Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WABASH - On a night when the phones went out in Warsaw, the Manchester Squires girls basketball team couldn't connect from the field.
The Squires shot just 8 of 41 from the field in a 38-30 upset loss to Three Rivers Conference foe North Miami in the 2A sectional semifinal at Wabash High School Friday night.
Both teams got off to a slow start as the Warriors committed seven first-quarter turnovers, while the Squires were 2 of 11 from the field and 0 of 4 from the charity stripe.
Foul trouble was also an issue for Manchester, as sophomore forward Christa Peden picked up her second foul with 5:17 left in the opening period.
The 6-foot-0 Peden provided an early spark with two quick rebounds and a steal before being forced to sit after her second personal.
While Peden had to sit for much of the first half, her two free throws sparked a near-Manchester comeback in the fourth quarter
The Squires trailed 25-14 heading into the final eight minutes.
Against the ropes, Manchester came out swinging and put together a 7-0 run in the first 2:51 of the fourth quarter. Manchester didn't score its seventh point of the contest until the 3:21 mark of the second quarter on the first of two Cami Naragon free throws.
Head coach Mark Underwood's Squires got as close as 31-28 with 2:22 left in the game.
The Warriors kept the door open with poor shooting from the foul line. Jessie Ditton and Lora Worden combined to miss four straight free throws, but Manchester was unable to capitalize.
As quickly as North Miami gave Manchester new life, they just as swiftly took it away.
Senior Andrea Burns hit 3 of 4 charity tosses in the span of 30 seconds to push the Warrior lead to two possesions at 34-28.
Manchester was unable to break out of its game-long shooting funk and could only watch as the Warriors hit 5 of 6 from the free throw line to seal the upset.
Manchester senior Megan Hoch hit a 17-foot jumper as time expired to make the final score 38-30.
After the game, Underwood remained optimistic about the lessons that can be taken from the loss.
"The girls never gave up, they kept trying hard, kept working. They're not quitters. I'm awfully proud of them. You've got to learn from this. Sometimes in life you don't have things go the way you want them to. That's when we have to pull together as a family," said Underwood.
Manchester will have time to learn more offseason lessons as the Squires start two juniors and three sophomores.
Underwood was also realistic to know that the shooting woes and anemic offense in the first 24 minutes provides a tangible in-game lesson.
"You've got to give them (N. Miami) a lot of credit. They really played well. It was a hard-fought game. You just can't score a total of 14 points in the first three quarters and expect to win. But if you would have told me that we would hold them to 38 in a game, I'd think we be doing pretty good," said Underwood.
Manchester shot a paltry 3 of 18 from the field in the first half but was able to force North Miami in to 18 first half turnovers.
Sophomore Audrey Siebrase led the Squires in scoring with nine points and was most effective from the free throw line ending the night 4 of 6. Siebrase also hit a deep three pointer during the middle of Manchester's early fourth quarter run from 23 feet out that looked to spark the Squires.
Fellow sophomore Libby Pattison added six points and along with junior Sarah Purdy led the Squires with six rebounds apiece.
6-3 Ditton had a double-double to lead the Warriors with 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting and 10 rebounds.
Junior Lesley Parson provided a spark off the bench for North Miami with 8 points, including two three pointers, to help the Warriors avenge an early-season loss to Manchester.
The Squires defeated North Miami in North Manchester, Jan. 7, 44-35.
"It hurts a lot righ now but I'm sure something good will come of this eventually," said Underwood of the loss.
Manchester returns 10 of its 13 rostered players next year. The Squires will lose Hoch, Brittany Fratus and Karla Coble.
Manchester finishes the season with a record of 19-2 and as the regular season TRC champs.
N. MIAMI 38, MANCHESTER 30
N. Miami 4 7 14 13 - 38
Manchester 4 5 5 17 - 30
N. Miami FG FT R S Pts.
*Ag. Burns 2-6 4-5 2 3 9
*Ad. Burns 0-1 3-4 3 0 3
*Ditton 5-8 2-5 10 1 12
*Worden 0-3 0-2 2 0 0
*Brown 1-4 2-2 3 1 4
Rylands 1-1 0-0 5 2 2
Parson 2-5 2-2 4 1 8
Donaldson 0-1 0-0 1 1 0
Totals 11-29 13-20 30 9 38
Mnchstr FG FT R S Pts.
*Thomas 1-6 0-0 2 2 2
*Purdy 1-6 2-6 6 1 4
*Peden 1-4 2-4 4 2 5
*Pattison 2-10 2-4 6 1 6
*Siebrase 2-8 4-6 2 2 9
Vogel 0-4 0-2 2 1 0
Naragon 0-1 2-2 0 1 2
Hoch 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Andersen 0-1 0-0 1 1 0
Totals 8-41 12-24 23 11 30
Three-point goals - N. Miami 3-7 (Ang. Burns 1-2, Parson 2-3, Brown 0-2), Manchester 2-13Ju (Peden 1-1, Siebrase 1-3, Thomas 0-2, Purdy 0-2, Pattison 0-1, Vogel 0-3, Naragon 0-1) . Turnovers - N. Miami 28, Manchester 18. Fouls - N. Miami 19, Manchester 19. Fouled out - Brown.
