Girls basketball falls to Seaman once again

Julianna Poe, Sports Editor

Determined to show Seaman up for their defeat earlier in the season, the Manhattan High girls basketball team stepped onto the court ready to win.

“We’ve been trying to work on executing and just working more as a team,” senior Emily Ostermann said. “There were some rough spots, but I think overall we did that [on Friday].”

The first score of the night was made by senior Zanaa Cordis just 15 seconds into the game. The Indians would continue to battle the Vikings throughout the first half, with the score teetering back and forth. Toward the end of quarter two, Seaman achieved an 8-0 run in a matter of 45 seconds, pulling ahead of Manhattan 32-23 by halftime.

“I thought we battled really hard in that first quarter,” head coach Scott Mall said. “That second quarter we just … hit a rough spot where we weren’t taking care of business on the offensive end.”

Quarter three didn’t prove to work out much better for the Indians. Manhattan had several trips to the basket without scoring and too many turnovers that gave Seaman the opportunity for extra points. Less than two minutes in and the Vikings had held the Indians to zero additional baskets whilst gaining seven more points.

“The main cause [of falling behind Seaman] was not finishing our shots,” Cordis said. “We were, I want to say, [making] 26% [of our baskets] from the field and that’s just unacceptable. We were missing easy shots, so that really was the difference.”

Two minutes before quarter four, Seaman attempted a basket, which was unsuccessful as it became stuck against the rim. At the time, the Vikings had zero fouls to the Indians three. Just before the buzz of quarter three, freshman Amelia Knopp put in a two, making the score 45-27, with Manhattan trailing.

“The second half we didn’t have as much bench energy as we did the first half,” Ostermann said. “It is harder the second half because … we’re playing defense on the opposite end, … but that’s definitely something we need to work on … because then that keeps everyone else going.”

For the duration of quarter four, Seaman collected 12 points to Manhattan’s additional seven, ending the game in a loss with a score of 57-34.

“Obviously, the score wasn’t what we wanted it to be, but I still think the girls are working hard and we’re trying to get better,” Mall said. “We just need to turn some things around a couple of times during the ballgame and it could be a whole different outcome.”

After the game, a group of third through seventh-grade girls who play basketball through teams sponsored by the Manhattan Basketball Association visited the Manhattan High girls. According to Ostermann, some of the players on the team knew these girls personally and they boosted the team’s morale.

“I think they definitely made us all feel better,” Ostermann said. “After the game, that made me so much happier, just to see them there and … giving us all hugs and high-fives.”

Still maintaining their 11 out of 18 teams ranking, the Indians will travel to play Junction City on Tuesday and go against Hayden at home on Friday.

“I’d say we’re very excited for another opportunity to not just play but to show what we’re made of,” Cordis said. “I feel like these games where we’ve been pretty much worn out, we definitely could’ve pulled out [a] win, we just were executing poorly.”