1999-2000 Game Nine
Manchester 53 Maconaquah 37
Manchester girls romp December 17, 1999
By Samuel-Shane Cooper
NORTH MANCHESTER —The weather outside may have dropped
below freezing here Thursday night, but inside the Manchester High School
gym, the girls' basketball team kept sizzling.
Forward Jessica Hicks scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead
the Lady Squires to their sixth victory in their last seven games, a 53-37
decision over Maconaquah.
Hicks helped Manchester jump out to 12-4 lead after the first quarter,
scoring eight points and pulling down seven boards in the opening period.
"Jessica always plays hard and I didn't realize she had 27 points until I
looked at the scorebook," coach Keri Nichols said after the junior
connected on 10-of-12 shots from the field. "She does all the little stuff. She
gets in, gets offensive rebounds, she works hard and she earns her points
and rebounds."
The Lady Squires' pressing defense forced Maconaquah (8-3) into 29
turnovers, allowing them to score on numerous fast breaks. The Lady
Braves made changes to battle the full-court press, forced Manchester into
21 turnovers and kept the game competitive.
Manchester (6-3) pushed their lead to 16 points with a 10-2 run to open the
second quarter. Ann Harms started the spurt with an offensive rebound and
put-back, Hicks netted two buckets and Heather Terflinger banked in two
layups.
Maconaquah answered with an 8-2 run to end the period, all by forward
Emily Ladd. She hit back-to-back 3-point field goals and drove inside for
two more points.
The Lady Braves made runs to cut the lead to eight points twice in the third
quarter and narrowed the lead to six in the fourth, but Hicks dumped in 10
points in the fourth period to put the game out of reach.
"It was a game of adjustments," Nichols said. "We would make an
adjustment, then they would, and I think that's where you saw the spurts (in
scoring)."
Manchester opened the season 0-2, but their only loss since came to Marion
on Dec. 4. The streak has Nichols thinking her team is hitting its stride.
"I sound like I'm repeating myself but we talk about making a step each time
we play and I think we are making those steps," Nichols said. "We see a lot
of teams that plateau in December and we're making a conscious effort not
to peak, but get better every time we play."
Joining Hicks with a double-double was Terflinger. The sophomore drained
5-of-10 shots, scored 11 points and hauled in 10 rebounds.
"Heather really did a nice job of taking it to the hoop," Nichols said. "She
made some openings and opened up the inside for Hicks again."
Jennifer Jester and Carrie White each scored five points for the Lady
Squires and Harms added three points and four rebounds.
Ladd recorded a double-double for Maconaquah with 15 points and 10
rebounds, Julie Harkema tossed in eight points and grabbed six rebounds
and Jennie Stafford netted six points.
Manchester returns to action against Northfield in the Wabash County
Tournament Dec. 28, an event the Lady Squires have won the last three
years.
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