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For most of three quarters, Warsaw and No. 9 (3A) Manchester did not play like teams that were a combined 24-6 on the season.
However, with three minutes to play in the third period, both the Tigers and the Squires turned it up. The problem for Manchester was that Warsaw played at a higher level over the final 11 minutes and came away with a 53-40 win on Tuesday in the Tiger Den.
This game featured a matchup of girls wearing No. 44 - Warsaw's Tiffany Ross and Manchester's Megan Eckert. Although the pair did not go head-to-head during the game, it was a chance to see two of the top players in the area.
Eckert struggled, scoring just nine points on 3-of-15 shooting and grabbing six rebounds. She never found the touch from the outside, making just 1 of 6 shots from three-point land. Eckert, an 81 percent free-throw shooter, also struggled from the line, making just two out of her six attempts.
"She's going to (struggle sometimes)," Manchester head coach Jody Shewman said. "She's only human."
Ross, who didn't score in the first half, played a great second half and ended with 15 points and 12 rebounds. She was 5-of-11 shooting and made all five of her free throw attempts.
"She played a tremendous second half," Warsaw head coach Will Wienhorst said. "That's what she's capable of doing. Tiffany came out today and was worrying about too many other things, wanting other players to step up. She forgot that she's got to play on the floor too."
Warsaw led 21-20 with 3:54 to play in the third quarter when the Tigers made a run. Sherri Ross knocked in a three-pointer and Tiffany Ross added a pair of free throws for Warsaw's biggest lead to that point at 26-20.
With 24 seconds to play, Sam Wideman made her only three-pointer in nine attempts to give the Tigers a 10-point lead at 32-22. But Eckert answered with a long-range bomb of her own just eight seconds later to get Manchester to within seven points heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter belonged to Tiffany Ross as she scored 11 points and pulled down five rebounds. She opened the period with a layup, but Jodie Peden made back-to-back jumpers to get the Squires to within five points at 34-29.
The Tigers led 40-33 until freshman Jessica Hicks completed a three-point play as Manchester closed to within four points with 4:35 to play. But that was as close as Manchester would get the rest of the way as Warsaw made 7 of 13 shots and knocked in 7 of 9 free throws.
"We missed a lot of shots," Shewman said. "We usually shoot better than that but some teams have bad nights, and ours was tonight. I'm very proud of how our kids played. We gave them a game which I don't think a lot of people thought we would."
Manchester was just 13-of-53 (25 percent) shooting for the game and made just 1 of 13 three-pointers. The Squires outrebounded Warsaw in the first half 22-19, but Warsaw dominated that area in the second half with a 26-13 advantage.
"I can always tell when we're not playing well if we're getting beaten on the boards," Wienhorst said. "They were beating us on the boards (in the first half). We were standing around. Even though we weren't scoring (later in the game), we were rebounding and doing the things we needed to."
The first half started slowly but Manchester got out to a 4-0 lead on a Hicks layup and two free throws from Peden. Jessica Zaugg came back with a three-pointer and a layup for Warsaw as the Tigers went ahead. But Katie Parker closed out the first quarter scoring with a layup to put Manchester ahead 7-5.
The Squires extended the lead to 12-7 midway through the second period but seldom-used Christy Colt scored six points, including a big three-pointer in the late stages of the half as Warsaw closed to within one point at 18-17 at the break.
In the third quarter, Warsaw scored the first four points of the half as Jackie Edwards made a layup and Tiffany Ross finally broke into the scoring column with a jumper. After Parker hit a jumper for Manchester to make the score 21-20, the Tigers went on the run that game them the lead they would not relinquish.
Manchester (14-2) will host Valley Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Warsaw (11-5) has a long break before playing at Goshen Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m.
