Comeback Falls Short, Manchester Falls 42-36WABASH – Manchester’s Lady Squires found themselves down 12 points with less than four minutes to play in their 2A Northfield Sectional game. They just weren’t ready to call it a season without putting up a fight. Senior Cierra Carter scored 12 of her game-high 21 points in the final 3:07 of the game, and Manchester cut the lead to as few as four points with 17 seconds left. But the Lady Squires couldn’t get any closer in their 42-36 loss to Wabash Wednesday night. After Wabash’s Abby Vinopal hit a pair of free throws to give her team a 34-22 lead with 3:58 to play, Manchester went to work with a full-court press that forced five Lady Apache turnovers in the final four minutes. Bailey Sewell started the comeback effort by hitting a jumper to cut the lead to 10. Carter then scored Manchester’s last 12 points on a variety of cuts to the basket and a late three-pointers that cut the lead to 40-36. Wabash senior Jaycee Parrott hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left to seal the win. She hit 9 of 11 free throws in the game to finish with a team-high 17 points. The Lady Squires found themselves in a deficit due in part to icy shooting, making just three field goals in the first half and two in the third quarter. Free throw shooting allowed them to keep the score fairly close, but Wabash was able to hold off the late Manchester charge by hitting 9 of 13 free throws in the final period. After the game Manchester head coach Jacob Everett was focused on the comeback led by seniors Carter, Sewell, Rae Bedke and Ellie Milam. “The story line tonight is the amount of effort late down the stretch and fighting back, trying to make sure that this wasn’t our last game” he said. “It just didn’t go our way down the stretch. “We started hitting some shots and had a little more confidence late, put some pressure on them and force some turnovers. We just couldn’t keep them off the free throw line. They shot a lot of free throws, and we didn’t shoot near the volume, but we made ‘em count.” Wabash (13-10) advanced to take on host Northfield (16-7), a 41-19 winner over Rochester, in the second semifinal Friday. The other semifinal features Southwood (12-10) and No. 5 Oak Hill (22-1). Manchester finished its season with a 12-11 record, and Everett spoke of the progress the program made in the 2016-17 season. “This team accomplished so much this season and have helped build out program to its first winning season in five years,” Everett said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the effort our girls put in tonight. We did everything we could to come away with the win. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
WABASH 42 MANCHESTER 36 W 5 10 11 16 – 42 M 7 6 5 18 – 36 Wabash – Sabrina Wagner 1-3 0-0, Jaycee Parrett 4-11 9-11 17, Bailey Yoakum 3-9 7-12 13, Abby Vinopal 1-4 2-3 4, Tabitha Wagner 1-4 0-0 2, Cameron Higdon 0-3 1-2 1, Kiley Stone 0-0 0-0 0, Tristan Vigar 1-3 0-0 3, Chelsea Archer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-37 19-28 42. Manchester – Emma West 1-6 1-2 3, Sydney Day 0-4 0-0 0, Rae Bedke 0-2 0-0 0, Bailey Sewell 2-5 0-0 4, Cierra Carter 7-15 6-8 21, Kennedy Fierstos 1-3 0-0 0, Elie Milam 0-2 2-2 2, Kerigan Hatfield 0-1 0-1 0, Erika Kendall 1-4 2-2 4. Totals 12-42 11-15 36. Three-pointers – Wabash 1 (Vigar), Manchester 1 (Carter); Rebounds – Wabash 40 (Yoakum 9, T. Wagner 9), Manchester 24 (Carter 6); Turnovers – Wabash 18, Manchester 13; Fouls – Wabash 16, Manchester 22; Fouled out – none; Records – Wabash 13-10, Manchester 12-11.
