NORTH MANCHESTER – A strong rebounding edge and clutch three-point shooting helped carry Manchester’s varsity girls basketball team to a key Three Rivers Conference win over North Miami Saturday night. The Lady Squires, evening their conference record at 2-2 and to 5-8 overall, needed every bit of their 40-plus boards and six treys to hold off the visiting Lady Warriors (4-11, 0-5 TRC) for a 62-56 win. “You could tell this was a game both teams wanted to get to improve their conference standing,” Manchester coach Mark Underwood said. “Our team persevered down the stretch, as we figured North Miami would keep on battling us.” North Miami coach Ryan DeMien was proud of how his team battled. “I was glad to see the way we kept coming back,” he said. “We were coming off a rough loss from earlier in the week, so it was good to see our players respond well and take Manchester to the wire.” The Lady Warriors got out of the gate fast, building an 11-2 lead in the first quarter. Manchester responded with a 17-3 run that bridged the first and second quarters and led them to a 31-26 halftime advantage. The Lady Squires pushed the lead to as much as 13 (41-28) in the third quarter, but North Miami whittled away and closed the deficit to as little as three (57-54) in the final minute though it couldn’t get any closer. Senior forward Kayla Flack powered the Lady Squires’ offense with 31 points, which included five three-pointers and a 6-of-8 effort at the charity stripe. Flack also picked up three steals. Senior center Autumn Brewer played an important role for the home team inside with nine points, 11 rebounds and a blocked shot. North Miami’s offense was led by senior guard/forward Lindsey Vincent. She tallied 17 points, three steals and three assists. Junior guard Karrisa West finished with 11 points.
MANCHESTER 62, NORTH MIAMI 56 NM 12 14 9 21 – 56 Man 12 19 13 16 – 62 North Miami – Cortnee Lefebrve 0-4 0-0 0, Karrisa West 3-5 5-10 11, Bailey Briggs 2-4 2-2 7, Allyson See 2-6 2-2 7, Josie Wood 3-9 0-2 7, Makenna Brown 2-6 6-12 4, Lindsey Vincent 5-11 9-11 19, Tiffany Huffman 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 17-48 25-41 56. Manchester – Claire Barnett 0-1 0-0 0, Kalene Freshour 1-7 0-2 2, Bekah Brunn 3-7 2-3 9, Sydney Snep 0-0 2-4 2, Autumn Brewer 4-8 1-3 9, Tabby DeWitt 3-9 3-6 9, Kayla Flack 10-18 6-8 31. Totals 21-53 15-26 62. Three-pointers – N. Miami 3 (Briggs, See, Wood), Manchester 6 (Flack 5); Team fouls – N.Miami 23, MHS 25; Turnovers – N. Miami 18, Manchester 26; Rebounds – N. Miami 20 (Wood 6), Manchester 41 (Brewer 11); Assists – N. Miami 12 (Vincent 3), Manchester 11 (Freshour 3); Steals – N. Miami 13 (Vincent, West 3), Manchester 11 (Flack, Freshour 3); Blocked shots – Manchester 1 (Brewer); Records: North Miami 4-11 (0-5 TRC), Manchester 5-8 (2-2 TRC) JV – Manchester 25, North Miami 24
