Rivalry games are a big part of how modern day competitions become a lot more exciting and challenging for the teams involved. That was exactly the case on Friday night when Manhattan High swept Junction City 74-30, making MHS now 4-1 overall.

“It went really good,” senior Chrissy Carr said. “I mean we beat them a lot so good to get another win under our belt and they played pretty scrappy. It’s good to get some experience  and see what it’s like to go against a scrappy team. I thought it was overall good.”

The Lady Indians played the majority of the game in a 2-3 defense instead of their normal full court press which allows them to get several steals. Despite playing a 2-3 defense, they still managed to shut down the Junction City offense as they only allowed them to score an average of 7.5 points per quarter.

“We started in a full court press but dropped off into a 2-3 zone because we really needed to work on our 2-3,” Haleigh Harper said. “We really tried to keep the ball out of the middle and our 2-3 zone does a really good job of that.”

Despite the fact that the team was leading by 33 points at the end of the third quarter, they refused to let off the pressure. They finished strong in the fourth quarter by scoring 16 points and only allowing five. Although it was a rivalry game, this was not the reason for the consistent and relentless pressure from MHS.

“Honestly I feel like we just took it as a regular game,” Carr said. “I mean we don’t really pay attention to names on jerseys as much whenever we are playing because we just know that we have to come out and do what we are supposed and we will be all right.”

While the Lady Indians played at a new level on both sides of the ball, the difference was made on offense, as scoring 74 points in a game is a new season high. The team scored in double digits every quarter, including two of which were 20 point quarters for MHS. Senior Megan Worthington was the leading scorer for MHS with 20 points, followed by Carr who racked up 18.

“The score made it evident that we had a really good offensive game,” Harper said. “We have been working on getting the ball up the court fast and looking for the open girls and I think we did a really good job of that. Coach mall has stressed the importance of getting the ball to the inside to the posts and that was really important against JC because our big girls were taller than theirs and I think we did a really good job of executing that.”

Not only was this another win for the Lady Indians, it was a milestone for head coach Scott Mall with it being his 350th win at MHS.

“I mean he means alot to our program and the team,” Carr said. “He does so much for us off the court, he takes care of us really well and I think he has a good impact on all of us. Even though he gets mad sometimes, we all know that it’s all love. He has really helped me become a better player and have a better understanding of the game and I can never thank him enough for that.”  

This win was Mall’s 411th win in total. The next competition for the Lady Indians will be Jan. 5 at home against Highland Park.