Squire Girls Lose First In TRC
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
DENVER - The Manchester Lady Squires basketball team, who traveled to undefeated North Miami Monday, played well at the beginning and played pretty decent at the end.
But it was the stuff in between that did them in.
North Miami, who improved to 12-0 overall and 3-0 in the Three Rivers Conference, beat Manchester 55-39. The conference loss was the first one for the Squires, who dropped to 9-4 overall and 4-1 in the TRC.
The Warriors, who have 6-foot-4-inch senior All-State candidate center Ruth Riley, entered the season as a strong preseason favorite to win the TRC.
The first quarter the Squires, who have already won nearly twice as many games this year as they did last year, matched the Warriors shot for shot. They made good cuts and delivered crisp passes.
Erin Groombridge hit two three-pointers for the Squires, and when the dust cleared after one quarter, North Miami held the slimmest of leads at 17-16.
The Squires played about as well as they could play offensively in the first quarter.
"I thought we played an excellent first quarter," Manchester coach Jody Shewman said. "The girls did everything right. They moved the ball well. They were patient. Their shots were falling."
They followed that by playing about as poorly as a team can play in the second quarter.
The Squires shot 0 of 8 from the floor in the quarter. They threw the ball away seven times. The Warriors pitched a shutout, outscoring the Squires 10-0 to take a 27-16 halftime lead.
"The adrenalin kind of left us for a while, and we couldn't get back on track," Shewman said. "We just couldn't get back on track."
Riley fueled North Miami's run into the third quarter. The Squires did an adequate job against Riley in the first half, constantly double-teaming her. She entered the game as the top scorer in the TRC, averaging 23.7 points per game. She had nine at halftime.
Then she went off in the third quarter.
Riley scored 12 points and hauled down seven rebounds in the quarter, capping off a surge that saw the Warriors outscore the Squires 26-6 in the second and third quarters. The Warriors were well in control, leading 43-22 entering the fourth quarter.
"It's hard to stop a lob to a 6-4 girl," Shewman said. "That's tough."
The Squires finished strong, but they couldn't begin to dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves in. They outscored the Warriors, who still had their starters in, 17-12 in the last quarter.
Riley finished with 23 points on 11-of-13 shooting, and she grabbed 12 rebounds. Groombridge and Katie Parker scored nine each for Manchester.
Manchester hosts Triton on Thursday.
At 4-1, Shewman still likes her team's chances in the conference.
"We still have a chance to finish second, maybe even tie for first," Peden said, "if Oak Hill can bump North Miami, and we can beat Oak Hill.
"It's not over yet." [[In-content Ad]]
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DENVER - The Manchester Lady Squires basketball team, who traveled to undefeated North Miami Monday, played well at the beginning and played pretty decent at the end.
But it was the stuff in between that did them in.
North Miami, who improved to 12-0 overall and 3-0 in the Three Rivers Conference, beat Manchester 55-39. The conference loss was the first one for the Squires, who dropped to 9-4 overall and 4-1 in the TRC.
The Warriors, who have 6-foot-4-inch senior All-State candidate center Ruth Riley, entered the season as a strong preseason favorite to win the TRC.
The first quarter the Squires, who have already won nearly twice as many games this year as they did last year, matched the Warriors shot for shot. They made good cuts and delivered crisp passes.
Erin Groombridge hit two three-pointers for the Squires, and when the dust cleared after one quarter, North Miami held the slimmest of leads at 17-16.
The Squires played about as well as they could play offensively in the first quarter.
"I thought we played an excellent first quarter," Manchester coach Jody Shewman said. "The girls did everything right. They moved the ball well. They were patient. Their shots were falling."
They followed that by playing about as poorly as a team can play in the second quarter.
The Squires shot 0 of 8 from the floor in the quarter. They threw the ball away seven times. The Warriors pitched a shutout, outscoring the Squires 10-0 to take a 27-16 halftime lead.
"The adrenalin kind of left us for a while, and we couldn't get back on track," Shewman said. "We just couldn't get back on track."
Riley fueled North Miami's run into the third quarter. The Squires did an adequate job against Riley in the first half, constantly double-teaming her. She entered the game as the top scorer in the TRC, averaging 23.7 points per game. She had nine at halftime.
Then she went off in the third quarter.
Riley scored 12 points and hauled down seven rebounds in the quarter, capping off a surge that saw the Warriors outscore the Squires 26-6 in the second and third quarters. The Warriors were well in control, leading 43-22 entering the fourth quarter.
"It's hard to stop a lob to a 6-4 girl," Shewman said. "That's tough."
The Squires finished strong, but they couldn't begin to dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves in. They outscored the Warriors, who still had their starters in, 17-12 in the last quarter.
Riley finished with 23 points on 11-of-13 shooting, and she grabbed 12 rebounds. Groombridge and Katie Parker scored nine each for Manchester.
Manchester hosts Triton on Thursday.
At 4-1, Shewman still likes her team's chances in the conference.
"We still have a chance to finish second, maybe even tie for first," Peden said, "if Oak Hill can bump North Miami, and we can beat Oak Hill.
"It's not over yet." [[In-content Ad]]