By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
Maddie Vickery may have two full seasons of high school basketball left, but Manhattan residents got an early glimpse of the Kansas State commit as the Washburn Rural girls knocked off the Manhattan Indians 58-28 on Tuesday night at Washburn Rural.
Sophomore Maddie Vickery scored a game-high 27 points in Washburn Rural's 58-28 win over Manhattan Tuesday night. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Both offenses were slow to develop, with the Indians (10-5 overall, 3-2 Cetennial League) grabbing the first lead with a pair of free throws from Bailey Busch.
After the teams traded layups at each end, Ella Hirschi knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Junior Blues (11-4, 4-1) a 5-4 lead.
Senior Kate Hinck had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 58-28 win over Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Despite the initial slow start, the Washburn Rural offense took off in the later stages of the first quarter, with a pair of layups from senior guard Kate Hinck giving the Junior Blues a 11-6 advantage. Hirschi added a pair of 3-pointers to grab a quick nine points off the bench, with the hosts leading 19-10 after eight minutes of play.
While Hirschi led the dance in the first quarter, the second quarter belonged to Vickery. The sophomore tallied 16 of her 20 first-half points in the frame, knocking down four 3-pointers and going a perfect 4-4 from the line.
The Junior Blue defense held the Indians to nine points in the period, taking a 40-19 lead into the locker room.
Manhattan came out of the gate quickly, grabbing the first four points of the second half with layups from Kat Ball and Delaney Larson, cutting the Washburn Rural lead to 40-23. The Junior Blues answered with a 12-2 run, featuring a pair of layups from Hinck and six points from Vickery.
With the contest in hand for Washburn Rural, the fourth quarter was played with a running clock, with the hosts securing the 58-28 victory.
Vickery led the Junior Blues with 27 points on 7-17 shooting, going 9-10 from the charity stripe. Hinck added 12 points on 5-10 shooting while pulling down 11 rebounds to complete the double-double.
Washburn Rural out-rebounded Manhattan by a 30-19 margin.
Busch led the Indians with 8 points, with Ball chipping in 7 points. Jelena Depusoir led Manhattan with six rebounds.
Even though the hosts endured an early dry spell, Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick was pleased to see his team taking advantage of the defense and getting high-quality shots from behind the arc.
“I thought we recognized (Manhattan was) backing off,” Bordewick said. “I just thought we were taking what the defense was giving us and doing a good job of finishing plays.”
The Manhattan defense had no answer for Vickery, who hit four 3-pointers on the evening while also attacking the rim, earning 10 free throw attempts.
Bordewick appreciates the versatility of his young star. “(Vickery) is a great teammate,” Bordewick said. “She wants to win, and she wants to be a part of that, and she’ll do whatever it takes. She’ll go inside, she’ll go outside, she’ll do mid-range.”
The Junior Blues return to action on Friday with a trip to Junction City, closing the regular season with four road contests in their final five games.
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS 58, MANHATTAN 28
Manhattan 10 9 9 0 -- 28
Washburn Rural 19 21 13 5 - 58
Manhattan (10-5, 3-2) - Larson 3-11 0-0 6, Becket 1-1 0-0 2, Depusoir 0-2 0-0 0, Hall, Jor. 0-3 0-0 0, Henry 0-1 0-0 0, Ingram 1-1 0-0 3, Ball 3-12 0-0 7, Busch 3-10 2-2 8, Hall, Jos. 0-2 0-0 0, Peabody 1-3 0-0 2, Kaus 0-0 0-0 0, Banks 0-0 0-0 0, Dodds 0-1 0-0 0, Parcell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-48 2-2 28.
Washburn Rural (11-4, 4-1) - Hinck 5-10 2-5 12, Rutherford 0-0 0-0 0, Hirschi 3-4 0-0 9, Hayes 1-2 0-0 3, Vickery 7-17 9-10 27, Walker 0-0 0-0 0, Lemke 1-3 0-0 2, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0, Bunck 1-3 0-0 3, Carlgren 1-3 0-0 2, Petersen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 11-15 58.
3-point goals -- Manhattan 2 (Ingram, Ball), Washburn Rural 9 (Vickery 4, Hirschi 3, Hayes, Bunck). Total fouls -- Manhattan 15, Washburn Rural 7. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.
