

It kept Manchester alive in the Three Rivers Conference title chase. The Squires are 5-1 with one TRC game to play.

It showed Shewman her girls could handle adversity. The first-year coach racked her brain but couldn't find another game the Squires won in the last two minutes.

"Probably...never," she said. "I don't think we've ever been behind and come back and won, as long as I've been here. That just shows the caliber of my team. They did a nice job."

All the Squires did was take what the Vikings gave them. Shooting, turnovers and fouls did Valley in late.

With 4:13 left, Valley led 45-41. The Vikings made one field goal the rest of the game. They threw the ball away six times in the last quarter; Manchester had one turnover.

Valley fouls sent Manchester to the free throw line 14 times in the fourth quarter. The Squires made 13. Valley was 2 of 3 from the free throw line the last quarter.

No one hurt the Vikings more than sophomore Megan Eckert.

Eckert hit 8 of 8 free throws the last quarter. With Valley leading 45-44, Eckert's two free throws with 2:14 left put Manchester ahead 46-45. Her field goal with 1:29 to go pushed the Squires ahead 48-45.

Then guard Rhonda Doud came alive for Valley.

Doud nailed two free throws with 1:24 left and scored a basket - the one Valley basket in the last four minutes - with 25 seconds to go. Valley led 49-48.

Four seconds later, a Valley foul sent Manchester guard Jodie Peden to the line. She hit two clutch free throws, and Manchester led 50-49.

"I've been stressing that all year," Shewman said. "The last two games, we shot 86 percent and 82 percent from the line. I kept telling them all week long that we have to get to the line. That's one of our biggest strengths. They did great."

With 13 seconds left, a foul by Manchester forward Erin Groombridge sent Doud back to the line for a one-and-one. She missed the first, and Eckert hauled down the rebound. She dribbled downcourt and kept the ball, finally forcing Valley to foul her with four seconds left.

The Vikings didn't want to foul her, because she shoots better than 80 percent from the line and was perfect this night.

Eckert indeed made two more and sealed a 52-49 Manchester win. Valley didn't get a shot off in the final four seconds.

"I thought we busted our tails," Valley coach Mike Walters said. "We got beat at the free throw line. They were 20 of 23, and we were 6 of 8 or something. Anytime there's that much difference in free throws, you're going to have a hard time winning.

"We got down at the end, but we still came back and got a one-point lead. We made a foul at the end, and that really cost us.

"I have no complaints on our effort."

Valley starting guard Kara Tucker fouled out with 2:36 left. When she sat down, Valley led 45-44. Walters said his team missed her down the stretch.

"When Kara picked up her fifth, that hurt us, from the standpoint of defense and leadership on the floor," he said.

The loss dropped Valley to 7-8 overall and 3-2 in the TRC.

"We talked about the conference," Walters said. "It takes us out of any chance to win the championship. But we still have a legitimate shot for second place. The key is how we come back the next two games."

The win was extra-special for Shewman. It came at Valley, where she played ball in high school when she was still Jody Yochum. Valley athletic director Duane Burkhart, who coached Jody, honored her at halftime. He gave her jersey No. 32, the one she wore 10 years ago.

"What they did for me between games was great," Shewman said. "Coming back here and winning is very special. I'll always have a special place here. Coming back and beating my old school is a nice feeling.

"It could be reversed in a couple of years. We'll have to find out."

Manchester hosts Oak Hill Tuesday.

"We still have some hope to win the conference," Shewman said. "We have to beat Oak Hill Tuesday, and we still need somebody to beat North Miami."

Manchester improved to 11-4 overall.

"This was real important for our confidence," Shewman said. "For our program, it was important to notice what we can do. Before, I would have had a feeling we would die. We'd be down by five and kind of give it up. They just did a great job of believing they could come back and do it. They did it.

"Getting No. 11...we haven't had 11 wins in quite a while. The look on the girls' faces when we win...that's all there is to it." [[In-content Ad]]