Manhattan Indians girls basketball (5-1) has powered through the pre-winter break portion of their schedule.
The Indians defeated Shawnee Heights 77-74 in overtime Monday on the road, increasing their win streak to three games.
The Indians hosted two games last week. Most recently the Indians battered Dodge City 64-23 on Dec. 12. Manhattan opened the game with a 20-0 scoring run and finished the first quarter leading 20-2, after Dodge made their first basket in the winding seconds of the quarter.
“We just came out with a lot of energy,” head coach Scott Mall said. “Girls did a good job forcing turnovers, taking the ball away from them, so they didn’t get a chance to get a lot of shots. And then we did a good job of moving the ball to the offensive end.”
Firepower from three pushed the Manhattan lead to 35-8 at half, capped off by a three-pointer by junior forward Jelena Depusoir. The whole MHS squad surrounded Depusoir, celebrating her shot.
“Our team is inseparable right now,” Depusoir said. “They’re my best friends. I love them. We spend all of our time together and we just want each other to achieve.”
Everybody on the Indian’s bench found court time and 10 different girls scored points.
“We have a lot of girls that deserve a chance to play,” Mall said.
The Indians defeated Salina Central 65-44 in their home opener on Dec. 9. Depusoir scored 17 points and fellow junior Avery Ingram added 13 points. All of Ingram’s points came in the first half.
“Our press forces a lot of turnovers,” senior Delaney Larson said. “And when we are playing good defense, then that fuels our offense.”
Larson, who scored nine, signed with Hillsdale College the day before and will play on their women’s basketball team. Larson expressed the emotions of the final season opener in her high school career.
“It’s bittersweet getting the first last home game out of the way, but I love playing at home, and I love playing in front of our crowd,” she said.
The Indians placed second at the Hays City Shootout. Though they came up short in the tournament championship game vs Hays 61-53 on Nov. 6, they dismembered Newton 83-22 and powered past Life Prep Academy 50-32 on Nov. 5 and 4. The Indians 83 points and 61-point scoring margin against Newton were the highest in tournament history.
