Monster Fourth Quarter Leads To Whitko's First Regional Title
February 16, 2025 at 1:10 p.m.
ROCHESTER — Whitko blasted through the doors to the second half like a tornado — more specifically, a sister twister — and when the Wildcats were done wreaking havoc on Bremen, they were clutching a trophy accompanying the program’s first-ever regional girls basketball title, one week after a first-ever sectional crown.
“This is so exciting. I mean, I’ve got butterflies,” junior Reese Stonebraker said amid the postgame celebration, before also claiming that she didn’t really have those butterflies before or during the contest, and acknowledging the irony.
Trailing 24-19 at intermission, the Wildcats struck for a matching 19 points in the third quarter to draw to within 39-38, then pounded the Lions 15-5 in the fourth period to close out a 53-44 win in Saturday’s Class 2A Caston Regional.
“We’re a second-half team, so I felt like we had this,” Whitko coach Justin Jordan said. “We’ve come from behind in a lot of our games against better competition.”
“We went in at halftime and Coach basically said that first half was like a C-minus half,” Stonebraker shared. “He said, ‘Now go out there and play an A half.’ I think that got us all hyped up.”
The players were hyping themselves even before their coach’s message as well.
“We got a little time with each other before he came in,” sophomore Jayma Stonebraker, “and we were like, the offensive boards are killing us (Bremen had an 11-3 advantage in second-chance points at the break). So it was like, ‘Let’s get on the same page. Everyone, go do what we do,’ and we went out and did it.”
Nobody did it quite like the younger Stonebraker sister.
Jayma, saddled with three fouls and held scoreless in the first half, erupted for all of her game-high 16 points in the second half, including 12 during her sizzling third quarter, and she never did commit another foul.
“I’m very proud of her,” Reese said of her sibling. “She’s the one that got us going.”
The sisters made like twins in some ways. Each dealt four assists to share game-high honors. Each had two steals. Reese netted 14 points, and the duo combined for 10 rebounds, six by Reese.
“We usually go as they go,” Jordan said. “They’ve got motors that don’t stop. A lot of times, I’m throwing my arm out of socket yelling at them because they do something bone-headed, but they’re awesome, amazing kids, super unselfish. I’m proud of ‘em … proud of all (our players).”
One week after snapping 2A No. 4-ranked host Bluffton’s 10-game winning streak in a sectional final, the Cats (21-4) snipped No. 12 Bremen’s 15-game victory string. The Lions (24-3) were coming off reaching semistate a year ago in 3A, and had their top three scorers back from that club.
“We knew we had a tough challenge versus a tough team,” Bremen coach Alex Robinson said of Whitko. “Their press plus their 3-point shooting was a tough recipe. They hit some big 3s, some deep 3s that were tough to defend.”
The Cats jacked up 28 shots outside the arc, converting nine. Reese Stonebraker hit 4-of-9 long balls, senior Adriyanna Phillips 3-of-9 on her way to 11 points and Jayma Stonebraker 2-of-5.
“Our shots started falling,” Phillips said of Whitko draining 7-of-14 from distance in the second half after going 2-of-14 in the first half. “We played our game, and whether our shots fall or not, we’re not gonna change how we play.”
The Cats finished 19-of-46 from the field overall — including 3-of-3 by freshman Hazel Leffers for six points and 6-of-11 by Jayma — while the Lions were an uncharacteristic 16-of-62, including just 7-of-31 on triples.
“I thought we had some good looks, (particularly) in the fourth quarter,” Robinson said after his club nonetheless went 2-of-16 in the final period, including 1-of-10 on 3s.
A pair of treys by Phillips highlighted Whitko’s 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter, good for a 47-39 lead at 5:32 to go.
The Lions drew no closer than 47-41 at the 5:20 mark, then were held scoreless until senior Kila Foster’s 3-pointer made it 51-44 at 39 seconds left.
Not holding back his emotions, head coach Justin Jordan expresses his delight as Whitko extends its lead in the closing minutes of the game...Nieter“This is such an awesome moment, and we so much appreciate the support of the community,” Jordan said after an estimated 500 Cat fans made the trip. “The girls have worked so hard for this, and we’ve toughened up the schedule to help us get here.”
“This team is amazing,” Phillips said. “We’ve all put the work in, preseason and in season. There’s been no break, but our team bonding is amazing. We all trust each other, and if one’s down, the next is going to pick her up.”
Sophomore center Ally Brown led all rebounders with 12 for Whitko to go with a game-high two blocked shots and four points.
The Cats were plus three on the boards in the second half after being minus five in the first half. Bremen’s 11-3 advantage on second-chance points in the first half was followed by a 3-3 count in the second half.
Foster paced the Lions with 13 points, all during the second half after sitting out the second quarter with three fouls, and added three steals. Junior Emma Kincaid added 10 points and nine rebounds; junior Eliana Grubbs nine points and 10 boards; and senior Naomi Moyer six points,10 boards and four assists.
No. 17 Whitko plays in the two-round 2A northern semistate next Saturday. Pairings will be drawn by the IHSAA on Sunday and the site named as well. The Cats will be joined by No. 2 Rensselaer Central (24-2), No. 5 Eastside (26-1) and No. 11 Sheridan (25-1).
ROCHESTER — Whitko blasted through the doors to the second half like a tornado — more specifically, a sister twister — and when the Wildcats were done wreaking havoc on Bremen, they were clutching a trophy accompanying the program’s first-ever regional girls basketball title, one week after a first-ever sectional crown.
“This is so exciting. I mean, I’ve got butterflies,” junior Reese Stonebraker said amid the postgame celebration, before also claiming that she didn’t really have those butterflies before or during the contest, and acknowledging the irony.
Trailing 24-19 at intermission, the Wildcats struck for a matching 19 points in the third quarter to draw to within 39-38, then pounded the Lions 15-5 in the fourth period to close out a 53-44 win in Saturday’s Class 2A Caston Regional.
“We’re a second-half team, so I felt like we had this,” Whitko coach Justin Jordan said. “We’ve come from behind in a lot of our games against better competition.”
“We went in at halftime and Coach basically said that first half was like a C-minus half,” Stonebraker shared. “He said, ‘Now go out there and play an A half.’ I think that got us all hyped up.”
The players were hyping themselves even before their coach’s message as well.
“We got a little time with each other before he came in,” sophomore Jayma Stonebraker, “and we were like, the offensive boards are killing us (Bremen had an 11-3 advantage in second-chance points at the break). So it was like, ‘Let’s get on the same page. Everyone, go do what we do,’ and we went out and did it.”
Nobody did it quite like the younger Stonebraker sister.
Jayma, saddled with three fouls and held scoreless in the first half, erupted for all of her game-high 16 points in the second half, including 12 during her sizzling third quarter, and she never did commit another foul.
“I’m very proud of her,” Reese said of her sibling. “She’s the one that got us going.”
The sisters made like twins in some ways. Each dealt four assists to share game-high honors. Each had two steals. Reese netted 14 points, and the duo combined for 10 rebounds, six by Reese.
“We usually go as they go,” Jordan said. “They’ve got motors that don’t stop. A lot of times, I’m throwing my arm out of socket yelling at them because they do something bone-headed, but they’re awesome, amazing kids, super unselfish. I’m proud of ‘em … proud of all (our players).”
One week after snapping 2A No. 4-ranked host Bluffton’s 10-game winning streak in a sectional final, the Cats (21-4) snipped No. 12 Bremen’s 15-game victory string. The Lions (24-3) were coming off reaching semistate a year ago in 3A, and had their top three scorers back from that club.
“We knew we had a tough challenge versus a tough team,” Bremen coach Alex Robinson said of Whitko. “Their press plus their 3-point shooting was a tough recipe. They hit some big 3s, some deep 3s that were tough to defend.”
The Cats jacked up 28 shots outside the arc, converting nine. Reese Stonebraker hit 4-of-9 long balls, senior Adriyanna Phillips 3-of-9 on her way to 11 points and Jayma Stonebraker 2-of-5.
“Our shots started falling,” Phillips said of Whitko draining 7-of-14 from distance in the second half after going 2-of-14 in the first half. “We played our game, and whether our shots fall or not, we’re not gonna change how we play.”
The Cats finished 19-of-46 from the field overall — including 3-of-3 by freshman Hazel Leffers for six points and 6-of-11 by Jayma — while the Lions were an uncharacteristic 16-of-62, including just 7-of-31 on triples.
“I thought we had some good looks, (particularly) in the fourth quarter,” Robinson said after his club nonetheless went 2-of-16 in the final period, including 1-of-10 on 3s.
A pair of treys by Phillips highlighted Whitko’s 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter, good for a 47-39 lead at 5:32 to go.
The Lions drew no closer than 47-41 at the 5:20 mark, then were held scoreless until senior Kila Foster’s 3-pointer made it 51-44 at 39 seconds left.
Not holding back his emotions, head coach Justin Jordan expresses his delight as Whitko extends its lead in the closing minutes of the game...Nieter“This is such an awesome moment, and we so much appreciate the support of the community,” Jordan said after an estimated 500 Cat fans made the trip. “The girls have worked so hard for this, and we’ve toughened up the schedule to help us get here.”
“This team is amazing,” Phillips said. “We’ve all put the work in, preseason and in season. There’s been no break, but our team bonding is amazing. We all trust each other, and if one’s down, the next is going to pick her up.”
Sophomore center Ally Brown led all rebounders with 12 for Whitko to go with a game-high two blocked shots and four points.
The Cats were plus three on the boards in the second half after being minus five in the first half. Bremen’s 11-3 advantage on second-chance points in the first half was followed by a 3-3 count in the second half.
Foster paced the Lions with 13 points, all during the second half after sitting out the second quarter with three fouls, and added three steals. Junior Emma Kincaid added 10 points and nine rebounds; junior Eliana Grubbs nine points and 10 boards; and senior Naomi Moyer six points,10 boards and four assists.
No. 17 Whitko plays in the two-round 2A northern semistate next Saturday. Pairings will be drawn by the IHSAA on Sunday and the site named as well. The Cats will be joined by No. 2 Rensselaer Central (24-2), No. 5 Eastside (26-1) and No. 11 Sheridan (25-1).