Squires D Turns Warriors Inside Out
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Manchester's girls basketball team won Saturday's Wawasee Tournament, thanks to what head coach Jody Shewman called her team's best performance yet this season.
The Squires hammered the Wawasee Warriors 51-31 on their home floor in the championship game. The 31 points are the fewest allowed this season by the 7-1 Squires. The 31 points were also the fewest scored by the 4-4 Warriors, who made only 11 of 42 field goal attempts (26 percent).
"I thought this was our best basketball game we've played this year," Shewman said. "Defensively, it definitely was."
Manchester started strong and finished strong, outscoring Wawasee 14-3 in the first quarter and 15-4 in the last quarter.
Manchester won by shutting down Wawasee's inside game. The Squires started in zone defense and stayed in a zone defense all the way through, collapsing underneath the basket. Wawasee's starting frontcourt of center Lydia Carpenter and forwards Karissa Evans and Hannah Rensberger had attempted 14 shots by halftime.
They combined to make one.
Carpenter, Wawasee's leading scorer who tallied 24 when the Warriors beat Garrett 52-26 in the first round that day, had zero at halftime against Manchester. The Squires led 24-10 at the half.
"We talked about (Wawasee's) inside game, how we thought that was their strongest asset," Shewman said. "We packed it down inside. We would hedge out a little, then pack it in to keep them from getting to the corner. Our girls did a nice job of deflecting their passes and defending them in the post."
Manchester guard Katie Parker, who coaches named as the tournament MVP, provided Manchester's offense. She outscored the Warriors by herself the first half, 12-10. Most of her points came on runners in the paint.
Wawasee made its one run in the third quarter. The invisible inside game appeared, as Carpenter scored 10 in the quarter - all the points she would score in the game - to close Manchester's lead to 36-27 entering the fourth.
The offensive woes the Warriors experienced early in the game returned at the end of the game. Once Wawasee got close, the Squires pulled the game back out of reach, almost like they were toying with the Warriors. Manchester's defense clamped down, forcing six Wawasee turnovers and allowing only one field goal.
"Manchester just played extremely well," Wawasee coach Randy Aalbregtse said. "If the ball goes in the basket a little more, everyone says Wawasee was playing good. When it goes in, you look good. When it goes out, you have a lot of problems."
Parker led Manchester with 14 points, while Jodie Peden added 11. Carpenter's 10 points led Wawasee.
Manchester advanced to the championship game by beating Mishawaka Marian 54-43. Junior forward Megan Eckert scored 27 for Manchester.
WAWASEE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP -ÊKatie Parker, Manchester
Megan Eckert, Manchester
Lydia Carpenter, Wawasee
Karissa Evans, Wawasee
Mary Wooley, Mishawaka Marian
Becky Ashenfelter, Garrett [[In-content Ad]]
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SYRACUSE - Manchester's girls basketball team won Saturday's Wawasee Tournament, thanks to what head coach Jody Shewman called her team's best performance yet this season.
The Squires hammered the Wawasee Warriors 51-31 on their home floor in the championship game. The 31 points are the fewest allowed this season by the 7-1 Squires. The 31 points were also the fewest scored by the 4-4 Warriors, who made only 11 of 42 field goal attempts (26 percent).
"I thought this was our best basketball game we've played this year," Shewman said. "Defensively, it definitely was."
Manchester started strong and finished strong, outscoring Wawasee 14-3 in the first quarter and 15-4 in the last quarter.
Manchester won by shutting down Wawasee's inside game. The Squires started in zone defense and stayed in a zone defense all the way through, collapsing underneath the basket. Wawasee's starting frontcourt of center Lydia Carpenter and forwards Karissa Evans and Hannah Rensberger had attempted 14 shots by halftime.
They combined to make one.
Carpenter, Wawasee's leading scorer who tallied 24 when the Warriors beat Garrett 52-26 in the first round that day, had zero at halftime against Manchester. The Squires led 24-10 at the half.
"We talked about (Wawasee's) inside game, how we thought that was their strongest asset," Shewman said. "We packed it down inside. We would hedge out a little, then pack it in to keep them from getting to the corner. Our girls did a nice job of deflecting their passes and defending them in the post."
Manchester guard Katie Parker, who coaches named as the tournament MVP, provided Manchester's offense. She outscored the Warriors by herself the first half, 12-10. Most of her points came on runners in the paint.
Wawasee made its one run in the third quarter. The invisible inside game appeared, as Carpenter scored 10 in the quarter - all the points she would score in the game - to close Manchester's lead to 36-27 entering the fourth.
The offensive woes the Warriors experienced early in the game returned at the end of the game. Once Wawasee got close, the Squires pulled the game back out of reach, almost like they were toying with the Warriors. Manchester's defense clamped down, forcing six Wawasee turnovers and allowing only one field goal.
"Manchester just played extremely well," Wawasee coach Randy Aalbregtse said. "If the ball goes in the basket a little more, everyone says Wawasee was playing good. When it goes in, you look good. When it goes out, you have a lot of problems."
Parker led Manchester with 14 points, while Jodie Peden added 11. Carpenter's 10 points led Wawasee.
Manchester advanced to the championship game by beating Mishawaka Marian 54-43. Junior forward Megan Eckert scored 27 for Manchester.
WAWASEE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP -ÊKatie Parker, Manchester
Megan Eckert, Manchester
Lydia Carpenter, Wawasee
Karissa Evans, Wawasee
Mary Wooley, Mishawaka Marian
Becky Ashenfelter, Garrett [[In-content Ad]]