Manchester Girls Claim TRC Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
CONVERSE - Boy, how those Squires like to make it interesting.
In a game to decide the Three Rivers Conference championship, Manchester shot just 24 percent from the floor in the first half in falling behind by as many as 12 points. But when the chips were down, the Squires turned up the heat on defense and ran away with a 51-36 win over Oak Hill on Thursday.
Manchester came into the game with a 6-0 conference record. The Squires had already clinched a share of the TRC title, but a win would give them the championship by themselves. Oak Hill, on the other hand, was 5-1 in the TRC and could tie for the championship with the win.
The Eagles, however, were without Erin Rhodes. She averages more than 14 points and 11 rebounds a game, and Oak Hill could have used her as only five Eagles scored the entire night and only two scored more than four points.
Despite being without their top scorer and rebounder, Oak Hill was aggressive early. Katie Parker scored the first six points of the game for Manchester as the Squires went ahead 6-3. But Oak Hill scored the next 15 points to take an 18-6 lead with six minutes to play in the second quarter.
Andrea Monroe stepped up in Rhodes' absence and scored 10 first-quarter points on a pair of three-point plays.
For the Squires, it reached the lowest point with 4:09 to play in the half. Trailing 20-10, the Squires got called for a foul and then the coaches got hit with a technical for arguing a call. But Oak Hill made only one free throw and couldn't score on the ensuing possession and the Eagles went into the half with a 23-14 lead.
"Coach Parker talked to them (at the half) before I went in," Manchester head coach Jody Shewman said. "I needed them to hear something different for once. When I came in, I just talked to them about what we were doing wrong. I didn't get angry. I just let them try to figure it out."
In the third quarter, Manchester turned it around. In the first 3-1/2 minutes of the third quarter, Oak Hill never attempted a shot and missed two free throws. The Squires forced Oak Hill into 11 third-quarter turnovers and they begin to hit some shots.
"I told them we had to win it on the defensive end and they really responded," Shewman said.
Parker had seven points in the quarter and Megan Eckert added two field goals. The Squires scored five points in the opening minute to get to within four points. A Parker jumper with 5:43 to play gave the Squires a 24-23 lead. Oak Hill would score just two points in the quarter and Manchester went into the fourth with a 32-25 lead.
Oak Hill seemed to regain some momentum with four straight points to start the final period to get back to within three points. But the Squires scored the next nine points to take a 41-29 lead. From there, the Squires just needed to hold on to the ball and they did that to get the easy win.
Shewman knew that this was a good game to gauge exactly how ready her team was for sectional action. With the TRC title on the line against a good basketball team on the road and a hostile crowd in the stands, this game simulated the pressure of postseason basketball as well as any regular season game could.
"We talked about that all week," Shewman said. "I told them that they've got to be ready for all this stuff."
With some other players struggling to shoot the ball, Parker came up big for the Squires with 22 points, four rebounds and four steals.
"She really took control and was a big spark for us," Shewman said.
Jessica Hicks was just 1 of 7 from the floor, but she came up with 12 rebounds on the night, seven offensively, to help Manchester to a 42-38 rebounding advantage. The Squires had 19 offensive rebounds on the night.
Eckert had a rough night shooting as well, with just 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting. But on the defensive end, she came up with a team-high six steals.
Manchester (17-3) will begin sectional action on Feb. 20 against Wabash at 6:30 p.m. That game will take place at Northfield. [[In-content Ad]]
CONVERSE - Boy, how those Squires like to make it interesting.
In a game to decide the Three Rivers Conference championship, Manchester shot just 24 percent from the floor in the first half in falling behind by as many as 12 points. But when the chips were down, the Squires turned up the heat on defense and ran away with a 51-36 win over Oak Hill on Thursday.
Manchester came into the game with a 6-0 conference record. The Squires had already clinched a share of the TRC title, but a win would give them the championship by themselves. Oak Hill, on the other hand, was 5-1 in the TRC and could tie for the championship with the win.
The Eagles, however, were without Erin Rhodes. She averages more than 14 points and 11 rebounds a game, and Oak Hill could have used her as only five Eagles scored the entire night and only two scored more than four points.
Despite being without their top scorer and rebounder, Oak Hill was aggressive early. Katie Parker scored the first six points of the game for Manchester as the Squires went ahead 6-3. But Oak Hill scored the next 15 points to take an 18-6 lead with six minutes to play in the second quarter.
Andrea Monroe stepped up in Rhodes' absence and scored 10 first-quarter points on a pair of three-point plays.
For the Squires, it reached the lowest point with 4:09 to play in the half. Trailing 20-10, the Squires got called for a foul and then the coaches got hit with a technical for arguing a call. But Oak Hill made only one free throw and couldn't score on the ensuing possession and the Eagles went into the half with a 23-14 lead.
"Coach Parker talked to them (at the half) before I went in," Manchester head coach Jody Shewman said. "I needed them to hear something different for once. When I came in, I just talked to them about what we were doing wrong. I didn't get angry. I just let them try to figure it out."
In the third quarter, Manchester turned it around. In the first 3-1/2 minutes of the third quarter, Oak Hill never attempted a shot and missed two free throws. The Squires forced Oak Hill into 11 third-quarter turnovers and they begin to hit some shots.
"I told them we had to win it on the defensive end and they really responded," Shewman said.
Parker had seven points in the quarter and Megan Eckert added two field goals. The Squires scored five points in the opening minute to get to within four points. A Parker jumper with 5:43 to play gave the Squires a 24-23 lead. Oak Hill would score just two points in the quarter and Manchester went into the fourth with a 32-25 lead.
Oak Hill seemed to regain some momentum with four straight points to start the final period to get back to within three points. But the Squires scored the next nine points to take a 41-29 lead. From there, the Squires just needed to hold on to the ball and they did that to get the easy win.
Shewman knew that this was a good game to gauge exactly how ready her team was for sectional action. With the TRC title on the line against a good basketball team on the road and a hostile crowd in the stands, this game simulated the pressure of postseason basketball as well as any regular season game could.
"We talked about that all week," Shewman said. "I told them that they've got to be ready for all this stuff."
With some other players struggling to shoot the ball, Parker came up big for the Squires with 22 points, four rebounds and four steals.
"She really took control and was a big spark for us," Shewman said.
Jessica Hicks was just 1 of 7 from the floor, but she came up with 12 rebounds on the night, seven offensively, to help Manchester to a 42-38 rebounding advantage. The Squires had 19 offensive rebounds on the night.
Eckert had a rough night shooting as well, with just 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting. But on the defensive end, she came up with a team-high six steals.
Manchester (17-3) will begin sectional action on Feb. 20 against Wabash at 6:30 p.m. That game will take place at Northfield. [[In-content Ad]]