Manchester Squires Rout Wabash In First Round
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WABASH -ÊAfter a sluggish first half, the Manchester Squires woke up and outscored the Wabash Apaches by 16 points to earn a 69-51 victory and advance in the Northfield sectional.
As expected, Manchester started the first quarter by taking a quick 3-0 lead after Sherri Wagoner netted a three pointer.
But the Wabash team came back to score seven straight points to take a 7-3 lead with 5:42 left in the first stanza. By the end of the quarter, Wabash was ahead 13-9 after Nikki Randas scored 6 of her 8 first quarter points in the final three minutes of the frame.
Manchester woke up in the second and took its first lead since the initial basket of the game with 5:45 remaining in the second frame after Jessica Hicks sank two free throws.
The lead teetered back and forth for the last five minutes of the first half, and Manchester went to the locker room with a slim 29-27 lead.
"We came into the quarter with the first sectional game jitters," said Mancheser coach Keri Nichols. "Then in the second we calmed down some and started to play the game."
In the third stanza, the Squires held their two-point lead until the 6:41 mark when Manchester pulled ahead by eight points after Megan Eckert netted six straight free throws to put the Squires up 39-31. Overall, Hick and Eckert were the Squire scoring drive of the third frame as they combined for all of Manchester's 24 points in the quarter.
Heading into the fourth, Manchester held a 53-39 lead over Wabash and Hicks continued her scoring attack as she netted a basket with 7:30 on the fourth-quarter clock to add to the Squire lead.
As the Squires were heading down the court to play defense, Eckert and Hicks collided, and Eckert was helped off the court. Eckert would not return to the court the rest of the game, but Manchester still outscored the Apaches 16-12 to earn a 69-51 sectional win.
"Megan and Jessica are fine," said Nichols. "The trainers say they'll be ready to go full blast at practice."
Although she missed all but 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, Eckert led all scorers with 28 points after she nailed 14 of 14 free throws. Hicks added 20 points in the Squire victory.
Wabash was led by Tina Curtis and Randas, who scored 15 and 14 points respectively.
"We started the game, and we weren't executing our game plan," said Nichols. "That gave them a little confidence and kept them in the game. In the second quarter, we got down to the stuff that we knew how to do. We concentrated and executed and played the way we know we can." [[In-content Ad]]
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WABASH -ÊAfter a sluggish first half, the Manchester Squires woke up and outscored the Wabash Apaches by 16 points to earn a 69-51 victory and advance in the Northfield sectional.
As expected, Manchester started the first quarter by taking a quick 3-0 lead after Sherri Wagoner netted a three pointer.
But the Wabash team came back to score seven straight points to take a 7-3 lead with 5:42 left in the first stanza. By the end of the quarter, Wabash was ahead 13-9 after Nikki Randas scored 6 of her 8 first quarter points in the final three minutes of the frame.
Manchester woke up in the second and took its first lead since the initial basket of the game with 5:45 remaining in the second frame after Jessica Hicks sank two free throws.
The lead teetered back and forth for the last five minutes of the first half, and Manchester went to the locker room with a slim 29-27 lead.
"We came into the quarter with the first sectional game jitters," said Mancheser coach Keri Nichols. "Then in the second we calmed down some and started to play the game."
In the third stanza, the Squires held their two-point lead until the 6:41 mark when Manchester pulled ahead by eight points after Megan Eckert netted six straight free throws to put the Squires up 39-31. Overall, Hick and Eckert were the Squire scoring drive of the third frame as they combined for all of Manchester's 24 points in the quarter.
Heading into the fourth, Manchester held a 53-39 lead over Wabash and Hicks continued her scoring attack as she netted a basket with 7:30 on the fourth-quarter clock to add to the Squire lead.
As the Squires were heading down the court to play defense, Eckert and Hicks collided, and Eckert was helped off the court. Eckert would not return to the court the rest of the game, but Manchester still outscored the Apaches 16-12 to earn a 69-51 sectional win.
"Megan and Jessica are fine," said Nichols. "The trainers say they'll be ready to go full blast at practice."
Although she missed all but 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, Eckert led all scorers with 28 points after she nailed 14 of 14 free throws. Hicks added 20 points in the Squire victory.
Wabash was led by Tina Curtis and Randas, who scored 15 and 14 points respectively.
"We started the game, and we weren't executing our game plan," said Nichols. "That gave them a little confidence and kept them in the game. In the second quarter, we got down to the stuff that we knew how to do. We concentrated and executed and played the way we know we can." [[In-content Ad]]