NTL GIRLS' BASKETBALL: TOWANDA USES SECOND HALF PUSH TO TOP ATHENS FOR NTL SHOWCASE TITLE (2022-02-20)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
SAYRE — It’s tough to beat a good team three times, so it’s no secret Towanda coach Rob Gentile was worried. And, with just a 1-point lead at the half, he went to his star player Paige Manchester, and told her it was time.

“I told Paige, ‘you got to take over, we need you, you have to take this game over,’” recalled Gentile. “And she did.”

Manchester scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, including all three 3-balls, as the Knights held on for a 43-37 win over Athens to take home the NTL Showcase title.

“It feels great,” Manchester said about the win. “We worked really hard for it, and it just was another goal for us that we wanted to achieve.”

Manchester also had eight boards, four assists, three steals, and two blocks in the game, while Porschia Bennett, who was in foul trouble and ultimately fouled out, finished with 14 points, four boards, and five steals.

Bella Hurley added six points on two 3-pointers, with four boards and two assists, as Gracie Schoonover netted four points to go with six rebounds and four blocks. Destiny Brennan chipped in with three points, while Eliza Fowler scored one.

“The other thing we addressed at halftime was we got open shots, they are giving us open shots, and I knew they were going to make our role players step up and do something,” Gentile said. “We were going to lose, or win, by hitting those open shots.”

He noted three pointers by Brennan and Hurley were key points in their big turn around in the second half.

Karlee Bartlow led Athens with 15 points, as Olivia Bartlow netted 11. Towanda did hold their leading scorer Caydence Macik to six points, with Addy Wheeler adding five.

“Yow know Caydence is tough,” said Gentile. “They share the ball, they’re really unselfish. Caydence is so good inside, and we’re trying to double team, and she always makes the extra pass, just such a smart player.”

Athens came out and took a 4-0 lead off buckets from Olivia Bartlow and Wheeler. Hurley would answer with a 3-ball, then Manchester made a lay-up to give them their first lead.

Schoonover would make it 7-4 with a jumper, but a Karlee Bartlow lay-up cut it to 7-6. Manchester then found Bennett for a bucket to take a 9-6 lead at the first horn.

The lead would get as high as 14-7 early in the second on a Bennett 3-point play.

Athens, though, would get a lay-up from Olivia Bartlow, followed by a 3-ball from Wheeler, to cut it to 14-12.

Schoonover would get a lay-up to make it 16-12, but a 3-0 Athens run to end the half cut it to 16-15 at the break.

“Each team is entirely different, and, we just talked about this yesterday in practice, they wanted it in the 30’s, and if it’s in the 30’s, we’re going to give them a chance to win,” remarked Gentile. “If it’s in the 40’s, or 50’s, it’s in our favor.”

They knew they needed to increase the tempo, and Gentile decided to go to their press to do that, and hopefully get some easy buckets.

“We don’t play it a lot, but we were trying to keep Caydence out of the middle of the floor and kept Paige in there,” said Gentile. “The I came out I was hoping we could force some missed shots, and make a little run, and it just wasn’t happening, so I knew we had to do something to change the pace of the game, and so we did that. Paige got a couple steals and lay-ups, and had an assist to Porschia on a run out, and that kind of got us going.”

Bennett opened up the quarter with a lay-up, but Karlee Bartlow answered with a 3-ball to make it 18-18.

The two teams would trade baskets, with Athens getting a lead when Karlee Bartlow hit a jumper with 4:12 on the clock.

But that’s when Towanda made their move, beginning with a Manchester 3-ball. She then found Bennett on the run out, followed by another 3-ball from her to put the Knights up 28-22.

After a Macik free throw Brennan then hit a 3-pointer with under a minute left in the quarter to put them up by eight points. A Macik lay-up cut it to 31-25 with one quarter left.

Athens would cut it to a 4-point game on a Karlee Bartlow 3-ball, but Manchester followed with a 3-pointer of her own. Karlee would get a lay-up, followed by Bennett going 1-of-2 from the line.

After two Athens misses at the charity stripe Hurley hit her second 3-ball of the game to make it a 39-30 Towanda lead with just over four minutes to play.

Olivia Bartlow would get a put back, but Manchester got to the line at the other end to keep it at nine points.

An old fashion 3-point play from Olivia Bartlow cut it to 41-35 with 2:28 left to play, but that’s as close as it got.

Athens wouldn’t score again until there were 18.8 seconds left to play, and by that time Towanda had added two freebies to go up 43-35.

Karlee Bartlow’s final lay-up made it a 43-37 final.

“It was difficult at first, but then we adjusted to it,” Manchester said. “We started making shots and getting more rebounds. That was our main focus that game, was just to get more rebounds.”

Towanda will now get ready for districts as they plan to host a quarterfinal game next Friday.

“This is definitely a lesson for us,” said Manchester. “It’s not going to get any easier, and we just want to keep on playing hardball as far as we can.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Towanda’s seniors Porschia Bennett and Destiney Brennan accept the NTL Showcase trophy…PHOTOS BY DAVID ALLIGER