WABASH - Manchester's varsity girls basketball team jumped out to a 13-0 lead to start the game.
The Squires then watched their lead dwindle to a single point midway through the fourth quarter.
In a game of peaks and valleys, the one constant for Manchester was the play of its seniors.
And when the final buzzer sounded Saturday night at Southwood High School, those seniors hoisted the Class 2A sectional crown after beating county rival Wabash 49-31.
"I thought we really started strong tonight and we were able to finish strong," said Manchester coach Mark Underwood.
That strong start saw Manchester hold the Apaches scoreless in the first quarter and jump out to a 13-0 lead after the first eight minutes.
The Squires then began to decline offensively, as they were doing things that left Underwood shaking his head in disbelief.
"We were doing things in that second quarter that I've never seen," said Underwood. "Like lobbing the ball into the post."
That shaky play continued into the third quarter as Wabash closed to within 23-22 with less than three minutes left in the period.
"There were times in the midpoint of the game where we gave them some daylight and they took advantage," said Underwood.
After a baseline jumper from senior Audrey Siebrase, Manchester headed into the fourth quarter with a 25-22 lead.
The Squires took control of the game at the 3:58 mark of the fourth quarter when senior Christa Peden converted an old-fashioned three-point play, then followed that up with a reverse layup to push Manchester's lead to 34-26.
Peden scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as Manchester's seniors refused to be upended.
"Christa Peden came alive in that fourth quarter," said Underwood.
Peden also finished with a game-high eight rebounds.
While it was the Squires' upperclassmen that carried them to a win, it was a Wabash freshman that kept the Apaches in the game.
Freshman Brooklyn Short was hot from beyond the three-point arc, connecting on 5 of 9 threes.
Short led all Wabash scorers with 17 points while Chelsea Traver had eight.
Besides Peden, Siebrase finished with nine points while senior Libby Pattison had five. Holly Vogel and Katie Bowers finished with four points each.
Manchester (19-4) plays Garrett in the second game of the South Adams Regional Saturday at noon.
Garrett (21-2) on the season defeated Fremont 51-31 in the Eastside Sectional.
Harding (13-9) squares off against Oak Hill (22-1) in Saturday's first game.
Manchester advanced to the South Adams Regional last year but fell 42-41 to Taylor in the morning session.
This year's Squire squad is looking to pick up where it left off last season.
"I know our kids are happy, but at the same time they're not satisfied," said Underwood.
The Squires have won three sectional titles in the past four years and are looking to grab just their second regional title in school history.
Manchester's lone regional title came in 1998.
MANCHESTER 49, WABASH 31
Manch 13 8 4 24 - 49
Wabash 0 14 8 9 - 31
Manchester FG FT R S Pts.
*Pattison 2-7 1-4 7 1 5
*Siebrase 3-7 2-2 1 0 9
*Vogel 0-2 4-4 0 0 4
*Andersen 1-3 1-2 3 0 3
*Peden 8-13 5-5 8 2 21
Bowers 2-3 0-0 4 0 4
Lockhart 0-0 1-2 1 0 1
Zile 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Johnson 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Seifert 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Totals 11-46 20-26 16 7 46
Wabash FG FT R S Pts.
*Short 5-11 2-4 4 0 17
*Fox 1-7 2-2 1 1 4
*Honeycutt 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
*Harness 0-4 0-2 4 0 0
*Traver 3-10 1-2 3 0 8
Totals 10-35 5-10 13 1 31
Three-point goals - Manchester 1-6 (Siebrase 1-2, Anderson 0-1, Vogel 0-1, Peden 0-1, Bowers 0-1), Wabash 6-12 (Short 5-9, Traver 1-2, Fox 0-1). Turnovers - Manchester 8, Wabash 11. Fouls - Manchester 15, Wabash 17. Fouled out - Honeycutt (Wabash).
