Sure Win Slips Whitko's Grasp
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SOUTH WHITLEY - With 5:58 to go in Wednesday's basketball game with Oak Hill, Whitko coach Ray Davis clenched his fist.
Six-foot forward Erin Rhodes, Oak Hill's biggest, baddest and best player, had fouled out. The game was tied 46-46.
"We had them exactly where we wanted them," Davis said afterward.
Make that Oak Hill had the Whitko Wildcats where they wanted them. The Golden Eagles, one of the preseason favorites to win the Three Rivers Conference, beat Whitko 64-62.
It was the second time in a week Whitko hosted and nearly beat a TRC favorite, only to fall short. Last week Manchester - the other team favored to win the TRC - beat Whitko 56-52.
The loss dropped Whitko to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the TRC.
"We did not come to play, not like we did against Manchester," Davis said. "We weren't the same team. Rhodes was on the bench with five or six minutes to go. I cannot believe we lost this game."
Particularly irksome to Davis was the way two unheralded players did Whitko in. Five-foot-five sophomore guard Vicki Needham scored 18 points, 16 of them coming in the second half on the strength of four three-pointers. Six-foot senior center Melissa Pence scored only six points, but her three baskets were three of the biggest baskets of the game.
Pence's six points came in two minutes late in the game. Her baskets, sandwiched around a Needham three-pointer, helped turn a 52-50 Whitko lead into a 59-55 Oak Hill lead with 1:26 left.
Whitko's last lead turned out to be 52-50 as duo dominated the Wildcats.
"That Needham girl hit threes like crazy in the second half," Davis said. "She had 18, and I don't think she was averaging more than four points a game. Oak Hill's subs stepped it up the last two minutes -Êit's that plain and simple. They had the big girl (Pence) inside, and Needham shot lights out."
Davis leaned back in his chair in his office, staring out the door at nothing in particular. If his team had hopes of winning the TRC, he knows what this loss did to them.
"We need help ... we're gonna need help," he said. "I don't know who's gonna beat Manchester."
Davis found about two Whitko players of nine he was happy with. Holly Hoffman scored 12 and grabbed nine rebounds, and Stephanie Warner scored 12, 10 coming in the second half.
Oak Hill improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the TRC. Manchester is 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the TRC. [[In-content Ad]]
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SOUTH WHITLEY - With 5:58 to go in Wednesday's basketball game with Oak Hill, Whitko coach Ray Davis clenched his fist.
Six-foot forward Erin Rhodes, Oak Hill's biggest, baddest and best player, had fouled out. The game was tied 46-46.
"We had them exactly where we wanted them," Davis said afterward.
Make that Oak Hill had the Whitko Wildcats where they wanted them. The Golden Eagles, one of the preseason favorites to win the Three Rivers Conference, beat Whitko 64-62.
It was the second time in a week Whitko hosted and nearly beat a TRC favorite, only to fall short. Last week Manchester - the other team favored to win the TRC - beat Whitko 56-52.
The loss dropped Whitko to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the TRC.
"We did not come to play, not like we did against Manchester," Davis said. "We weren't the same team. Rhodes was on the bench with five or six minutes to go. I cannot believe we lost this game."
Particularly irksome to Davis was the way two unheralded players did Whitko in. Five-foot-five sophomore guard Vicki Needham scored 18 points, 16 of them coming in the second half on the strength of four three-pointers. Six-foot senior center Melissa Pence scored only six points, but her three baskets were three of the biggest baskets of the game.
Pence's six points came in two minutes late in the game. Her baskets, sandwiched around a Needham three-pointer, helped turn a 52-50 Whitko lead into a 59-55 Oak Hill lead with 1:26 left.
Whitko's last lead turned out to be 52-50 as duo dominated the Wildcats.
"That Needham girl hit threes like crazy in the second half," Davis said. "She had 18, and I don't think she was averaging more than four points a game. Oak Hill's subs stepped it up the last two minutes -Êit's that plain and simple. They had the big girl (Pence) inside, and Needham shot lights out."
Davis leaned back in his chair in his office, staring out the door at nothing in particular. If his team had hopes of winning the TRC, he knows what this loss did to them.
"We need help ... we're gonna need help," he said. "I don't know who's gonna beat Manchester."
Davis found about two Whitko players of nine he was happy with. Holly Hoffman scored 12 and grabbed nine rebounds, and Stephanie Warner scored 12, 10 coming in the second half.
Oak Hill improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the TRC. Manchester is 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the TRC. [[In-content Ad]]