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Howdeshell scores game-high 11, Holloway adds 10
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
NORTH MANCHESTER — Emma Howdeshell led a balanced Rochester attack with 11 points, and the Lady Z defense held host Manchester to a season low in points in a 45-25 win Saturday night.
Rily Holloway added 10 points, Ella McCarter had nine, Sydney Haughs had eight, and Kallie Watson had seven for Rochester, who improved to 11-11 overall and 5-3 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Molly Schanepp scored nine points off the bench for Manchester, who dropped to 6-14, 2-6. Lady Squire lead guard Brookelynn Buzzard was held to five points, none after the first quarter. Buzzard came in averaging 17 points per game and had scored in single digits just once in 19 previous games this season. Buzzard picked up her third foul with 6:02 left in the half and eventually fouled out with 6:59 left in the game.
“Our goal was to frustrate Buzzard,” Rochester coach Joel Burrus said. “That worked. Her range is limitless, but those 3s she took contested, she was five, six feet off the 3-point line, and we were running at her. … If she’s playing well, the whole team plays well. If she’s not playing well, they struggle.”
After scoring just three points in the first half in a win over Culver Academy on Wednesday, the Lady Zs jumped out to a 34-13 halftime lead and got the margin as high as 25 in the second half.
The 34 points were a season high for a half. The previous high was 33 in the first half against North White at the Twin Lakes Invitational on Dec. 27. The 34 points in the first half were more than Rochester had scored in 10 games this season.
“We hadn’t seen man for awhile, and the CGA (Culver Academy) game, their man really affected us in the first half, so these past couple days, we knew that Manchester was probably going to come out and man us because they got that CGA film, and they’re like, ‘Well, they scored 28 in overtime, so we’re going to man them,’” Burrus said. “So we worked a lot these past few days on our man offense and our movement. We went to some screening action early in the first half. We got some good looks. We got some good takes to the basket. We got fouled some.”
McCarter, starting because Haughs had missed a practice due to illness, hit a hook shot and a 3-pointer in the first quarter, and Haughs had a driving layup and two free throws. Holloway and Watson also hit treys in the first quarter as Rochester built a 17-8 lead.
Watson’s triple came at the proximate spot on the court of her game-winning 3 against Delphi in the 2021 sectional semifinals at Manchester.
Rochester then opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run. Watson had a steal and a layup and was fouled but missed the ensuing free throw. Howdeshell set up Haughs for a layup to make it 21-8.
Schanepp hit a pullup 15-footer, but Holloway hit a 3 from the right corner, and Howdeshell hit Rochester’s fifth 3 of the half off a kickout pass from Haughs.
Aliala Atienza scored on a putback for Manchester, but two Howdeshell free throws, a rare Rochester fast break bucket from Holloway, another Howdeshell free throw and two Watson free throws got the lead to 22.
“Defense helps our offense big time,” Holloway said.
She later said that the team was “not really” looking to score on a fast break.
“It kinda just hit us,” Holloway said. “I don’t know. We’re all just kinda getting into the flow of things, and it was a little fast-paced more than normal. It just happened.”
Manchester came in averaging 45 points per game. They also scored 25 against Huntington North in a loss on Dec. 6.
“We’re going on three straight games in the 20s that we’ve held opponents,” Burrus said. “We’ve got to continue to guard at a high level.”
Manchester won the two-quarter JV game 20-16.
Rochester 45, Manchester 25
ROCHESTER (45) (11-11, 5-3)
Rily Holloway 4 0-0 10, Rylee Clevenger 0 0-0 0, Kallie Watson 2 2-4 7, Emma Howdeshell 2 6-10 11, Ella McCarter 4 0-0 9, Maddie Heinzmann 0 0-0 0, Mia Howdeshell 0 0-0 0, Sydney Haughs 2 4-6 8, Darah Strasser 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Weaver 0 0-2 0
TEAM: 14 12-22 45
MANCHESTER (25) (6-14, 2-6)
Aliala Atienza 1 1-2 3, Brookelynn Buzzard 2 0-0 5, Gracie Lauer 1 5-8 7, Hadley West 0 0-0 0, Kim Schroll 0 0-0 0, Maddy Miller 0 0-3 0, Molly Schanepp 4 0-0 9, Ella Clifford 0 0-0 0, Grace Smith 0 1-2 1, Olivia Neal 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 8 7-15 25
Three-point field goals:
Rochester 5 (Holloway 2, E. Howdeshell, McCarter, Watson),
Manchester 2 (Schanepp, Buzzard)
Total fouls: Rochester 14, Manchester 22
Fouled out: Buzzard (MAN), 6:59, fourth; McCarter (RHS), 4:26, fourth
Turnovers: Rochester 14, Manchester 22
Score by quarters
Rochester 17 17 6 5 – 45
Manchester 8 5 4 8 – 25
JV: Manchester 20, Rochester 16
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