Manchester Academy split a pair of games with rival Tri-County Academy in basketball on Thursday night.
Lady Mavericks 35,
Lady Rebels 30
The Lady Mavericks overcame a scoreless third quarter to defeat Tri-County Academy 35-30.
Manchester Academy head basketball coach Emily Poe thought the win was great for Manchester Academy.
“This was a very emotional game that could have gone either way,” Poe said. “It was a very important game. It didn’t help for conference seeding or anything like that, but it’s great for the girls to get a win over their rival. The fans were into the game the whole time and kept the gym loud. It was a great night for us.”
Manchester and Tri-County were exchanging shots in the first quarter of play, matching each other’s moves. After the first eight minutes, the Lady Mavs held a 12-11 lead.
The Lady Mavericks firmly took control of the game in the second quarter with some stifling defense. They held Tri-County to only two points while scoring nine of their own to take a 21-13 lead heading into the half.
After the break, Manchester came out ice cold, unable to get any offense going. The result was Tri-County outscoring the Lady Mavericks 6-0 to cut Manchester’s lead to 21-19.
Poe believes the problem in the third quarter was simply a case of getting cold at the wrong time.
“We came out very cold after the break,” Poe said. “We were getting shots, but we couldn’t make them.”
After two slow scoring quarters, the offenses picked back up in a big way in the fourth. Manchester was able to put up 14 points to Tri-County’s 11 points to take the game 35-30.
Macy Huggins exploded offensively in the victory for Manchester, scoring a team-high 20 points.
Suzanne King was second in scoring for the Lady Mavericks with seven points.
Elise Sowell, Savell Duett, Skylar Singleton, and Lanie Potter each scored two points in the big victory.
Mavericks 44,
Rebels 47
Manchester’s Mavericks could not hold on to a halftime lead in their 47-44 loss to Tri-County.
Manchester Academy head basketball coach John Harris thought the crowd was electric despite the loss.
“Anytime we play Tri-County it is important,” Harris said. “It was an amazing atmosphere. It was a fun game to be apart of. Unfortunately, we came out on the wrong side of it.”
The Mavericks took an early lead in the contest by putting up seven points to Tri-County’s three points.
The Rebels woke up in the second quarter with 14 points to Manchester’s 13 points, cutting MA’s lead to 20-17 at the half.
Tri-County finally took the lead in the third quarter after outscoring Manchester 18-12 to make it a 35-32 game.
In the final quarter, the Mavericks could not pull away. Both teams scored 12 points to make the final 47-44.
Jay Warren led the Mavericks with 11 points in the contest. All 11 of his points came from the free throw line.
According to Harris, the problem with his team right now is their inability to hit open shots.
“We played hard, but the shots didn’t fall,” Harris said. “We couldn’t make jump shots. That has hurt us in recent games. Our defense has been fine. We’ve switched to a man defense, and that has helped. Now it is our offense. We’re getting good looks, but we were just not hitting shots.”
Mark Peaster also scored 11 points in the defeat.
Harris wants to see consistency to see just how well his team can play.
“We lost by two points to Riverfield on the road last week,” Harris said. “They beat us by 30 at home. That shows we’re capable of being in these games, and hopefully, we can pull a couple out.”
Manchester will return to the court on Thursday night when they travel to face Park Place Christian.
Tip-off for the first game of the evening is set for 4 p.m.
