Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SPEICHERVILLE - The Manchester Squires sure know how to mark an anniversary.
Exactly one year after being eliminated from sectional play by North Miami, Manchester avenged that loss to the Warriors with a suffocating defensive performance.
The Squires allowed just six points thru three quarters en route to a 44-19 win in the 2A Northfield Sectional final Saturday night.
It was Feb. 11, 2005 when North Miami ousted favored Manchester from the Wabash Sectional.
And it was that loss that served as a motivator Saturday night.
"We did take last year's game with us on the floor," said Manchester junior Libby Pattison. "We wanted to prove to everyone that we could win and we could play strong."
Pattison was integral in defending North Miami's 6-foot-4 center Jesse Ditton.
Ditton was fronted by Pattison all night and bothered by swarming help-side defense from a parade of other Squires.
Ditton finished with just nine points on 3-of-6 shooting.
It wasn't that Ditton or any of the other Warriors shot particularly bad from the field, it was that the Manchester defense wouldn't let North Miami get a shot off.
The Warriors committed more turnovers (27) than they attempted shots from the field (23).
"It's just a tribute to the girls," said Manchester head coach Mark Underwood. "They wanted it bad enough to get the job done. They've been a team all year. It's never been one person and I'm proud of that."
Manchester's team defense kept North Miami scoreless in the first quarter. The Squires' own offensive struggles saw them leading the Warriors just 2-0 after the first eight minutes.
Senior Casey Thomas and Pattison helped get things rolling offensively for the Squires as the duo combined for 11 of Manchester 15 second quarter points.
North Miami continued to force the ball into Ditton despite Manchester's collapsing defense on the senior center.
"Libby Pattison just did as good of a job on her as anyone could. We had kids willing all night to step over and help with her," said Underwood of his team's defensive scheme for Ditton.
"Coach just told us to go in there and front her," said Pattison. "I knew I had Christa (Peden) on my help side. And we just pulled out the defensive stop.
The Warriors hit just one field goal in the first half as they trailed 17-4 going into halftime.
Manchester came out in the second half and was even stingier with allowing points.
The Squires, who allow an of average of 34.8 points per game, allowed North Miami just two points in the third quarter on the Warriors second field goal of the game.
Manchester opened up the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run that pushed the Squire lead to 34-6.
North Miami was then finally able to put some points on the board after Underwood began rotating in all of his bench players.
The 19 points scored by North Miami is the fewest allowed by Manchester all year and the least since Nov. 19, 2005 when the Squires defeated Mississinewa 53-17.
Despite a distinct size advantage with Ditton, the Warriors were outrebounded by Manchester 32-22.
The Squires got six rebounds from 5-3 senior guard Sarah Purdy along with nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
While Manchester forced North Miami into 27 turnovers, the Squires committed just nine turnovers themselves.
With the win, the Squires won their second sectional in three years and the eighth in school history. Manchester won the 2004 sectional that it hosted.
"We're certainly not satisfied," said Underwood. "We're going to celebrate this for 24 hours or so and get ready for the regional."
The Squires, 21-2 on the season, move on to the South Adams Regional. Manchester will take on Taylor (20-3), who defeated Northwestern 47-44 in the final of the Oak Hill Sectional.
Tipoff is scheduled for noon.
Prairie Heights (6-15) will take on Fort Wayne Harding (13-7) in the day's first game.
Manchester will be looking for just its second regional crown in school history. The Squires won their only regional title in 1998.
