Manchester Stays Undefeated In TRC

NORTH MANCHESTER - Manchester eked out a 53-52 win over Whitko last night, but the coach who lost felt better about the way his team played than the coach who won.

"I was very pleased with the way we played the second half," Whitko coach Ray Davis said. "After scoring 19 points the first half, we scored 33 the second half. Our defense played well.

"This is the best we've played in the last three or four games."

"It's a win," Manchester coach Jody Shewman said. "I don't think we played the best ball we're capable of playing. It was up and down, real inconsistent. We had a lot of turnovers (21). There wasn't much blocking out."

It's all about perspective. Whitko is 4-6, but Manchester is 9-3.

The two teams snoozed and snored through the first quarter, combining for 18 turnovers. Each team had nine, and Whitko led 8-7 after the first eight minutes.

The Squires went ahead in the second quarter by getting to the free throw line. They went to the line 13 times in the quarter and hit 10.

Manchester junior guard Katie Parker, who hit 6 of 7 free throws in the quarter, gave the Squires momentum going into halftime. She stole the ball with eight seconds left and hit a layup, drawing a foul. She made the free throw, and the Squires led 25-19 at halftime.

"We sent them to the free throw line way too many times the first half," Davis said. "They made 13 of 17 the first half. That's been our problem all year. We send teams to the free throw line way too much."

Parker started the third quarter where she left off the second quarter. She had two steals in the first 90 seconds, and both led to Manchester baskets, giving the Squires a 29-20 lead. Her three-pointer with 3:42 left in the third pushed Manchester's lead to 36-25.

Whitko answered Manchester's middle-quarter charge with a run late in the quarter. The Wildcats outscored the Squires 10-2 in the last 3:18 to close the gap to 38-35 entering the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats stayed close the rest of the way, thanks to eight points from sophomore Tisha Rowland in the last quarter. Her layup with 4:38 left pulled Whitko into a 42-42 tie.

While Whitko had Rowland, the Squires had Megan Eckert. Eckert, also a sophomore, also scored eight points in the quarter. After scoring six the first half, she finished with 12 in the second half. She entered the game scoring 19.7 points per game.

"I talked to her at halftime and tried to convince her she's capable of making some shots," Shewman said. "It must have helped a little."

Whenever the Squires needed the big basket, Eckert hit it.

Her basket with 2:03 to go upped the Squires' lead to 47-44. They led the rest of the way.

The Wildcats had their chances.

They made 2 of 7 free throws the last quarter. Still, they had a shot to win.

With 22 seconds left, they had the ball and trailed 52-49. Instead of scoring, they gave the Squires the ball on a turnover after a mixup.

"It's a heartbreaker," Davis said. "I told Tina (Osborn) I wanted a timeout. I didn't tell anybody else. She's trying to call timeout as Kelly (Osborn) threw her the ball. It bounced off her and went out of bounds. Kelly didn't know we were trying to do that."

Eckert's free throw with 11 seconds left made it a 53-49 game. Rowland's three cut the lead to one at 53-52, but only :00.9 seconds remained after her basket. The Squires inbounded the ball, and Parker heaved it downcourt, sealing the Manchester win.

"Eckert hit big shots," Davis said. "She hit a three when they needed a three, and she hit free throws when they needed free throws."

Parker led Manchester with 22 points, and Eckert added 18. Rowland came off the bench to lead Whitko with 17 points. Whitko outrebounded Manchester 33-26, including 17-8 on the offensive boards. The Wildcats had 24 turnovers.

"I can't say too much more about Rowland," Davis said. "I think she had a total of 15 points in nine games. She had 17 tonight."

Whitko is 1-4 in the Three Rivers conference.

Manchester, 4-0 in the TRC, has a conference showdown at North Miami (11-0) on Monday.

"It's a win, and I'm pleased with that," Shewman said. "I'm glad the girls stuck it out and didn't give up, which we've done in the past."