BOURBON - Manchester girls basketball coach Jody Shewman wasn't worried about what happened in the second half against Triton Thursday. Maybe just a little concerned.

After dominating the Trojans for a 31-19 halftime lead, the two teams battled to a 31-31 tie over the final two quarters for a 62-50 Squire win. Not bad, but Shewman was expecting the same effort the Squires had in the first 16 minutes.

"In the first half, I thought we played very well," Shewman said. "In the second half, we didn't. We got a little content. Things got a little rough in the second half. It started going their way. We just got laid back, and we can't afford to do that."

The Trojans on the other hand picked up the intensity, especially in the fourth quarter. Triton cut a 20-point margin, 52-32, to 10 points when Jessica Kintzel got a rebound and a layup for a 54-44 game with three minutes left.

But Chris Scott (15 points) picked up her fifth foul just a few seconds later, and the Squires hit enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Trojans.

"We made it interesting," Triton coach Mark Heeter said. "We didn't quit, and we battled. I thought after that initial beginning in the third quarter, we played with some intensity.

"We played them evenly in the second half," he said. "If we do anything in the second quarter, who knows? Manchester is a good team, and they have some great players."

That second quarter certainly turned out to be the Trojans' downfall. After trailing only 15-11 to start the frame, Triton watched as Manchester went on a 13-8 run to open the quarter and expand the margin to 28-19.

The culprit? The Squires' pressure defense forced eight turnovers after Triton turned the ball over an additional 14 times in the first quarter.

Manchester took advantage of the fact that the Trojans lacked quickness and any real ballhandling guards.

"We did some scouting, and we knew they couldn't handle pressure," Shewman said. "We were all over them at the top. We didn't allow them to get a good entry pass."

The Trojans ended up with 34 turnovers, including the 22 in the first half. The Squires ended up with 20 steals in the game, including six each from Jodie Peden and Jessica Hicks.

"We had some stupid turnovers," Heeter said. "At times, there was no press, and we are throwing the ball out of bounds. If we can correct those errors, we will be a good team. If not, we will be mediocre."

Triton tried to counteract the turnovers with a 36-22 advantage on the boards, including 14 caroms from Jessica Kintzel.

But the Squires hit 21 of 31 at the free-throw line, including 11 of 12 from Megan Eckert (20 points).

"I told the girls we needed to get to the free-throw line more," Shewman said. "The last couple of games we only got there six one time and 16 the next. That is just not us. We shot bad in the second half, but luckily in the first half, we made some."

Eckert, the team's leading scorer at 18 ppg, got her 20 points on 4 of 11 shooting from the field. The Squires also got 15 points from Peden and 14 from Katie Parker.

"It was a quiet 20," Heeter said of Eckert's output. "I didn't think she lit us up. I thought we did a good job on her defensively. They had some other girls step up for them and hit some shots."

With the win, Manchester improved to 12-1 on the year while Triton fell to 7-3.

"We are learning, and we won," Shewman said. "That is a plus."

Manchester is at Northfield Saturday, and Triton is at Plymouth Tuesday. [[In-content Ad]]