By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
A turnover-ridden night haunted Topeka West's girls basketball team in the Charger' 53-34 home Centennial League loss to Manhattan Tuesday night.
The youthful Lady Chargers had a difficult time making shots and handling the basketball for the entire course of the game.
Topeka West turned the ball over 24 times and made just 12 field goals on the night.
Manhattan keyed in on forcing as many turnovers as possible against Topeka West according to Manhattan coach Scott Mall.
“In the full court, we did what we really wanted to,” said Mall. “We kept pressure on (Topeka West) and forced turnovers. I thought we did a pretty good job of that.”
Topeka West kept the game within reach for the first two quarters.
The Lady Chargers only trailed by three points by the end of the first quarter and faced a nine-point deficit going into the halftime break.
Topeka West had a difficult time making shots in the second half. The Lady Chargers were outscored 17-7 in the third quarter, and 12 of those 17 points from Manhattan came off West turnovers.
Topeka West girls basketball coach Jeff Skar saw some positive signs in Tuesday's 53-34 loss to Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
The Lady Chargers didn’t lay down and let Manhattan roll over them and Topeka West coach Jeff Skar was pleased with the “never-say-die” mentality that his team brought Tuesday.
“We show glimpses of who we want to be,” said Skar. “We had periods tonight where we didn’t make some good shots and we didn’t take care of the ball well enough. Once we minimize those mistakes, it’ll be easier to believe that we are who we want to be.”
While Topeka West did struggle, it did show positive signss.
Azaryah Duncan, who put up a team-high 12 points, made tough contested shots all night long.
Manhattan's tandem of Avery Larson and Maxine Doering presented major problems for Topeka West.
Larson led the Indians in scoring with 17 points and Doering added 14.
“Maxine (Doering) did a great job,” said Mall. “(Doering) plays with such an energy all of the time and makes things happen. (Larson) is so good in many phases. Avery works so hard to get ready to play this year. If (Larson) isn’t hitting them from outside, she’s going to drive the ball to the basket.”
“(Manhattan) scored with ease the last time they saw us,” said Skar. “I felt like we guarded them a little bitter this time around.”
“Offensively, I saw us coming together tonight. We had possessions tonight that made us look like a complete team.”
Topeka West looks to snap their current five-game winning streak as they hit the road to take on Lawrence High (6-9) on Wednesday night.
MANHATTAN GIRLS 53, TOPEKA WEST 34
Manhattan 12 16 17 8 – 53
Topeka West 9 10 7 8 – 34
Manhattan (7-9, 5-6) – Yates 2 3-6 7, Larson 6 4-6 17, Doering 6 2-2 14, Ruliffson 2 1-2 5, Dixon 4 0-0 8, Salmans 1 0-0 2.
Topeka West (1-14, 1-11) – Sanchez 2 4-6 8, Duncan 4 2-2 12, Benson 0 0-1 0, Ford 3 2-2 8, Bearman 0 2-6 2, Clark 1 1-2 3, Mays 0 1-2 1.
3-point Goals – Manhattan 1 (Larson), Topeka West 2 (Duncan 2). Total fouls – Manhattan 18, Topeka West 12. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – Topeka West bench.
