PRICE — The Manti girls basketball squad had its season conclude with a 44-39 setback to Carbon in the second round of the UHSAA 3A state championship tournament.
Carbon used a 27-21 edge in the second half to knock off Manti.
“I felt like we did all we could,” Manti coach Brennon Shweikart said. “We implemented the game plan we wanted and forced them to shoot the shots we wanted. In the second half, we just missed shots and turned the ball over. It stinks, but it’s part of life.”
In her final game under Schweikart, senior Sharlie Alder led Manti in scoring with 14 points. Senior Charlee Mandel and junior Heidi Jorgensen each had 9 points.
Manti played physical on defense. However, that led to Carbon shooting 22-of-28 from the free throw line. Comparatively, Manti shot 10-of-17 for the game.
The first half was a low-scoring, high-turnover affair that, oddly enough, went quickly as no timeouts were called.
After halftime, Manti extended its lead to 20-17 on a layup. Carbon then proceeded to go on a 9-0 run to push their own lead out to 26-20. Just as Carbon looked ready to pull away, a foul put Alder at the line, then back-to-back 3-pointers by Jorgensen and senior Breanne Wayman gave the lead back to Manti. However, Carbon regained the lead just before the end of the third quarter, 29-27.
Carbon never relinquished their lead again in the fourth quarter. Carbon hit key free throws in the final period to prevent a comeback by the Templars.
Manti finishes its season with an 11-10 overall record. They graduate four seniors in Alder, Wayman, Tiffany Hermansen, and Mandel. Schweikart reported that Alder has signed on to play college basketball at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
“Adversity’s gonna come when you least expect it,” Schweikart said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our ladies and the way they handled that. Most teams give up.”
