NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊHope springs eternal in the hearts and minds of Indiana basketball players when tournament time rolls around. Even for Coach Mark Underwood's Manchester Lady Squires squad. And in spite of the fact junior and leading scorer Brit Rager would be forced to sit out Tuesday night's contest with a sprained ankle.

"She sprained her ankle in the last five minutes of practice, " said Underwood. "So we had Monday's practice to adjust and that's it."

Despite a solid game plan and execution, Manchester's lack of size and scoring capability left the Squires on the short end of a 35-20 decision against North Miami.

"We didn't have the size tonight but we had the heart," said Underwood, ever gracious in defeat.

Unfortunately basketball is a results-oriented endeavor.

Underwood started three freshmen in 5-foot-3 Casey Thomas, 5-3 Sarah Purdy and 5-6 Cami Naragon. Not only did the Squires miss Rager's 14.3 points per game but her 6.2 rebounds as well.

The final numbers are deceiving. Manchester finished the evening with a 27-26 edge on the boards.

It's when the Warriors were able to control the glass that played a big part in determining the game. North Miami's front line that averages 5-10 and led by 5-8 senior Brianne Sunday created second-chance opportunities and free throw chances that made up for their poor shooting.

Sunday finished the evening with 15 points and seven boards on 5-15 from the field.

The poor shooting can be attributed to Manchester's game plan. In tournament play, half court teams have the advantage. Underwood instituted a slow down offense that his players ran to perfection early on. North Miami became flustered and impatient early with Manchester benefiting in the form of Warrior turnovers.

The game's first basket didn't come until the 5:15 mark of the first quarter when Sarah Purdy hit a jumper to give the Squires a 2-0 lead.

North Miami finally responded when Sunday finally arrived for the Warriors. A lay up at 3:55 tied the game. From there on out North Miami would never trail again.

Manchester fought and scrapped in true underdog fashion. They hit the occasional shot and forced North Miami into careless turnovers enough to keep the Squire faithful, faithful.

Problem was, Manchester committed too many turnovers of their own.

"We had to try and shut them down on both the offensive and defensive side. They like to steal and they like to run. We knew that if we could get them into a half court game we had a chance," said Underwood. "The problem is with those scoring opportunities you have, you have to cash in on them."

The majority of those missed opportunities came at the free throw line. The Squires shot an underwhelming 59 percent from the stripe during the season; that regressed to an abysmal 16 percent (1-6) Tuesday night.

The second quarter seemed to be the backbreaker for the Squires. North Miami outscored its TRC foe 10-5 in the period to extend their lead to nine at halftime. The deliberate offense Manchester decided to run didn't allow for such a deficit. The closest Manchester would get in the second half was seven with 4:28 left in the game before the Warriors pulled away for good.

For a team like Manchester, which finishes its season at 4-17, to beat a team like North Miami (14-7) it takes a near perfect game. Twenty-two percent shooting from the field and a negative-five turnover differential is definitely not perfect.

Aware of this, Underwood focused less on the mistakes of his team and more on its future. While its easy and sometimes short-sided thinking to turn a loss into a "moral victory" that isn't the case for Manchester. The Squires return their top seven scorers and after an 0-9 start finished 4-8.

NORTH MIAMI 35, MANCHESTER 20

NM 8 10 5 12 - 35

M 4 5 4 7 - 20

MANCHESTER FG FT A S R PTS

Hoch* 3-7 0-1 1 3 6 8

Thomas* 0-3 0-0 0 1 5 0

Purdy* 1-7 0-1 1 0 3 2

Fox* 1-5 0-2 0 0 4 2

Naragon* 3-10 1-2 0 2 3 8

Renz 0-0 0-0 1 1 5 0

Fratus 0-3 0-0 0 0 1 0

TOTALS 8-35 1-6 3 7 27 20

NORTH MIAMI FG FT A S R PTS

Sunday 5-15 3-4 5 1 7 13

Monti 3-5 2-3 0 1 4 8

McClure 1-10 3-8 4 2 6 5

Ditton 1-1 2-2 0 0 3 4

Burns 1-1 1-3 0 1 3 3

Brown 1-2 0-2 0 0 0 2

Linn 0-0 0-0 0 0 3 0

TOTALS 12-34 11-22 9 5 26 35

Three point goals -ÊManchester 3-18 (Hoch 2-6, Naragon 1-5, Purdy 0-3 Thomas 0-2, Fratus 0-2) North Miami 0-5 (Sunday 0-3, McClure 0-2). Turnovers -ÊManchester 17 North Miami 12. Team Fouls -ÊManchester 15 North Miami 12. Fouled Out: None. Technical Fouls: None [[In-content Ad]]