Game Starts Ugly, Ends Pretty For Wawasee
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Spotting the Lakeland Lady Lakers an 8-0 lead to open the home-opener at Wawasee High School, the Lady Warriors eventually caught their footing, going on to win 53-39, improving to 2-0 on the year.[[In-content Ad]]"I was just wondering if we were going to score," Wawasee head coach Kem Zolman said.
"Give our kids credit. They fought through that adversity. It was a hard win, but they pulled it out."
The adversity included 11 first-quarter turnovers, as well as Lakeland senior Alicia Cleveland scoring 10 of her game-high 18 points in the opening quarter.
Along with Cleveland's good play, fellow senior Shelby Heller also gave Wawasee fits, grabbing 13 rebounds, scoring seven points in the process.
"We were hoping to get the ball to Shelby a little bit more out of the offensive set, but we couldn't do that tonight," Lakeland coach Kati Todd said. "She did a good job of crashing the boards and Alicia just happened to be the one that was open tonight. We saw something that could work for us, so we just kept going to it."
Trailing 26-21 at the half, Wawasee can thank the hot-shooting of junior Jonna Wiggs for kick-starting the whole team.
Wiggs went 3 of 3 from behind the three-point arc in the quarter, igniting a 12-2 Wawasee run that put the home team in front 38-30 with 2:19 to play in the quarter.
"The kids did a good job of moving the ball, and she just happened to be the one that was open and nailed some pretty big threes for us," Zolman said of Wiggs, who finished the game with 12 points.
"When you're behind, you're pushing a little bit, you're stretching things, you're rushing things," Zolman added. "When someone started hitting consistently, it really calms everybody. Then you can just get in the flow."
Lakeland did close the quarter on a 5-0 run to cut the gap to 38-35 going into the fourth, but a 6-0 Wawasee run to open the final quarter put the Lakers away.
"I'm pleased with the way we came out," Todd said. "Especially going from what they did to us last year (losing 64-32). I saw my girls really step up. If it hadn't been for (Wiggs) hitting those threes, it would have been a different ball game."
On top of Wiggs' shooting, Wawasee freshman KiLee Knafel also looked impressive in her second high school game, scoring a team-high 14 points to go with six rebounds.
"She just has an explosiveness that you just can't teach," Zolman said of his latest freshman standout. "Either you have an explosive step or you don't. We can work on speed and agility, but she does have some special ability. That gives us an added dimension when she comes in. Tonight, I thought she looked a lot more comfortable than she did in the first game."
Despite getting the win, Zolman still sees plenty his girls can work on after they were outrebounded 33-25 and had trouble dealing with defensive pressure, which led to 25 turnovers.
"We're still having some trouble dealing with pressure and running our offense," Zolman said. "That's something we'll have to continue to work on and learn to handle."
Wawasee travels to Fairfield Saturday. The junior varsity game begins at 6 p.m.
WAWASEE 53, LAKELAND 39
L 15 11 9 4 - 39
W 9 12 17 15 - 53
Wawasee - Kalyn McDaniel 1-1 2-3 4, Amy Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Katie Allen 4-7 0-0 8, Kaytie Woodard 0-4 3-4 3, Jonna Wiggs 4-6 2-3 12, Lauren Tait 4-8 0-0 8, KiLee Knafel 6-13 1-3 14, Jenna Henderson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-43 9-14 53.
Lakeland - Lauren McKibben 2-8 1-2 5, Alicia Cleveland 9-16 0-0 18, Samantha Jacobs 0-8 1-2 1, Jamie Coffman 2-8 2-4 6, Shelby Heller 3-9 1-2 7, Zaphielle Whited 1-2 0-1 2, Danielle Riley 0-0 0-0 0, Carley Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Molly Simon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-51 5-11 39.
Thre-point goals - Wawasee 4-10 (Wiggs 3, Knafel), Lakeland 0-9; Team Fouls - Wawasee 13, Lakeland 17; Turnovers - Wawasee 25, Lakeland 24; Rebounds - Wawasee 25 (Woodard 6, Knafel 6), Lakeland 33 (Heller 13); Assists - Wawasee 6 (Wiggs 2), Lakeland 7 (Jacobs 4); Steals - Wawasee 13 (Tait 4, Wiggs 3), Lakeland 16 (Cleveland 7); Records: Wawasee 2-0, Lakeland 0-1
JV - Wawasee 29, Lakeland 23
Wawasee JV Scoring - Kiley Cooper 13, Kylie Norris 5, Ashley Truman 5, Alexis Blunk 4, Brette Ayres 2
Spotting the Lakeland Lady Lakers an 8-0 lead to open the home-opener at Wawasee High School, the Lady Warriors eventually caught their footing, going on to win 53-39, improving to 2-0 on the year.[[In-content Ad]]"I was just wondering if we were going to score," Wawasee head coach Kem Zolman said.
"Give our kids credit. They fought through that adversity. It was a hard win, but they pulled it out."
The adversity included 11 first-quarter turnovers, as well as Lakeland senior Alicia Cleveland scoring 10 of her game-high 18 points in the opening quarter.
Along with Cleveland's good play, fellow senior Shelby Heller also gave Wawasee fits, grabbing 13 rebounds, scoring seven points in the process.
"We were hoping to get the ball to Shelby a little bit more out of the offensive set, but we couldn't do that tonight," Lakeland coach Kati Todd said. "She did a good job of crashing the boards and Alicia just happened to be the one that was open tonight. We saw something that could work for us, so we just kept going to it."
Trailing 26-21 at the half, Wawasee can thank the hot-shooting of junior Jonna Wiggs for kick-starting the whole team.
Wiggs went 3 of 3 from behind the three-point arc in the quarter, igniting a 12-2 Wawasee run that put the home team in front 38-30 with 2:19 to play in the quarter.
"The kids did a good job of moving the ball, and she just happened to be the one that was open and nailed some pretty big threes for us," Zolman said of Wiggs, who finished the game with 12 points.
"When you're behind, you're pushing a little bit, you're stretching things, you're rushing things," Zolman added. "When someone started hitting consistently, it really calms everybody. Then you can just get in the flow."
Lakeland did close the quarter on a 5-0 run to cut the gap to 38-35 going into the fourth, but a 6-0 Wawasee run to open the final quarter put the Lakers away.
"I'm pleased with the way we came out," Todd said. "Especially going from what they did to us last year (losing 64-32). I saw my girls really step up. If it hadn't been for (Wiggs) hitting those threes, it would have been a different ball game."
On top of Wiggs' shooting, Wawasee freshman KiLee Knafel also looked impressive in her second high school game, scoring a team-high 14 points to go with six rebounds.
"She just has an explosiveness that you just can't teach," Zolman said of his latest freshman standout. "Either you have an explosive step or you don't. We can work on speed and agility, but she does have some special ability. That gives us an added dimension when she comes in. Tonight, I thought she looked a lot more comfortable than she did in the first game."
Despite getting the win, Zolman still sees plenty his girls can work on after they were outrebounded 33-25 and had trouble dealing with defensive pressure, which led to 25 turnovers.
"We're still having some trouble dealing with pressure and running our offense," Zolman said. "That's something we'll have to continue to work on and learn to handle."
Wawasee travels to Fairfield Saturday. The junior varsity game begins at 6 p.m.
WAWASEE 53, LAKELAND 39
L 15 11 9 4 - 39
W 9 12 17 15 - 53
Wawasee - Kalyn McDaniel 1-1 2-3 4, Amy Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Katie Allen 4-7 0-0 8, Kaytie Woodard 0-4 3-4 3, Jonna Wiggs 4-6 2-3 12, Lauren Tait 4-8 0-0 8, KiLee Knafel 6-13 1-3 14, Jenna Henderson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-43 9-14 53.
Lakeland - Lauren McKibben 2-8 1-2 5, Alicia Cleveland 9-16 0-0 18, Samantha Jacobs 0-8 1-2 1, Jamie Coffman 2-8 2-4 6, Shelby Heller 3-9 1-2 7, Zaphielle Whited 1-2 0-1 2, Danielle Riley 0-0 0-0 0, Carley Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Molly Simon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-51 5-11 39.
Thre-point goals - Wawasee 4-10 (Wiggs 3, Knafel), Lakeland 0-9; Team Fouls - Wawasee 13, Lakeland 17; Turnovers - Wawasee 25, Lakeland 24; Rebounds - Wawasee 25 (Woodard 6, Knafel 6), Lakeland 33 (Heller 13); Assists - Wawasee 6 (Wiggs 2), Lakeland 7 (Jacobs 4); Steals - Wawasee 13 (Tait 4, Wiggs 3), Lakeland 16 (Cleveland 7); Records: Wawasee 2-0, Lakeland 0-1
JV - Wawasee 29, Lakeland 23
Wawasee JV Scoring - Kiley Cooper 13, Kylie Norris 5, Ashley Truman 5, Alexis Blunk 4, Brette Ayres 2
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