Lady Templars notch two more

huge wins 66-21, 48-23

 

By Matt Harris 

Staff writer

1-30-2020

 

MANTI—The Lady Templars’ season is like rolling a car down a hill. It took some time to get going, but now that it is, just try and stop it.

Manti girls’ hoops posted two more huge wins over Maeser Prep, 66-21, and American Leadership, 48-23, last week. Manti’s winning streak extended to seven games, six of them coming by more than 15 points, and gave the squad an overall record of 13-5.

“The entire team stepped up all week and continue to find ways to win,” Coach Brennon Schweikart said. “This is a really special team top to bottom.”

It is the first time Manti has won six straight games since 2007, a year the team took third in the 2A state playoffs.

Against Maeser Prep, effective passing and a large margin of victory made it possible for Manti to have its most complete performance on offense as 11 different players scored. They were led by junior Allie Bridges’ 12 points. Junior Katie Larsen scored 10 points, and the Lady Templars grabbed 25 total steals and had 15 assists.

Against American Leadership, Manti got off to a stellar start, leading the Eagles, 11-1, at the end of the first quarter, and with a shutdown defense that generated 15 more steals, the Lady Templars secured the victory.

While sophomore Sharlie Alder scored 10 points to lead the team and have her first double-digit scoring game for Manti, junior Kassidy Alder took on the role of designated defender against ALA’s senior Megan Edwards. Edwards, averaging nearly 16 points per game this season, only scored 7 points that night.

“Sharlie had a fantastic game against ALA,” Schweikart said. “She is really growing as a defender and a scorer. She is constantly putting in the time to get better and is a great student of the game.”

The Lady Templars last played against a streaking Union squad last Tuesday. They will have their final home game of the regular season against Delta next Tuesday.