For her efforts in the Peebles Lady Indians’ 41-34 victory at Manchester on January 15, freshman Katie Myers (10) was recognized as the C-103 Player of the Game. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Manchester freshman Hayden Rideout (12) goes up in traffic for a shot attempt in the Lady Hounds’ 41-34 loss to Peebles on January 15. Rideout scored 12 points in the loss. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Peebles’ Kendall Myers finds her path to the bucket blocked by the presence of Manchester senior Mahayla Brown as the two teams battled in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play on January 15. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
An all-county girls basketball battle came to Manchester’s Hound Pound on January 15 as the Lady Hounds played host to the Peebles Lady Indians. The Lady Indians were looking for their fourth Southern Hills Athletic Conference win of the year while the home team was looking to break a conference losing streak that extends back into the 2022-23 season.
As has been the case in numerous outings over the past couple of years, the Lady Hounds kept the game close from start to finish, but just couldn’t find that magic formula that would put them over the top and in the winning column. This was two teams loaded with potential young talent and the outcome was in doubt until late in the final quarter when Peebles pulled away to post a 41-34 victory.
“We knew this was going to be a fight as Manchester has been playing well lately,” Peebles head coach Sidney Pell told C103 Radio after the win. “They have some girls that are tough to guard but overall I thought our girls played pretty well. They’re going to get that league win soon enough but I just didn’t want to be against us.”
The night started out quite well for the Lady Hounds as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead, getting two baskets apiece from freshmen Maddie Easter and Hayden Rideout. That prosperity was fleeting, however, as the Lady Indians rallied behind four free throws from Kendall Myers. Manchester got one of two from the line from Faith Scott and the visitors got another pair from the stripe, this time from Paysen Shiveley, and the first quarter ended with the Lady Hounds up 9-8.
Again using the charity stripe as their best friend, the Lady Indians took their first lead of the game, opening the second period with a pair of Katie Myers free throws. A basket by Rideout gave the lead back to the Lady Hounds but the Manchester freshman standout picked up her third foul at the 5:55 mark and missed the remainder of the first half. That third foul came on a three-point attempt from Peebles’ Alyssa Smalley, who converted all three free tosses to give her team a 13-11 advantage.
That trio of free throws began a 7-0 Peebles run that put them up by six. With just six seconds left in the opening half, a baseline jumper from Shiveley sent the Lady Indians to halftime with that same six-point margin, leading 20-14.
Rideout returned to the lineup for the Lady Hounds as the second half began and her presence was immediately felt as she scored five points in a 7-0 Manchester run that put the home team in front 21-20. Peebles answered with a Shiveley three-pointer as the back and forth on the scoreboard continued, much to the delight of good-sized crowds on both sides. A Manchester bucket tied the game, but the Lady Indians responded with baskets by Myers and Smalley to go up four. The final basket of the third quarter was a putback by Rideout that brought the Lady Hounds within two at 27-25.
The home team stayed within two early in the fourth quarter on baseline drive and score from Easter, only to see the Lady Indians reel off five straight to extend their lead to 36-29 with 2:40 to play. The resilient rallied again, a free throw by Rideout and a three-pointer from the top of the key from senior Mahayla Brown to make it 36-33 with 1:22 on the clock. That turned out to be the final high point for the Manchester squad as the Lady Indians wrapped things up at the free throw line, hitting five from the line down the stretch and holding off the Lady Hounds to claim a 41-34 victory.
The win was the second of the week for the Lady Indian, who had three nights earlier knocked off Ripley 40-35, and improved their overall mark to 5-8 on the season, 4-5 in conference play. The winners were led by two players in double figures, Paysen Shiveley with 11 and Alyssa Smalley with 10.
The difference in the game may have boiled down to the free throw line, where Peebles went 18-25 while the Lady Hounds went just 6-19.
The Lady Hounds dropped to 2-12 on the year, 0-9 in conference play. Manchester was led by 12 points from Hayden Rideout with Maddie Easter adding 10.
