Manchester 42

Northfield 45

Monday, January 17, 2000

Lady Norse sink Manchester in TRC rematch

By Samuel-Shane Cooper
WABASH, Ind. — The first time the Northfield and Manchester girls' basketball teams met this season, the Lady Squires pulled out a 64-59 overtime win in the first round of the Wabash County Holiday Tournament. When the two squads tangled again on Saturday, it was a similar outcome with a different result. The Lady Norse held off a late Manchester charge, winning the Three Rivers Conference contest 45-42 as Heather Terflinger's 3-point field goal bounced off the rim while the game ended. With the win, Northfield (9-5, 4-1 TRC) remained in the hunt for the conference title, leaping ahead of Manchester ( 10-4, 3-1) into second place, behind Class 3A No.4 Rochester. The Lady Norse also snapped Manchester's 7-game unbeaten streak. "This game went down to the wire just like the first game did," Northfield coach Steve Desper said. "I don't know if we avenged it (the first loss), but we were looking at the conference as one of our goals and we're happy that we still have a chance to win it." Northfield actually held a 10-point lead at 44-34 with three minutes remaining in the game, but missed three consecutive 1-and-1 free-throw attempts to allow the Lady Squires to claw back in it. After each miss, Terflinger pushed the ball up the court, driving the ball down the lane for two layups and converting two free throws to close the gap to 44-42. Lady Norse forward Abby Wilson then made 1 of 2 free throws, setting up Terflinger's near-miss at the buzzer. "We are a good free-throw shooting team, but we didn't shoot them very well at the end," Desper said. "That's OK, that's how you learn and we have a lot of games left before the sectional. "The more times we are in the pressure situations, the more times we'll make them." Manchester coach Keri Nichols agreed with Desper. "It was the kind of game that we expected it to be, another close game, but a few breaks here or there make the difference," Nichols said. "If they make those free throws, instead of us being back in it we are 12 or 14 points down, but they did what it took to win and you have to give them credit for that." Northfield was successful where many teams had failed, forcing the Lady Squires to abandon their full-court press and winning the turnover battle. The Lady Norse also outrebounded Manchester 30-20, including a 17-9 advantage on the offensive glass. The big differences for Northfield in the rebounding column were center Jamie Barton and forward Staci White. Barton grabbed five offensive boards, despite playing most of the game in foul trouble, and White pulled down four. The duo also came through down the stretch, combining for 10 of Northfield's 15 points in the fourth quarter. "Staci played a great game for us and Jamie played a great second half, especially in the fourth quarter," Desper said. "We were able to get the ball down low to her (Barton) and she played great defense without fouling." The game was close throughout the first three quarters, with the teams exchanging the lead 10 times. Manchester looked to pull away at the end of the third quarter with a 33-27 lead, before Northfield's Lindsey Guenin sank a 3-pointer as the clock expired, cutting the lead in half. Guenin's basket sparked the Lady Norse to a 14-1 run to open the fourth quarter and set the tone for the rest of the game. "We had a lot of defensive breakdowns and they took advantage of where we had broken down," Nichols explained. "We are just going to have to go back and make some adjustments." White finished with 15 points to lead Northfield, while Wilson scored 14 and Barton finished with 10. Barton led the team with nine rebounds, followed by White with seven. Forward Jessica Hicks paced Manchester with 13 points and seven rebounds, but she was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Terflinger finished with 12 points, while Ann Harms tossed in seven.

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