Both the Whitko and Manchester girls basketball teams went into Friday night’s Three Rivers Conference showdown with six wins, two of them in the TRC. Only one team would leave with a seventh win as well as bragging rights. That team would be Whitko, as the team used a massive second quarter to pull away and stay perfect in the conference with a 67-58 victory.
Both teams wasted no time getting it going offensively. This wasn’t a surprise, as both sides have been filling up scoreboards all season long. The Whitko attack was an extremely balanced one, relying on not only good ball movement, but proactive movement by players without the ball as well. The Lady ‘Cats are able to pick apart the Manchester defense extremely efficiently, with five players combining to score the home side’s first eleven points. None got the crowd going like the three made by Braisha Harrison, which was shot from a few feet behind the three-point line.
On the other side of things, senior Gracie Lauer was a massive contributor for the Lady Squires early, tallying six points and three rebounds in the opening quarter. Another major factor in Manchester’s early success was Emma Walker, a freshman who has taken the area by storm with her strong play to begin her career. With Lauer and Walker carrying the load for the Lady Squires, the visitors were able to do enough to salvage a 13-13 tie going into the second after Whitko’s Isabel Braconi sunk a layup at the buzzer.
The second quarter was where the Lady ‘Cats made their move. Whitko was able to score 29 points in the period while continuing the trend of having everybody contribute. Senior Kloe Krieg left her mark on the contest with back-to-back triples midway through the period. Freshman Jayma Stonebreaker got involved with some crafty layups down low. Jayma’s older sister Reese got in on the action with a big three-pointer. Gwen Howard didn’t do much in terms of scoring the ball, but changed the game in an instant with her tenacious defending and timely rebounding.

    Freshman Jayma Stonebraker looks to the basket to score during Friday night's home game against Manchester. Photo by Gary Nieter

For Manchester, Walker continued to have the hot hand but was able to get some support from sophomore Peyton Ream, who would be the Lady Squires’ leading scorer in the quarter. Despite the best efforts from the visitors, the extremely efficient offense of the home side would be too much, and Whitko would hold onto a 12-point lead going into halftime.
A quick start to the third quarter would see Manchester trim the lead back down to five on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes. On the other side, the once dominant Whitko offense had grown stagnant, allowing the visitors to continue chipping away at the steadily-shrinking lead. Midway through the quarter, Krieg got a layup to fall for her team’s first points of the second half.
Manchester was able to take advantage of an overly-aggressive Whitko defense in the third, getting into the bonus with a little over three minutes remaining in the period. The Lady Squires would take advantage of their opportunities at the charity stripe and continued to crawl back into the game. In the final minute of the third, the Lady ‘Cats were able to find it on offense once again, and were able to get the lead back up to 10 after a steal by Adriyanna Phillips led to a Krieg three to end the quarter.
Nursing a double-digit lead with just eight minutes remaining in the game, Whitko began taking its time on offense, passing the ball around the perimeter and burning clock while doing so. This increased the pressure on Manchester ten-fold. With the possession game shrinking dramatically, the Lady Squires would need to make the most of every trip down the floor.
The fouls racked up as both teams anchored down defensively, showcasing a different gear than what was on display in the first three quarters. With a little over three minutes left, the Lady Squires had gotten the lead down to six once again.
That would be as close as the visitors would get, as the Lady ‘Cats were able to take advantage of some timely free throw shooting to make it a sizable advantage once again. Both of the Stonebreakers as well as Harrison were crucial during this stretch, burning the clock by moving the ball around well, while also making the biggest free throws of the game when put on the line.
Whitko had four players finish in double figures, led by Krieg’s 17 points. Jayma Stonebreaker added 12, while Harrison and Phillips both scored eleven. Howard had six rebounds and four blocks to go with her five points.
Lauer led the way for Manchester, scoring 17 points to go with eight rebounds. Buzzard used a big fourth quarter to finish with 15 points, while Walker added 12 as well as eight rebounds.
Whitko (7-2, 3-0 TRC) is back in action Tuesday night at home against West Noble, while the Lady Squires (6-5, 2-2 TRC) are off until next Friday’s game at Southwood.