The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
OVER AND OUT
Seniors keep Dutch in game, but season ends with loss to Clinton
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 21, 2008
Playing to keep its season alive, the Manchester varsity girls' basketball team fought back from one deficit, but was unable to recover from another.
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Laura Heinz and the Clinton Redskins finally landed the knockout in the fourth quarter for a 63-53 victory over the Flying Dutch in the opening round of the Class C district tournament Monday at Clinton High School.
Manchester (8-13) hung with the Tri-County Conference champions for most of the night, but ran into foul trouble in the fourth quarter. The Redskins made 18 free throws in the final quarter to take control of what had been a back-and-forth battle for most of the night.
Clinton (19-3) advanced to face Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard in the district semifinal.
The Dutch finished with 80-percent shooting from the line, going 16-for-20 on the night. Clinton, however, made 31 of its 35 free throws.
"We didn't get any calls, but we can't do anything about that," Manchester coach Cori Kastel said. "We got into foul trouble, but we played until the last whistle and never gave up."
Manchester was called for three fouls in the opening two minutes, during which Clinton scored the game's first seven points. A long triple by Stephanie Ball got the Dutch on the board, then a jumper by Amanda Mutchler midway through the frame pulled Manchester to within 11-8. Baskets from Bianca Peters and Grace Walter pushed Clinton's lead up to nine, but another missile from Coltre and baskets by Megan Bossory and Stephanie Preston brought the Dutch to within 21-17 by the end of the quarter.
Coltre hit another bomb 18 seconds into the second quarter, making it a one-point game, but a jumper by Colleen Zimmerman and free throws from Heinz put Clinton up 27-22.
"We knew we had to be physical with Heinz," Kastel said. "We've played a lot of physical games in the Cascades and thought that would be to our advantage, but half of (Heinz) points came from free throws."
The Dutch got to the line late in the half. Coltre and Ball each sank a pair from the stripe, then Coltre hit a jumper with five seconds left, pulling Manchester to within 29-28 at the break.
Tracy Schaible scored an inside basket 32 seconds into the third quarter, giving Manchester its first lead of the night. The rest of the quarter featured five more lead changes. Heinz gave Clinton a 33-32 lead when she scored in the post, but Coltre scored off a missed free throw 12 seconds later. Consecutive baskets by Heinz and Walter midway through the frame gave the Redskins a three-point lead, but Mutchler hit a pair at the line, making it 37-36.
"The girls played with their heart and soul and were never out of the game," Kastel said. "Getting the lead was huge because we had been chipping away, but we weren't able to shut the door."
The whistle began playing a foul tune for the Dutch in the fourth quarter. Heinz and Walter combined for six straight free throws in the first 1:29 of the frame, extending the Redskins lead to 45-36. Coltre answered with her fourth three-pointer of the night, tying a school record, then hit a pair from the stripe herself, bringing Manchester to within four, but Erin VanWasshnova and Walter added three more free throws for Clinton.
Heinz scored the Redskins' first field goal of the quarter with 3:32 left, then her layup made it 52-43. After Peters and Heinz hit four more from the line, Heinz scored inside to give Clinton its biggest lead of the night at 61-47 with just over a minute remaining.
A putback by Mutchler and a pair of free throws from Schaible brought the Dutch to within 10 with 34.7 seconds left, but Carmin Herrst sealed the game seconds later.
"I knew the girls had it in them to compete," Kastel said. "This is not the team we saw at the beginning of the season."
Coltre led the way for the Dutch in her final prep game, scoring 22 points, grabbing six rebounds, handing out two assists and forcing three steals. Fellow senior Mutchler added 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while senior Julie Fielder grabbed six rebounds and handed out a pair of assists. Senior Stephanie Preston had three assists and four points.
"The seniors gave everything they had to the team and this game," Kastel said. "Laura and Mutchler had big nights and went out in style. The seniors helped lay the foundation for the success of this program."
Schaible recorded eight steals, four points, three rebounds and three assists for the Dutch, while Ball had five points and three rebounds.
Heinz finished with a game-high 26 points to lead Clinton. She was 12-for-13 from the foul line. Peters added 13 points, while Walter had nine points. VanWasshnova scored seven points for the Redskins.
While the Dutch lose four seniors, they have a deep sophomore class (seven total), plus others from the junior varsity team that could boost the program for next year.
"They're all great kids who are classy," Kastel said. "I'm proud to build and be a part of this program with them."
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