Manual girls give away the game from charity stripe as Mercy wins (and too many turnovers and poor half court defense). The Manual High School girls’ basketball team might be practicing free throws before next Friday’s game against rival Male.The Lady Crimsons, No. 2 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings, made only 13 of 32 foul shots Friday night and fell to No. 8 Mercy 64-59. The host Jaguars (10-5) made 22 of 26 free throws to snap a two-game losing streak. “It’s a real good win,” assistant coach Keith Baisch said. “Everybody we play in January, with the exception of Assumption, is ranked in the top 20, so hopefully this gives us some momentum.”Juliann Miller and Therese Montano each had 15 points, Ellen Sholtes 14 and Malisa Cruz 11 for Mercy. The Lady Crimsons (13-4), who had a four-game winning streak snapped, got 14 points from Lauren Bodine. Mercy won despite being whistled for four more fouls, 26-22."It was a very well-called game," Baisch said. "(The referees) let us play."

 

Game Summary T1: Manual (13-4) - Hester 5, Styles 4, K. Wright 6, Bodine 14, Wilson 8, Guess 8, Shahid-Martin 8, L. Wright 6.T2: Mercy (10-5) - Cruz 11, Montano 15, Goetz 4, Sholtes 14, Ch. Roush 5, Miller 15. 3P: K. Wright 1, Bodine 2, Wilson 1, Montano 1, Cruz 1.

Wow, very nice win for Mercy.

Some very good observations kyprepfan; I saw them (Manual) last year in Morehead. Much the same story. Very athletic, very undisciplined. If they don't turn you over and shoot layups, they are sometimes unorganized in the 1/2 court.

Congrats to Coach Evans, his staff, and players. They are a class act.

This was a nice win for Mercy. I find the FT stats for Manual interesting. CAL visited Mercy three nights earlier and won in the closing seconds, but suffered some of the same troubles from the charity stripe, making only 14 of 29, well below their season percentage.

 

Following the game, one of the coaches noted that (in his opinion) the Nike basketball used was a tad lighter weight than the normal (Spalding/Rawlings?) ball. Although it may sound odd, this could help account for the many free throws that clanged off the back of the rim and uncontested three-pointers from the side that sailed over the rim much more often than usual, especially from proficient long-range shooters.

 

Of course, both teams played with the same ball, so no claims of unfairness here, but both also shot poorly. Some of it may be due to defense, but it does make you wonder.

Were Nike balls used in the warm up rack?

This was a nice win for Mercy. I find the FT stats for Manual interesting. CAL visited Mercy three nights earlier and won in the closing seconds, but suffered some of the same troubles from the charity stripe, making only 14 of 29, well below their season percentage.

 

Following the game, one of the coaches noted that (in his opinion) the Nike basketball used was a tad lighter weight than the normal (Spalding/Rawlings?) ball. Although it may sound odd, this could help account for the many free throws that clanged off the back of the rim and uncontested three-pointers from the side that sailed over the rim much more often than usual, especially from proficient long-range shooters.

 

Of course, both teams played with the same ball, so no claims of unfairness here, but both also shot poorly. Some of it may be due to defense, but it does make you wonder.

 

I hope someone from Mercy can put this ("lighter ball" allegation) to rest. You'd think one of several coaches or officials from the CAL or Manual games would have noticed this during the game....and made some complaint during the game IF there was an issue with the ball.

I hope someone from Mercy can put this ("lighter ball" allegation) to rest. You'd think one of several coaches or officials from the CAL or Manual games would have noticed this during the game....and made some complaint during the game IF there was an issue with the ball.

 

In my previous post, I certainly didn't mean to make an allegation of unfair play and have no reason to believe anything was wrong.

 

To the best of my knowledge, the balls were in the warm-up rack before the game and approved by the coaches and officials as being within acceptable standards, even if a bit lighter weight, though I don't recall hearing that mentioned until after the game. That's also why I stated that it was an opinion with evidence being low FT shooting percentages by both teams and overshot 3-pointers. As I am no expert on girls' basketball weight standards, I will defer to the experts :notworthy: for information/insight and hope I haven't raised unintended controversy when none exists.

circumference 28.5 to 29 inches, weight 20 ounces, girls and women age 12 and up. This is the official game ball for women's high school, university and professional basketball. It has a diameter of 9.07 to 9.23 inches and a radius of 4.54 to 4.62 inches.

 

This is two ounces less than the mens ball, just for the record.

 

 

Might be a phycological advantage now that you bring it up Cal.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe teams may use any ball they choose for regular season games, but are required to play with the Rawlings with the KHSAA stamp in tournaments.