Manchester Squires See Season End
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WABASH -ÊMaconaquah brought the Manchester Squires' girls basketball season to an abrupt end when the Braves defeated the Squires 49-48 in the Northfield Sectional Thursday.
Although Manchester netted the first basket of the game, the first quarter belonged to Maconaquah as the Braves outscored the Squires 17-8 in the frame.
"We knew they could score points quickly, so we made sure that we didn't panic after the first quarter," said Nichols. "We kept our heads up and got back in it."
Manchester was down, but not out as the Squires made a comeback in the second stanza, Jennifer Jester started the quarter with a spark as she sank a three-pointer with 7:25 remaining in the half.
Then Megan Eckert stepped up. In the last seven minutes of the first half, Eckert helped the Manchester squad go on a 18-2 but scoring 13 points. At the half, Manchester held a 29-21 lead over Maconaquah, and Megan Eckert had 18 of her total 28 points.
But Maconaquah refused to go down without a fight. The Braves came slow in the third, allowing Manchester to score five points and take a 34-21 lead. With 6:22 left in the third, Maconaquah started to make a comeback.
The Braves outscored the Squires 12-2 in the last six minutes of the third frame, and at the start of the fourth, the Manchester lead had shrivelled to one, 36-35.
The fourth quarter was a barn-burner as the lead see-sawed back and forth from the Braves to the Squires, with neither team building more than a four-point lead.
With 1:06 left in regulation play, Maconaquah's Emily Larimer hit two shots from the charity strip to give the Braves a 48-45 lead, but Eckert tossed up a three-pointer to tie the score at 48. With 12.4 seconds remaining, Emily Ladd hit the top end of a one-and-bonus shot to put Maconaquah up 49-48.
Ladd's second free throw bounced off the edge of the rim and into Manchester hands. After a jump ball was called with 3.6 ticks left on the clock, Manchester had the ball out of bounds under the basket.
The Squires inbounded the ball to Carrie White who took a 15-foot jump shot that sailed over the basket. Ladd pulled down the board for the Braves as the buzzer sounded and sealed the victory for Maconaquah.
"We missed some easy shots, and we fouled some people we didn't want to foul," said Nichols. "I have to give Maconaquah a lot of credit. They came back and kept their heads up and hit some big shots.
"Maconaquah is a good team with a lot of weapons. They have three or four good shooters, and it hard to shut down a team with that many weapons."
Maconaquah 49 Manchester 48
Manchester 8 21 7 12 - 49
Maconaquah 17 4 14 14 - 49
Manchester FG FT R S Pts.
Eckert 10-15 5-6 9 1 28
Hicks 2-11 0-0 4 1 4
C. White 4-11 1-2 6 2 9
Sell 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Wagoner 0-4 0-0 2 1 0
Jester 1-2 4-4 2 1 7
E. White 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Harms 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Terflinger 0-1 0-0 4 0 0
Totals 17-46 10-12 28 6 48
Maconaquah FG FT R S Pts.
Stafford 4-8 0-3 0 0 9
Ladd 3-6 1-4 9 1 8
Cook 6-9 0-1 1 2 12
Miller 5-15 2-4 6 3 15
Larimer 0-8 5-6 6 2 5
Harkema 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Robinson 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 18-46 8-18 22 8 49
Three-point goals -ÊManchester 4-11 (Eckert 3-4, Wagoner 0-4, Jester 1-2, Terflinger 0-1), Maconaquah 5-15 (Stafford 1-2, Ladd 1-2, Cook 0-1, Miller 3-6, Larimer 0-4, Robinson 0-1). Turnovers -ÊManchester 19, Maconaquah 14. Total fouls - Manchester 17, Maconaquah 12. Fouled out -ÊJester. [[In-content Ad]]
WABASH -ÊMaconaquah brought the Manchester Squires' girls basketball season to an abrupt end when the Braves defeated the Squires 49-48 in the Northfield Sectional Thursday.
Although Manchester netted the first basket of the game, the first quarter belonged to Maconaquah as the Braves outscored the Squires 17-8 in the frame.
"We knew they could score points quickly, so we made sure that we didn't panic after the first quarter," said Nichols. "We kept our heads up and got back in it."
Manchester was down, but not out as the Squires made a comeback in the second stanza, Jennifer Jester started the quarter with a spark as she sank a three-pointer with 7:25 remaining in the half.
Then Megan Eckert stepped up. In the last seven minutes of the first half, Eckert helped the Manchester squad go on a 18-2 but scoring 13 points. At the half, Manchester held a 29-21 lead over Maconaquah, and Megan Eckert had 18 of her total 28 points.
But Maconaquah refused to go down without a fight. The Braves came slow in the third, allowing Manchester to score five points and take a 34-21 lead. With 6:22 left in the third, Maconaquah started to make a comeback.
The Braves outscored the Squires 12-2 in the last six minutes of the third frame, and at the start of the fourth, the Manchester lead had shrivelled to one, 36-35.
The fourth quarter was a barn-burner as the lead see-sawed back and forth from the Braves to the Squires, with neither team building more than a four-point lead.
With 1:06 left in regulation play, Maconaquah's Emily Larimer hit two shots from the charity strip to give the Braves a 48-45 lead, but Eckert tossed up a three-pointer to tie the score at 48. With 12.4 seconds remaining, Emily Ladd hit the top end of a one-and-bonus shot to put Maconaquah up 49-48.
Ladd's second free throw bounced off the edge of the rim and into Manchester hands. After a jump ball was called with 3.6 ticks left on the clock, Manchester had the ball out of bounds under the basket.
The Squires inbounded the ball to Carrie White who took a 15-foot jump shot that sailed over the basket. Ladd pulled down the board for the Braves as the buzzer sounded and sealed the victory for Maconaquah.
"We missed some easy shots, and we fouled some people we didn't want to foul," said Nichols. "I have to give Maconaquah a lot of credit. They came back and kept their heads up and hit some big shots.
"Maconaquah is a good team with a lot of weapons. They have three or four good shooters, and it hard to shut down a team with that many weapons."
Maconaquah 49 Manchester 48
Manchester 8 21 7 12 - 49
Maconaquah 17 4 14 14 - 49
Manchester FG FT R S Pts.
Eckert 10-15 5-6 9 1 28
Hicks 2-11 0-0 4 1 4
C. White 4-11 1-2 6 2 9
Sell 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Wagoner 0-4 0-0 2 1 0
Jester 1-2 4-4 2 1 7
E. White 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Harms 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Terflinger 0-1 0-0 4 0 0
Totals 17-46 10-12 28 6 48
Maconaquah FG FT R S Pts.
Stafford 4-8 0-3 0 0 9
Ladd 3-6 1-4 9 1 8
Cook 6-9 0-1 1 2 12
Miller 5-15 2-4 6 3 15
Larimer 0-8 5-6 6 2 5
Harkema 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Robinson 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 18-46 8-18 22 8 49
Three-point goals -ÊManchester 4-11 (Eckert 3-4, Wagoner 0-4, Jester 1-2, Terflinger 0-1), Maconaquah 5-15 (Stafford 1-2, Ladd 1-2, Cook 0-1, Miller 3-6, Larimer 0-4, Robinson 0-1). Turnovers -ÊManchester 19, Maconaquah 14. Total fouls - Manchester 17, Maconaquah 12. Fouled out -ÊJester. [[In-content Ad]]