Whitko Squeaks By Lady Squires In Conference Battle
18 Dec 2008

by Eric Christiansen
Manchester led TRC rival Whitko for 31 minutes and 54 seconds, but it was the final six seconds that made the difference on the scoreboard.
Whitko's Amanda Allender hit one of two free throws with six seconds left in the game to break a 48-48 tie, giving the Wildcats the eventual 49-48 win.
Manchester seemed to be in control of the game until the final minute. With Manchester leading 48-42, Allender hit a three pointer with 58 seconds left to cut the lead to three.
Noelle Patrick missed the front end of a one and one for the Lady Squires with 50.9 seconds remaining.
Whitko's Emily Bidwell tied things up with a three pointer of her own with 35 seconds left.
On Manchester's next possession, they turned the ball over, and Allender was fouled with six seconds left, leading to her free throw heroics.
The Lady Squires had one last chance, but committed one final turnover with one second left to give the win to Whitko.
Manchester committed 27 turnovers on the night.
"We're really disappointed. We feel like we let one slip away," Manchester coach Mark Underwood said. "We shot the ball really well from the field, but we had way too many unforced turnovers, and that really hurt us."
Another sore spot for the Lady Squires was free throw shooting. Manchester finished the game 7-20 for the game, including going 1-7 in the fourth quarter.
"Had we shot any kind of decent percentage from the line, this would have been a win for us," Underwood said.
Instead, it was Whitko celebrating the win.
"I wish I could think of a word to describe how I felt about the girls tonight," said Whitko coach Rob Bell. "I am very proud of the way they didn't give up. We had some of the younger girls step up tonight when we needed them too."
Manchester took an early 10-3 lead, lead by two three pointers from Patrick.
The Lady Squires had a chance to extend their lead in the first quarter even more after Bell was called for a technical foul with 1:20 left in the first.
Instead, Manchester shot just 3-10 in the quarter, allowing Whitko to stay close.
Bell's technical foul might have interrupted the Lady Squire momentum. Manchester went over eight minutes without a basket, but Whitko missed five free throws early in the second, allowing the Lady Squires to hold onto the lead.
Manchester never allowed Whitko to lead in the game, and stretched their lead to as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter, 40-28.
But Whitko clawed their way back into the game, using their size advantage, and the fact that Katie Bowers fouled out for Manchester with 2:57 left in the game.
"When Katie fouled out, and they brought in Bidwell, us losing our best player and them bringing their best player in is not a good trade off for us," Underwood said. "I don't know if I can put my finger on one thing. They made big plays in the end, and we didn't. We really kind of shot ourselves in the foot the entire game."
Jessica Bedke led Manchester with 15 points, while Patrick had 11 points and five rebounds, and Bowers had 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Amber Fratus had five points and seven rebounds, Emily Hill had four points and two rebounds, Meika Kennedy had two points, two rebounds, and two assists, and Hannah Little had one point and two rebounds.
The JV team lost to Whitko 25-21 to fall to 3-4 on the year.
Hanna Schmidt led Manchester with six points and nine rebounds.
Manchester will host Southwood this Friday as part of a doubleheader with the boys' team.