MANTI—Those who have become accustomed to the Lady Templars defense may finally be able to breathe.
The Manti girls’ basketball team looked like their usual selves again as they went 1-1 last week, holding both of their opponents below 50 points, the only times it’s happened so far this season. The Lady Templars fell, 30-48, at home against Richfield last Tuesday, but finally stemmed the losing streak of three games by prevailing on the road against Summit Academy, 61-46.
“We are on the right track, but we are not there yet,” Coach Brennon Schweikart said. “Two games of better defense does not do it enough. We are working to be more consistent. We are on the right track, and I’m so excited to see what comes next with this team.”
The Lady Templars struggled to make anything happen on offense at home against Richfield, combining to shoot less than 25 percent from the field. The Wildcats outscored Manti in every quarter while also keeping Manti off the free throw line as the Lady Templars only had nine attempts the whole game.
Junior Heidi Jorgensen struggled immensely, scoring 5 points on 2-15 shooting. Senior Sharlie Alder led Manti with 8 points.
It was a completely different story against Summit Academy. Conversely, Manti outscored the Bears in every quarter and made 23 total field goals, barely needing the charity stripe as they made 5 of 8 shots from there.
Jorgensen was revitalized, making four 3-pointers en route to a 15-point outing while junior Jade Mortensen added 12 points.
Manti’s record moved to 2-4 on the season as they are continuing to find their bearings before region play.
They’ll play South Summit on the road this Tuesday, and then they’ll be on the way to a tournament in Richfield, taking on South Sevier on Friday before facing Canyon View on Saturday.
