Towanda Jumps Out Early & Keeps Distance in W Over Montoursville

 January 23, 2020

Towanda 51, Montoursville 38 (PIAA District 4)

Not a bad way to start the weekend. Saturday brought my second PA trip of the week, this one for a pair of games including my first District 4 contest, as Towanda hosted Montoursville in an interesting nonleague matchup. An 11-0 run in the 1st half and a strong start from a young standout helped Towanda jump to an early double digit lead, and they were able to hold the visitors at arm's length the rest of the way in Saturday's matinee.

Paige Manchester (Towanda 2023) led all scorers with 20 points and fueled the offense in the W.

A competitive start turned Towanda's way late in the 1st quarter. Looking to run at any opportunity, they were able to get out in transition and convert, often fueled by Paige Manchester's (Towanda 2023) scoring or long advance passes. A steady dose of that mixed with a steady dose of missed perimeter jumpers on Montoursville's end sparked an 11-0 run, 7 from Manchester, to run their lead to 21-10 early in the 2nd. Even with a tough offensive stretch through much of the 2nd, due in large part to Montoursville's employment of a triangle & 2 on Manchester and Porschia Bennett (Towanda 2022), Towanda extended their lead to as much as 16 in the 1st half before Maddie Adams (Montoursville 2022) canned a three at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 30-17.

Montoursville came out of the locker room battling but were unable to make much of a dent in the deficit the rest of the way. They cut it to 10 once after five straight Alaina Marchioni (Montoursville 2023) points cut it to 32-22 and hit enough perimeter jumpers against Towanda's zone to hang around (8 threes), but Towanda immediately responded with a 7-0 spurt to open it back up. A Bennett basket early in the 4th quarter gave them their largest lead of the day at 48-30. Even though that proved to be Towanda's last made field goal of the game, they were able to keep their opponents at bay while maintaining a 10-18 point lead through the 2nd half.

Paige Manchester led all scorers with 20 points in Towanda's victory and Porschia Bennett added 12. For Montoursville, MacKenzie Weaver pumped in a team high 15 points including four of their eight treys. Alaina Marchioni chipped in with 11.

Alaina Marchioni (Montoursville 2023), a youngster with some promise, finished with 11 points.

#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline

- Towanda, who maintained an undefeated record with the nonleague W, is an interesting group that will present matchup problems for a lot of teams. From a team standpoint, all five will get out & run and look to do so at any opportunity. Montoursville gave them plenty of chances early - a few turnovers and several long rebounds off missed perimeter Js helped get them out & running. They do well as a unit to get it out of their hands early in transition, 1-2 dribbles and a long advance pass when available, often from Manchester who usually runs the point. They also bring a good amount of size & athleticism. Manchester is a legitimate 6'0"-6'1" and long, Porschia Bennett is an athletic 5'11", Erin Barrett & Gracie Schoonover also bring good size to the table. Their size & activity defensively greatly limited Montoursville scoring opportunities going toward the rim. It was my first ever Pennsylvania District 4 game so I clearly don't have the lay of the land, but conventional wisdom and the eye test says they have pieces that could make them very dangerous going forward.

Porschia Bennett (Towanda 2022), an athletic 5'11" tweener with upside, finished with 12 pts in the W.

- From an individual standpoint, I have to bring up Paige Manchester. As mentioned, she has the natural physical tools at 6'0"+ with superior length, and she brings a lot of versatility to the table. She spends a lot of time running the point for Towanda & does well sparking their transition offense by not overdribbling - whether she grabs a defensive rebound herself or gets the outlet, she showed willingness to hit ahead in transition and ability to get it there on target, often to Porschia Bennett (very good athlete at 5'11" with a lot of upside herself). She finished herself in transition too, got to the rim a few times in the half-court, hit a couple threes off the catch with a quick, confident release, and took advantage of a few post iso situations when a smaller guard was matched up with her. Defensively, she was able to use that length to tip some passes when they went zone. I've been familiar with Paige for a couple years - she even did the Middle School Combine back in the day - but this was the first time I saw her with her high school. Her confidence looks to be at another level and it's showing in her game; breakout sophomore season well underway for a gem in northern PA.

- Credit to Montoursville for not laying down when things weren't going well. On the road, unfamiliar gym, Saturday midday, didn't shoot it well early as a guard-heavy team reliant on the perimeter J, got down 16 in the 1st half... they could've packed it in and the final margin could've been more like 25-30. That wasn't the case though, as they continued to battle and scrap. After an early transition onslaught, they did a better job getting back defensively and making Towanda have to score in the half-court. They also saw some shots fall - enough to hang around - and got better shots in general after halftime. Maddie Adams (2022) showed some promise as a 2 guard with decent size, good range, and a smooth stroke. Alaina Marchioni (2023) was a bit of a sparkplug for them and also showed 3 point range. Towanda has been in their share of blowouts early this year; Montoursville showing competitiveness & not rolling over when things got difficult probably helps them grow.

- Last but not least - I threw a clip of this on Twitter Saturday afternoon, but worth mentioning here too. I thought there was a quietly important sequence late in the 1st half that helped Towanda in a major way. Montoursville had switched to a triangle & 2 on Manchester/Bennett pretty early in the game, and once they started to improve with their transition D, Towanda went through a pretty lengthy stagnant spell in the 2nd quarter. Thankfully for them, Montoursville's struggles on the offensive end didn't allow them to make much of a dent into their deficit, but Towanda started to look a little frustrated & out of sorts. They were finally able to get back on the right track with a pair of possessions resulting in Bella Hurley buckets - Montoursville missed a rotation and Gracie Schoonover found her on a cut for a layup, then Manchester hit her for an open left wing trey. This extended their late from 10 - and again, out of sorts - to 15 and a little more bounce in their step again. Box & 1s/triangle & 2s mean it's a prime opportunity for others to answer the bell, and they made it happen here.

District 4, hopefully I'll see you again soon!