Lady Warriors Look To Take Lessons Out Of Loss
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Snapping an eight-game losing streak to the Wawasee Lady Warriors (0-1), the Westview Lady Warriors (1-0) used a balanced scoring attack to get the 61-46 season-opening victory.
“In my 20 years as a girls coach and my years as a boys (junior varsity) coach, we never won here,” Yoder said. “We finally broke that barrier tonight.”
Breaking through, senior Brooke Yoder made 7 of 10 shots, 5 of 7 from behind the 3-point arc, netting a game-high 19 points for Westview.
Yoder hit her first trey 17 seconds into the contest, scoring eight first-quarter points, helping Westview build an 18-8 lead after one.
“I was glad to see Brooke get off to a great start,” Yoder said. “She’s been shooting extremely well in practice and in our scrimmage last week. That helps her confidence.”
She distributed her point total throughout the game, hitting all three of her three-point attempts in the second half.
“For that young lady to step up and make five 3s, 7-of-10 shooting, that’s pretty good,” Wawasee coach Kem Zolman said.
Along with Yoder’s production, 5-foot-11 sophomore Grace Hales had 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots, while 6-1 sophomore Maria McCoy netted 15 points to go with 12 rebounds and two steals.
A majority of McCoy’s points came from the high-low game, in which Hales would catch the ball in the middle of the lane, then either pass it down low or create her own shot.
“If there’s a weakness in a 3-2 (zone), it’s in the center of the floor,” Yoder said. “If we can get it there, then I think Grace has that knack and ability to break down defenses. Whether it’s passing, driving or shooting.”
Featuring Hales and McCoy on the inside, then Yoder on the outside, Westview had the Wawasee defense scattering.
“Offensively, we’ve always looked at it like (scoring) 46 points is good enough to win,” Zolman said. “In girls basketball, if you can score over 42 points, you’re going to be right there in the game, but you have to play defense.
“The kind of defense we play, the kids that do well in it are usually juniors and seniors, because they’ve been with the system a while,” he added. “It’s a work in progress that we’re just going to continue working on day after day, not getting down. We can’t afford to get down.”
Unfortunately for Zolman, there’s only two juniors on his team, but one did play the best game of the prep career.
A three-year starter for Zolman, Elizabeth Jackson hit 6 of 9 field goals and all four of her free-throw attempts to score a team-high 16 points, while also dishing out three assists, recording one steal and committing zero turnovers.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am for Elizabeth,” Zolman said. “To just see her hit shots and continue to smile. We haven’t seen that in two years. We put her in an awful position in her freshman year, then before she was ready last year.
“It makes me feel good that our junior stepped up and had the game like she did,” he added. “That will just catapult her game even more, just with that confidence.”
Accompanying Jackson in the starting lineup were three sophomores and a freshman, while sophomore Erin Wiktorowski was on the bench with an injury.
As a freshman, Wiktorowski averaged 5.4 points per game, and her experience, even if limited, will be a major plus to the team when she returns.
“It really hurts not having another experienced guard,” Zolman said. “That will be a blessing when we get her back. There’s not really a timetable right now. I honestly don’t know. I wish I knew. I hope it’s tomorrow, but it won’t be. We’re really trying to encourage her to keep a good attitude.”
Joining Wiktorowski as a freshman seeing a lot of playing time last year was Kylee Rostochak, who struggled from the field in the opener, making 3 of 17 field goals for 11 points.
With so much youth, Zolman’s treating each game as a building block, and one big plus out of the loss was just 12 turnovers.
“That was a real surprising stat for me,” he said. “That’s really good, because the last two or three years, we’ve averaged 20-some a game.”
Wawasee’s next chance to build will be Tuesday at home against Lakeland, a team it’s defeated 11-straight times.
“Lakeland’s our next, most important game,” Zolman said.
WESTVIEW 61, WAWASEE 46
We 18 16 10 17 – 61
Wa 8 9 11 18 – 46
Westview – Sidney Byrkett 1-1 0-0 2, Brooke Yoder 7-10 0-0 19, Grace Hales 5-11 5-6 16, Kristen Duff 2-2 0-0 4, Maria McCoy 5-9 5-6 15, Kaitlyn Warren 0-2 1-1 1, Karis Brewer 0-0 0-1 0, Riley Hochstetler 0-1 2-2 2, Brooke Wigner 1-2 0-0 2, Taylor Eash 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-38 13-16 61.
Wawasee – Elizabeth Jackson 6-9 4-4 16, Kylee Rostochak 3-17 5-10 11, Allissa Flores 2-4 2-2 6, Aubrey Schmeltz 1-4 1-2 3, Katlyn Kennedy 3-6 0-0 6, Hannah Haines 0-3 1-2 1, Courtney Linnemeier 0-2 0-0 0, Seaquinn Bright 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 16-47 14-22 46.
3-point goals – Westview 6-10 (Yoder 5, Hales), Wawasee 0-4; Team Fouls – Westview 17, Wawasee 17; Turnovers – Westview 20, Wawasee 12; Rebounds – Westview 33 (McCoy 12), Wawasee 22 (Flores 5); Assists – Westview 15 (Hales 5), Wawasee 12 (Haines 4); Steals – Westview 6 (Yoder 2, McCoy 2), Wawasee 7 (Rostochak 2); Blocks – Westview 2 (Hales 2), Wawasee 0
Records: Westview 1-0, Wawasee 0-1
JV – Wawasee 24, Westview 23
Wawasee JV Scoring – Alexis Manges 8, Schmeltz 6, Haines 4, Lexie Young 2, Kayla White 2, Nicole Streby 2[[In-content Ad]]
Snapping an eight-game losing streak to the Wawasee Lady Warriors (0-1), the Westview Lady Warriors (1-0) used a balanced scoring attack to get the 61-46 season-opening victory.
“In my 20 years as a girls coach and my years as a boys (junior varsity) coach, we never won here,” Yoder said. “We finally broke that barrier tonight.”
Breaking through, senior Brooke Yoder made 7 of 10 shots, 5 of 7 from behind the 3-point arc, netting a game-high 19 points for Westview.
Yoder hit her first trey 17 seconds into the contest, scoring eight first-quarter points, helping Westview build an 18-8 lead after one.
“I was glad to see Brooke get off to a great start,” Yoder said. “She’s been shooting extremely well in practice and in our scrimmage last week. That helps her confidence.”
She distributed her point total throughout the game, hitting all three of her three-point attempts in the second half.
“For that young lady to step up and make five 3s, 7-of-10 shooting, that’s pretty good,” Wawasee coach Kem Zolman said.
Along with Yoder’s production, 5-foot-11 sophomore Grace Hales had 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots, while 6-1 sophomore Maria McCoy netted 15 points to go with 12 rebounds and two steals.
A majority of McCoy’s points came from the high-low game, in which Hales would catch the ball in the middle of the lane, then either pass it down low or create her own shot.
“If there’s a weakness in a 3-2 (zone), it’s in the center of the floor,” Yoder said. “If we can get it there, then I think Grace has that knack and ability to break down defenses. Whether it’s passing, driving or shooting.”
Featuring Hales and McCoy on the inside, then Yoder on the outside, Westview had the Wawasee defense scattering.
“Offensively, we’ve always looked at it like (scoring) 46 points is good enough to win,” Zolman said. “In girls basketball, if you can score over 42 points, you’re going to be right there in the game, but you have to play defense.
“The kind of defense we play, the kids that do well in it are usually juniors and seniors, because they’ve been with the system a while,” he added. “It’s a work in progress that we’re just going to continue working on day after day, not getting down. We can’t afford to get down.”
Unfortunately for Zolman, there’s only two juniors on his team, but one did play the best game of the prep career.
A three-year starter for Zolman, Elizabeth Jackson hit 6 of 9 field goals and all four of her free-throw attempts to score a team-high 16 points, while also dishing out three assists, recording one steal and committing zero turnovers.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am for Elizabeth,” Zolman said. “To just see her hit shots and continue to smile. We haven’t seen that in two years. We put her in an awful position in her freshman year, then before she was ready last year.
“It makes me feel good that our junior stepped up and had the game like she did,” he added. “That will just catapult her game even more, just with that confidence.”
Accompanying Jackson in the starting lineup were three sophomores and a freshman, while sophomore Erin Wiktorowski was on the bench with an injury.
As a freshman, Wiktorowski averaged 5.4 points per game, and her experience, even if limited, will be a major plus to the team when she returns.
“It really hurts not having another experienced guard,” Zolman said. “That will be a blessing when we get her back. There’s not really a timetable right now. I honestly don’t know. I wish I knew. I hope it’s tomorrow, but it won’t be. We’re really trying to encourage her to keep a good attitude.”
Joining Wiktorowski as a freshman seeing a lot of playing time last year was Kylee Rostochak, who struggled from the field in the opener, making 3 of 17 field goals for 11 points.
With so much youth, Zolman’s treating each game as a building block, and one big plus out of the loss was just 12 turnovers.
“That was a real surprising stat for me,” he said. “That’s really good, because the last two or three years, we’ve averaged 20-some a game.”
Wawasee’s next chance to build will be Tuesday at home against Lakeland, a team it’s defeated 11-straight times.
“Lakeland’s our next, most important game,” Zolman said.
WESTVIEW 61, WAWASEE 46
We 18 16 10 17 – 61
Wa 8 9 11 18 – 46
Westview – Sidney Byrkett 1-1 0-0 2, Brooke Yoder 7-10 0-0 19, Grace Hales 5-11 5-6 16, Kristen Duff 2-2 0-0 4, Maria McCoy 5-9 5-6 15, Kaitlyn Warren 0-2 1-1 1, Karis Brewer 0-0 0-1 0, Riley Hochstetler 0-1 2-2 2, Brooke Wigner 1-2 0-0 2, Taylor Eash 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-38 13-16 61.
Wawasee – Elizabeth Jackson 6-9 4-4 16, Kylee Rostochak 3-17 5-10 11, Allissa Flores 2-4 2-2 6, Aubrey Schmeltz 1-4 1-2 3, Katlyn Kennedy 3-6 0-0 6, Hannah Haines 0-3 1-2 1, Courtney Linnemeier 0-2 0-0 0, Seaquinn Bright 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 16-47 14-22 46.
3-point goals – Westview 6-10 (Yoder 5, Hales), Wawasee 0-4; Team Fouls – Westview 17, Wawasee 17; Turnovers – Westview 20, Wawasee 12; Rebounds – Westview 33 (McCoy 12), Wawasee 22 (Flores 5); Assists – Westview 15 (Hales 5), Wawasee 12 (Haines 4); Steals – Westview 6 (Yoder 2, McCoy 2), Wawasee 7 (Rostochak 2); Blocks – Westview 2 (Hales 2), Wawasee 0
Records: Westview 1-0, Wawasee 0-1
JV – Wawasee 24, Westview 23
Wawasee JV Scoring – Alexis Manges 8, Schmeltz 6, Haines 4, Lexie Young 2, Kayla White 2, Nicole Streby 2[[In-content Ad]]
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