BOURBON - While she doesn't get a lot of court time, Manchester High School senior basketball player Whitney Carver still made her presence felt during Tuesday's game at Triton.

With her team knotted at 16 at halftime in a low-scoring affair with the host Trojans, Squires coach Mark Underwood said the under-used senior delivered a fiery speech to her teammates.

Apparently it worked, as the Class 2A No. 3 Squires started the second half with an 8-0 run and later held on for a 35-30 win.

"We had one of our seniors talk at halftime," said Underwood, whose team was in a rare situation Tuesday evening, trying to respond to a loss in its previous game. "Whitney Carver, a senior who doesn't get to play much, stood up and said we were playing too tight. We were playing not to lose. We weren't being aggressive, and the scoreboard showed that."

Clinging to a three-point lead late in the game, the Squires hit 2 of 4 free throws in the final 14 seconds to secure the win.

Junior Audrey Siebrase hit the first of two charity tosses with 14.4 seconds remaining, giving Manchester a 34-30 lead, and then senior Casey Thomas hit the second of a two free throw-opportunity with two seconds left to account for the 35-30 score.

While those two free throws down the stretch were key for Manchester, the Squires otherwise struggled at the line, cashing in just 6 of 18 charity tosses in the game.

"Free throws, I believe, are a mental thing," said Underwood, whose team improved to 16-1 and rebounded from a 38-27 loss at conference rival Rochester Saturday. "We struggled at the free throw line, and that's kind of the way things went for us. In the first half, we were playing tight, we were playing not to lose. In the second half, we came out and penetrated the gaps in their zone and were able to get more rebounds."

Through 17 games, Manchester averages 51 points per game, but Tuesday against Triton the Squires scored just seven points in the first quarter and nine points in the second quarter.

The two teams were tied after both the first and second quarter before Manchester outscored the Trojans 12-8 in the third quarter, a quarter in which the Squires started with an 8-0 run.

Underwood said he challenged his players to play the rest of the season as if it were a state tournament game.

"Overall, I was pleased," said Underwood. "I challenged them to play every game now like it's a sectional game, find a way to win or they're done. I thought they found a way to win tonight. I was pretty pleased with our defense. We held a team to 30 points, a team that was playing good on its home floor."

Tuesday's game was a low-possession type game, not one where either team was going to light up the scoreboard with 60-plus points.

That style of play kept the Trojans close.

"We wanted to keep it as much a half-court game as possible," said second-year Triton coach Paul Walker, whose team fell to 9-9 on the season. "Against other teams they've played, they were very good in the open court. I thought, for the most part, we did a good job in the first half. We could have been more efficient on offense."

The Trojans finished the game 7 of 39 from the field, including a 2-of-12 performance from three-point range, and were 14 of 22 from the free throw line.

Manchester finished the game 14 of 38 from the field, 1 of 6 from beyond the arc, and made 6 of 18 free throws.

Senior Lindsay Stutzman led Triton with a game-high 12 points, while classmate Kristen Dean, junor Emily Sauer and sophomore Megan Dean scored four points each. Sophomore Brooke Blackford scored three points and led Triton with 13 rebounds.

Sophomores Jessica Ganshorn and Stephanie Stichter rounded out Triton's scoring with two points and one point, respectively.

"I thought we were pretty intense and aggressive for two quarters against Plymouth," said Walker. "We put three quarters together at Rochester, and for the most part, we played well for four quarters tonight. I told the girls going into this stretch it would be tough, but this helps prepare us for the sectional. It's better to play teams like that than someone you're going to beat by 55."

Plymouth, Rochester and Manchester have a combined record of 46-7.

Triton will be tested again Saturday when it travels to Northern State Conference opponent Jimtown, which boasts a 12-5 record overall and a 4-1 mark in conference action.

The Trojans are 3-2 in conference play.

Audrey Siebrase led Manchester with 11 points, while Caroline Andersen scored eight points. Casey Thomas and Libby Pattison scored five points each, while Sarah Purdy scored four points and Katie Bowers scored two points.

Pattison pulled down 10 rebounds for the Squires, while Christa Peden grabbed nine boards.

Manchester is in action again Saturday when it hosts Three Rivers Conference rival Tippecanoe Valley.

MANCHESTER 35, TRITON 30

Manchester 7 9 12 7 - 35

Triton 7 9 8 6 - 30

Manch. FG FT R S Pts.

* Thomas 2-8 1-6 1 3 5

* Purdy 2-4 0-0 2 2 4

* Pattison 2-4 1-4 10 2 5

* Siebrase 4-8 2-4 4 1 11

* Peden 0-2 0-2 9 1 0

Winterrowd 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Carver 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Bowers 1-8 0-0 4 2 2

Andersen 3-4 2-2 3 0 8

Totals 14-38 6-18 33 11 35

Triton FG FT R S Pts.

* Stutzman 4-12 2-2 3 3 12

* K. Dean 2-9 0-0 2 1 4

* Sauer 1-7 2-2 2 0 4

* M. Dean 0-3 4-6 7 2 4

* Blackford 0-5 3-7 13 0 3

Ganshorn 0-1 2-3 0 0 2

Stichter 0-2 1-2 6 0 1

Woudema 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 7-39 14-22 33 5 30

Three-point goals - Manchester 1-6 (Siebrase 1-1, Bowers 0-3, Thomas 0-1, Purdy 0-1), Triton 2-12 (Stutzman 2-4, Sauer 0-4, Blackford 0-3, K. Dean 0-1). Turnovers - Manchester 11, Triton 12. Fouls - Manchester 19, Triton 16. Fouled out - none.

JV - Triton 40, Manchester 32

Triton scoring - Mason 15, Soriano 8, Lemler 6, Ganshorn 5, Davis 4, Woudema 2

Manchester scoring - O'Brien 10, Lockhart 8, Johnson 6, Seifert 4, Zile 2, Pyle 2 [[In-content Ad]]