Girl’s Basketball: Mantyla leads Chargers past Chemics

by Cory Butzin

Tuesday’s game between Midland Dow and Midland High was evenly matched.

If you don’t count Taylor Mantyla, Becca Mills, and Leah Kebler.

The varsity Chargers’ big three scored a combined 39 points, leading Dow to a 53-46 win over the cross-town rival Chemics at H.H. Dow High School.

“Leah, Becca, and Taylor are a huge part of our offense,” said Dow coach Bob Wellman. “In the limited minutes that they had, I thought they were huge and built the lead that we had.”

Neither team could jump out to an early advantage, and the score was tied until midway through the first. That’s when Mantyla and Mills showed up, leading Dow’s ferocious press defense that saw the Chargers take a 16-10 lead into the second.

They didn’t let up in the second, either, forcing a number of turnovers. Mantyla scored from outside, while Mills scored inside, as the two finished with 10 and 11 first-half points, respectively. The Chargers led 32-19 at the half.

Midland coach Elaine Mahabir gave credit to Dow for its first half play, but pointed out a lack of execution hurt her team more than anything.

“When there is no execution and you’re standing and waiting for someone else to do the job, it’s not a fun game,” she said.

So the Chemics went out and had fun to begin the third. A seemingly different Midland squad came out of the half, intent on making a run. And that’s just what they did.

Midland started playing suffocating defense, and began to convert off of Dow turnovers to cut the Chargers’ lead to single digits.

“We got a little lazy and complacent in what we were doing…,” Wellman said. “They put a little more pressure on us and we were rushing. And they did a better job executing against us offensively.”

That complacency didn’t last long, though, as Mantyla again took control of the game, generating turnovers and creating opportunities for her teammates to see Dow take a 45-30 lead into the final quarter.

Midland made another run late in the game, but never really threatened.

After the game, Mahabir didn’t want to blame her team’s youth for the loss, though she did point out her young starters played a little tight.

“This is their first time playing at Dow High,” Mahabir said. “They know Dow High is a good team, and I think they altered their game tonight for them and that’s never what you want a team to do.”

Dow was led by Mantyla who had 19 points, four assists and five steals, while Mills had 13 points, four rebounds, and four blocks. Kebler finished with seven points and four rebounds.

For the Chemics, Jessica Jarema had 12 points, six rebounds, and five steals to lead Midland. Amy Lane finished with 11 points, and Kelly Dineen had eight points, six rebounds, and three steals.

With the win, the Chargers’ record improves to 15-3. They return to action Friday when they host Flint Southwestern Academy. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The loss snapped the Chemics’ four-game winning streak and dropped their record to 8-9. They will look to get back on track Friday when they travel to Bay City Central to take on the Wolves. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

For more photos from Tuesday’s game click on “Photo slideshow” in the top right corner of this article.

Photos by Cory Butzin & Jason Wolverton