SOUTH WHITLEY – The Manchester High School girls basketball team found a way to hold off the host Whitko Lady Wildcats in a Three Rivers Conference game Friday that featured 48 fouls and 67 free throw attempts. After his team fell behind 8-0 in the first two minutes of the game, Manchester coach Mark Underwood called a timeout that sparked a 15-2 run by his Lady Squires (6-1, 2-0 TRC). The spurt helped put the Lady Wildcats (3-5, 1-1 TRC) in a hole they couldn't dig out of. "I just told them, 'Relax. This is a good team we're playing, but we've played Oak Hill and Winamac – a couple of other real good teams.'" Underwood said. "'You guys competed with them, so there's no reason you can't compete with this team. It's a long game. Just start plugging away.' I was real happy with the way they responded." Scoring just two points the rest of the first quarter, Whitko found itself behind 15-10 following two free throws by Manchester junior Kayla Flack with 7:17 remaining in the half. "We came out, we got a nice little lead, then they called a timeout and I think we thought that was as hard and physical as Manchester was going to play," Whitko coach Brandon Bradley said. "I think we kind of relaxed a little bit. You can't be comfortable two minutes into the game." Manchester built its lead to 29-17 by the time the half was over, but it may have been even larger if it weren't for its 18 turnovers in the first 16 minutes of play. "We like to keep it under 20, so we'll have to work on that," Underwood said of his team, which commited a total of 25 in the win. "But you have to give Whitko credit. They caused a lot of those turnovers." The Lady Wildcats' offense clicked a little better in the second half, but so did the Lady Squires', which beefed its lead to 47-31 following a three-pointer by senior Meika Kennedy with 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter. However, Whitko proved it wouldn't go away. In the final quarter, Whitko converted 12 of 15 free throws, hitting 25 of 32 on the night, creeping to within 58-54 with 14 seconds remaining. Manchester made 10 of 12 in the final quarter, though, holding off the late surge. With so many free throws shot and fouls given, it's easy to see the game was physical, which is exactly how Bradley had been preparing his girls. "We've been preparing to get tougher since the Warsaw game (a 60-26 loss on Nov. 25) – physically," he said. "Last Saturday at North Miami, they hit us first, we figured it and fought back. We prepared all week, again, for a tough, physical game." Attacking the rim, senior Karissa Olinske scored 17 of her 20 points in the second half, while senior Micaela Sylvester also scored a bulk of her 20 points in the final two quarters when she netted 13. With those two guards accounting for 40 of the team's 56 points, fellow senior guard Katee Reiff scored another 15, but it's the points junior Cagney Craig may have contributed had she not been sick that had Bradley contemplating what could have been. "She's at least five points on the scoreboard," he said. "Not scoring herself, but just what she produces defensively. As fast and athletic as she is, she would have been a heck of an asset out there." The Lady Squires were at full strength and it showed in the box score with four girls scoring in double figures, with three nabbing at least nine rebounds. "We have players that are versatile this year," Underwood said. "That's one of our strengths. If they want to try to take one person out of it, and that may happen, we have other people who can step up and get the job done." The Lady Wildcats focused on taking Flack away, but she still managed to post 12 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, but she was hardly the only Lady Squire inflicting pain. Senior Hannah Little had a team-high 18 points and 12 rebounds to go with two assists and two steals, while the 5-foot-3 Kennedy had 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Coming off the bench, senior Hanna Schmidt had 11 points and four rebounds, while senior Kaylee Watson added six points, two rebounds and two blocked shots for good measure. With that kind of versatility, it's not hard to see why the team is off to its best start since its 15-0 record in 2005, but Underwood's not taking too much credit. "The girls have won six, and I always tell them, they're responsible for all the wins and I'm responsible for all the losses," he said. "So they're 6-0 and I'm 0-1. If I get my act together, we'll be better off." They'll get a shot to add another win to that record Friday at Southwood, while Whitko's next matchup is Thursday at home against West Noble.
MANCHESTER 61, WHITKO 56 M 13 16 18 14 – 61 W 10 7 16 23 – 56 Manchester – Malyssa Bedke 0-1 0-1 0, Meika Kennedy 4-9 4-6 14, Autumn Brewer 0-2 0-0 0, Kayla Flack 2-8 7-10 12, Hannah Little 6-12 6-10 18, Hanna Schmidt 2-7 6-8 11, Bekah Brunn 0-2 0-0 0, Kaylee Watson 3-5 0-0 6, Lindsey Budnik 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 23-35 61. Whitko – Karissa Olinske 5-12 8-9 20, Micaela Sylvester 4-12 12-16 20, Katee Reiff 5-13 4-4 15, Cassie Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan Hall 0-1 0-0 0, Kelly Reiff 0-1 0-1 0, Cagney Craig 0-1 0-0 0, Josie Sparks 0-0 1-2 1, Melanie Kelsey 0-3 0-0 0, Lynsi Hicks 0-1 0-0 0, Bailee Juillerat 0-2 0-0 0, Megan Zumbrun 0-0 0-0 0, Heather Bryan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-48 25-32 56. Three-point goals – Manchester 4-15 (Kennedy 2, Schmidt, Flack), Whitko 3-13 (Olinske 2, Ka. Reiff); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Manchester 26 (Kennedy, Watson), Whitko 22 (Jones); Turnovers — Manchester 25, Whitko 17; Rebounds – Manchester 41 (Little 12, Kennedy 9, Flack 9), Whitko 27 (Olinske 6); Assists – Manchester 8 (Kennedy 3), Whitko 4 (Sylvester 2); Steals – Manchester 8 (Kennedy 2, Flack 2, Little 2), Whitko 6 (Sylvester 3); Blocks — Manchester 2 (Watson 2), Whitko 1; Records: Manchester 6-1 (2-0 TRC), Whitko 3-5 (1-1 TRC) JV – Whitko 29, Manchester 19 Whitko – Sydney Sims 10, Maddie Gawthrop 9, Ke. Reiff 4, Reghan Craig 2, Juillerat 2, Kelsey 2 Manchester – Madison Isbell 6, Mariah Mobley 4, Tabby DeWitt 4, Sydney Snep 2, Celina Carter 2, Morgan McKee 1
