Parker, Peden Are Wanted, Needed
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER - The signs in Manchester High School's hallway say the two girls are wanted.
One has a picture of 5-foot-5 senior guard Katie Parker and reads: Wanted ... Katie Parker ... For grand theft auto ... Known for driving the lane. Another has a picture of 5-6 senior guard Jodie Peden and reads: Wanted ... Jodie Peden ... For grand larceny theft ... Known to steal from opponents.
To Manchester coach Jody Shewman, these two guards - known as "Park" and "Pedo" by their teammates - are the two most unheralded reasons the Squires are 20-3 and competing in Saturday's Logansport 2A Semistate.
Manchester forward Megan Eckert has always gotten attention for scoring nearly 20 points per game. And recently the story line of choice has been Jessica Hicks, a 5-10 freshman who went from averaging six points per game in the regular season to 19.7 in the postseason.
But it's Parker and Peden who allow Eckert and Hicks to score by getting them the ball when they're open.
It's Parker and Peden who lead Manchester's defense.
"These are the two who brought the whole thing together to make it a team," Shewman said. "They're willing to give up the ball to the open person. Sometimes you come across good guards who only want to shoot."
Parker and Peden have been a backcourt tandem as far back as the seventh grade, so they've developed their idiosyncracies. Talking defense, Peden said: "I like the left, and she likes the right."
Because both can handle the ball so well, Shewman has the luxury of two point guards on the court at once.
What Shewman likes most is their defense. They each average around three steals per game -ÊParker's at 3.5 and Peden at 3.0.
The top two girls on the Three Rivers Conference steals list? Parker and Peden.
Shewman can't say the word "defense" when she talks about these two without putting "tenacious" right in front of it.
"Katie and Jodie are a top guard tandem," Shewman said. "Them working together has provided a lot of tenacious defense for us."
Only one time out of 23 games can Shewman remember another team having two quicker guards than Parker and Peden. That was Marion, and Marion beat Manchester 55-46.
Yes, they handle the ball well and play defense, but they still find ways to complement each other. Parker, as her made-up wanted sign suggests, likes to take the ball to the rack and break down defenses. She's more of a scorer. Shewman considers Peden better at recognizing and passing the ball to open teammates.
But Shewman would take them just for their defense. Because they are so athletic, they can give teams trouble when Shewman chooses to throw traps at opposing players.
"We get a lot of deflections between these two and get a lot of offenses out of synch," she said. "They're not sure which way to go."
They often square off in practices in what Shewman calls the "zig-zag" drill. One has to dribble up court against the other.
"Usually we end up knocking each other down," Parker said.
Said Shewman: "I like to keep these two together because of the level of competition."
The two may remain a tandem another four years -Êin college. Nothing's definite, but they are considering going to the same school to play basketball. Both say right now they definitely plan to play college ball, most likely at an NAIA school like Taylor. It's only a matter of picking which school.
"It's a possibility," Shewman said. "We're looking into it. Now they're both pretty undecided. We're hanging and letting something come to us."
For now, their only concern is 11:30 a.m. Saturday. That's when they meet 18-5 Bishop Luers in the Logansport Semistate.
These two remember the down times. Last year Manchester won 14 games in Shewman's first year as head coach, but the two years before that, the Squires were an abysmal 7-32. Parker recalls those years especially well -Êshe played on the varsity squad as a freshman and sophomore.
"My freshman and sophomore year, I would have never dreamed of being this far," she said. "But now we know how to win. We know how to play when we're ahead. We know how to keep a lead. We know how to lose leads and gain them back.
"We knew we could get this far, but we didn't know if we would."
Shewman wishes the postseason run would never end. She knows the next time Parker and Peden walk off the floor will be their last time as Manchester Squires baskeball players.
Her floor generals. Her ball-handlers. Her defensive leaders. Two of her best perimeter shooters. Her best player at driving the lane. Her best player at passing the ball to the open man.
Shewman loses all of them when Parker and Peden graduate.
"Obviously, I want them to redshirt," Shewman joked. "Katie could probably play again. She's one of the youngest ones (17) on our team. They'll be hard to replace, their fire and tenacious defense. With my youngest kids going up against these two, they see what they can do and learn. But I don't want them to go."
There's Shewman's word again -Êtenacious. They don't have a nickname for their backcourt, but Shewman throws one out: the "Tenacious Tandem," she said. [[In-content Ad]]
NORTH MANCHESTER - The signs in Manchester High School's hallway say the two girls are wanted.
One has a picture of 5-foot-5 senior guard Katie Parker and reads: Wanted ... Katie Parker ... For grand theft auto ... Known for driving the lane. Another has a picture of 5-6 senior guard Jodie Peden and reads: Wanted ... Jodie Peden ... For grand larceny theft ... Known to steal from opponents.
To Manchester coach Jody Shewman, these two guards - known as "Park" and "Pedo" by their teammates - are the two most unheralded reasons the Squires are 20-3 and competing in Saturday's Logansport 2A Semistate.
Manchester forward Megan Eckert has always gotten attention for scoring nearly 20 points per game. And recently the story line of choice has been Jessica Hicks, a 5-10 freshman who went from averaging six points per game in the regular season to 19.7 in the postseason.
But it's Parker and Peden who allow Eckert and Hicks to score by getting them the ball when they're open.
It's Parker and Peden who lead Manchester's defense.
"These are the two who brought the whole thing together to make it a team," Shewman said. "They're willing to give up the ball to the open person. Sometimes you come across good guards who only want to shoot."
Parker and Peden have been a backcourt tandem as far back as the seventh grade, so they've developed their idiosyncracies. Talking defense, Peden said: "I like the left, and she likes the right."
Because both can handle the ball so well, Shewman has the luxury of two point guards on the court at once.
What Shewman likes most is their defense. They each average around three steals per game -ÊParker's at 3.5 and Peden at 3.0.
The top two girls on the Three Rivers Conference steals list? Parker and Peden.
Shewman can't say the word "defense" when she talks about these two without putting "tenacious" right in front of it.
"Katie and Jodie are a top guard tandem," Shewman said. "Them working together has provided a lot of tenacious defense for us."
Only one time out of 23 games can Shewman remember another team having two quicker guards than Parker and Peden. That was Marion, and Marion beat Manchester 55-46.
Yes, they handle the ball well and play defense, but they still find ways to complement each other. Parker, as her made-up wanted sign suggests, likes to take the ball to the rack and break down defenses. She's more of a scorer. Shewman considers Peden better at recognizing and passing the ball to open teammates.
But Shewman would take them just for their defense. Because they are so athletic, they can give teams trouble when Shewman chooses to throw traps at opposing players.
"We get a lot of deflections between these two and get a lot of offenses out of synch," she said. "They're not sure which way to go."
They often square off in practices in what Shewman calls the "zig-zag" drill. One has to dribble up court against the other.
"Usually we end up knocking each other down," Parker said.
Said Shewman: "I like to keep these two together because of the level of competition."
The two may remain a tandem another four years -Êin college. Nothing's definite, but they are considering going to the same school to play basketball. Both say right now they definitely plan to play college ball, most likely at an NAIA school like Taylor. It's only a matter of picking which school.
"It's a possibility," Shewman said. "We're looking into it. Now they're both pretty undecided. We're hanging and letting something come to us."
For now, their only concern is 11:30 a.m. Saturday. That's when they meet 18-5 Bishop Luers in the Logansport Semistate.
These two remember the down times. Last year Manchester won 14 games in Shewman's first year as head coach, but the two years before that, the Squires were an abysmal 7-32. Parker recalls those years especially well -Êshe played on the varsity squad as a freshman and sophomore.
"My freshman and sophomore year, I would have never dreamed of being this far," she said. "But now we know how to win. We know how to play when we're ahead. We know how to keep a lead. We know how to lose leads and gain them back.
"We knew we could get this far, but we didn't know if we would."
Shewman wishes the postseason run would never end. She knows the next time Parker and Peden walk off the floor will be their last time as Manchester Squires baskeball players.
Her floor generals. Her ball-handlers. Her defensive leaders. Two of her best perimeter shooters. Her best player at driving the lane. Her best player at passing the ball to the open man.
Shewman loses all of them when Parker and Peden graduate.
"Obviously, I want them to redshirt," Shewman joked. "Katie could probably play again. She's one of the youngest ones (17) on our team. They'll be hard to replace, their fire and tenacious defense. With my youngest kids going up against these two, they see what they can do and learn. But I don't want them to go."
There's Shewman's word again -Êtenacious. They don't have a nickname for their backcourt, but Shewman throws one out: the "Tenacious Tandem," she said. [[In-content Ad]]