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SYRACUSE – Opening week for girls basketball continued for the Times-Union readership area on Wednesday night, as two local teams, Wawasee and Manchester met at the Hardwood Teepee. The Lady Squires were able to jump out to an early lead and never surrendered it, going wire-to-wire to start the season off with a 46-36 victory.
The visiting offense enjoyed a lightning-quick start to the season, putting up 12 points over the first three minutes of the game. Ava Sautter and Elin Betten both made a pair of field goals, while Olivia Stevens drained a shot from deep on a missed assignment by the Wawasee defense. The Lady Warriors scored five points during that same stretch, but went cold for the next few minutes as the advantage remained at seven. Both teams committed quite a few more fouls than they would have liked during the second half of the quarter, leading to a much slower pace and far fewer points after the blazing start.
Eventually, the home side was able to shake off that slow start in the form of two big three pointers in the final minute of the period. First came one from the corner by Addison Barger to give her a game-high six points after eight minutes. The second one though, came from the top of the key off the fingertips of senior Aowyn Fuller with just seconds remaining. The 6-0 burst in the final 60 seconds turned a seven-point Manchester advantage to a one-point lead, 14-13, after one.
Wawasee was able to tie the game very briefly early in the second quarter, but was unable to jump in front, as the Lady Squires answered in the form of a 9-0 run. The visitors were moving the ball well and getting everyone involved, but it was Sautter at the center of the action as she became the first player in the game to reach double figures scoring.
It’s not unusual for early-season basketball to get a bit sloppy at times, and this game was certainly no exception. The latter half of the second quarter didn’t feature much scoring, as both sides were struggling to take care of the basketball. There was a real opportunity for the Lady Warriors to dig themselves out of the hole they had created with Manchester going over two minutes without a basket, but during that stretch, the home side did the same. At the break, the Lady Squires remained in control with a 26-17 lead.
Wawasee junior Audra Weaver drives to the basket in the second quarter against Manchester junior Olivia Stevens...Nieter
The scoring drought that concluded the first half didn’t go anywhere as the second got started, as it took nearly three minutes for the first Manchester point, and during that same stretch, Wawasee was only able to manage four. This was enough for the home side to get back into things, as they were able to get within four by the midway point of the third quarter.
That’s as close as they got, as Elin Betten went on a 6-0 run by herself for the visitors, extending the lead to 10, the largest of the night thus far. After a scoreless first half, senior Emma Walker finally got her first make of the night with about eight seconds left to make it a 13 point game, but Barger was able to race down to the other end and beat the buzzer to make it a 38-27 game with eight minutes to play.
Faced with an uphill climb, the Lady Warriors continued to chip away and were back within seven with six minutes to go. They struggled to make up any further ground from there, as the visitors were doing just enough offensively to remain an arm’s length away. With four minutes left, it was a nine-point game again. But as the clock continued ticking away, the Manchester possessions got longer and longer, decreasing any chance of a comeback with each dribble of the ball.
The advantage only grew for the Lady Squires as they played keep away down the stretch. The home side eventually elected to play the foul game with a minute left, but by this point, the game was out of reach. By the end of the game, the representatives from the Three Rivers Conference were able to dribble it out to begin the year with a win.
Manchester (1-0) plays its home opener against Triton on Friday night, while Wawasee (0-1) travels to Prairie Heights on Saturday.
