WABASH — The fact the Wabash Lady Apaches won the Wabash County Tournament is nothing new, and the way the Manchester girls basketball team shot the ball in a 44-21 loss is also becoming a little too familiar. Losing Friday night’s Wabash County Tournament championship game at Northfield High School to Wabash (9-4), the Manchester Lady Squires (7-3) were 0 of 17 from behind the three-point arc and just 5 of 38 (13 percent) as a whole. “We’re in an offensive slump right now,” Manchester coach Mark Underwood said. “We’ve struggled to score in our last three games. Now, I think it’s become a mental thing. We’re going to have to work through that and get these kids the confidence they need to get back to scoring some points like they were doing earlier in the year.” Beginning the season at 6-1, the Lady Squires were averaging 54 points a game, but in their last three, which has a win sandwiched by two losses, Manchester is scoring just 34 points per contest. Against Wabash, who has won the Wabash County Tournament six-straight times, Manchester didn’t get its first point until senior Kaylee Watson hit a free throw with five seconds remaining in the first quarter. After getting that first point, the next objective was getting a field goal, which was achieved when senior Meika Kennedy got a steal and a layup with 3:35 remaining in the half, making the score 17-4. “Most things in life are mental,” Underwood said. “Attitude is a big part of it and confidence is a big part of it. If you don’t have those two things, you’re going to struggle at whatever you’re trying to do.” While Manchester was struggling to score, Wabash wasn’t really burning up the nets, holding just a 22-9 lead at the half. In all, the Lady Apaches made just 15 of 45 shot attempts, but when Manchester’s offense struggled like it did, the output resulted in a 23-point win, their 13th-straight over the Lady Squires “Even though we only had 20-some points, this is as close as we’ve been to them in a few years,” Underwood said. “They’ve had same pretty good girls graduate, but we still respect them and know they’re a very good team. But at the same time, if we can bring the type of defense we had tonight the next time we play them, and we can get some things going offensively, I think it could be a different outcome.” The top player of the night was Wabash senior Kelsey Cromer, who had 19 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists. Cromer’s point total was almost as much as Manchester’s, and her three assists were three times as many as the Lady Squires posted in the loss. In defeat, junior Kayla Flack led the Lady Squires with nine points, while Kennedy had four points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Kennedy’s 2-of-4 shooting was also a team-best, but Underwood is optimistic things can return to the way they used to be after a visit to Central Noble Tuesday night. “You can have practice after practice after practice, but you’re going to need to play some games to get out of a shooting slump,” he said. “We do play Tuesday, Thursday (at home against Eastbrook) and Saturday (at North Miami), so we’re going to use those games as opportunities to get ourselves back on the right track offensively.”
WABASH 44, MANCHESTER 21 (Wabash Co. Tourney, C’ship) W 14 8 11 11 — 44 M 1 8 5 7 — 21 Wabash — Claire Cromer 2-6 4-4 10, Katelin Vogel 0-1 0-0 0, Marin Hill 1-5 3-7 5, Kelsey Cromer 8-18 3-4 19, Katie Obenour 2-4 1-1 5, Charlianne Pardo 0-3 0-0 0, Brittany Stone 0-0 0-0 0, Kyleigh Hampton 2-8 0-0 5, Hannah Mullett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 11-16 44. Manchester — Meika Kennedy 2-4 0-0 4, Hanna Schmidt 0-4 1-2 1, Lindsey Budnik 0-1 0-2 0, Autumn Brewer 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Flack 2-12 5-7 9, Malyssa Bedke 0-0 0-0 0, Bekah Brunn 0-4 0-0 0, Kaylee Watson 1-7 2-4 4, Hannah Little 0-6 3-6 3. Totals 5-38 11-21 21. Three-point goals — Wabash 3-15 (C. Cromer 2, Hampton), Manchester 0-17; Team Fouls (fouled out) — Wabash 18, Manchester 15 (Flack); Turnovers — Wabash 15, Manchester 21; Rebounds — Wabash 27 (Hill 9), Manchester 30 (Kennedy 10); Assists — Wabash 5 (K. Cromer 3), Manchester 0; Steals — Wabash 11 (K. Cromer 5), Manchester 5 (Kennedy 2); Blocks — Wabash 1, Manchester 1; Records — Wabash 9-4, Manchester 7-3.
