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  • Manton's Emily Bever led the Rangers with 16 points in a win over Glen Lake. Special to the Record-Eagle/Mike Dunn

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March 1, 2012

Manton, Kalkaska to play in final

Rangers top Lakers, Blazers beat Mesick

By Mike Dunn Special to the Record-Eagle

MANTON — It will be Manton and Kalkaska in the Class C district finals here Friday.

The Rangers (18-4) and Blazers (19-3) were victorious in their semifinal games Wednesday, Manton surging late to beat scrappy Glen Lake 62-51 and Kalkaska pushing past Mesick 68-21.

Manton, playing before a lively home crowd, needed a late push to get past the Lakers (15-7). The Rangers led by three, 47-44, with 5:17 remaining, but owned a 15-7 advantage the rest of the way.

Senior guard Emily Bever buried seven straight free throws in the final minutes. Fellow senior Katie Thompson tallied off an offensive rebound and senior guard Kailey Flint converted a three-point play as Manton secured its berth in the finals.

"The seniors won't go down without a fight," Thompson said amidst the post-game celebration. "Everybody played with a lot of heart tonight. We had to play hard because Glen Lake's very tough. They play great defense. We're peaking at the right time."

Manton coach Danielle Pettengill agrees.

"It was senior leadership again tonight," Pettengill said. "It was the same thing as Monday (in the opening-round victory over St. Francis). The girls never got rattled. When they made a run at us, we came right back. When we needed a basket or a big stop, we usually got it."

The game was close until the final minutes. Manton led 19-16 after one quarter, 27-26 at the half and 42-41 after three quarters.

A free throw from Glen Lake senior Taylor Martin at the outset of the fourth quarter tied the score at 42. Bever, who drained 11 of her team-high 16 points in the final quarter, scored the next five points to give Manton a lead it would not relinquish. She made 9-of-10 free throws in the game and had four steals.

Thompson tamed the twine for 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Senior Rhaeann Shepler struck for 10 points, including a trey to start the third quarter, and Flint finished with eight points and had two fourth-quarter steals. Emily Bode brought down eight boards and Brooklynne Lane scored seven and pulled down seven boards before fouling out with 1:12 to play.

Junior forward Scotlyn Brengman showed up big for the Lakers, pouring in 25 points and grabbing nine rebounds. When Manton used a box-and-one defense to limit Martin's touches early on, Brengman made the Rangers pay with penetrations through the paint. Martin still finished with 15 to go with five rebounds and four steals and freshman Jessica Lee scored nine with four boards.

"It's been a great season," said Glen Lake coach Jason Bradford. "We lost our big girl before this game and that hurt but the girls never got down. They scrapped and battled all the way, just like they've done all year. Give Manton credit. Any time we got the lead they found a way to take it back."

Kalkaska led 21-4, 39-11 and 57-18 at the quarter breaks against Mesick.

Junior guard Kelli Guy paced a balanced Blazer scoring ledger with 13 points. Jamie Myas (12), Sophy Menestria (12) and Tabitha Kibby (11) were also in double figures and Elli Barber scored eight.

Kalkaska coach Dave Dalton noted the gritty play of Tibby, who was among a few of the starters not feeling well.

"The nice thing is all 15 girls got to play and we were able to save our legs a little bit for Friday night," Dalton said. "Some of our girls are fighting sickness, so keeping our legs fresh was a big plus."

Dalton said he expects a dogfight with Manton.

"They've won some big games lately and they're playing at home," Dalton said. "They beat St. Francis here the other night. It'll be a battle from start to finish."

Kalkaska is the two-time defending district champion.

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