SOUTH WHITLEY - Emotion was the keyword Saturday at Whitko High School.
On top of hosting a Three Rivers Conference girls basketball game against the Rochester Lady Zebras (8-7, 3- 1 TRC) the Whitko Lady Wildcats (5-10, 2-2 TRC) also hosted 14-year old Tatiana Castillo and her family.Although the Wildcats lost the game 55-45, both teams won, as they raised $9,700 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, allowing Castillo and her family to travel to the Dominican Republic, the birthplace of her father.
"These two teams beat the snot out of each other all night, but to see them come together at the end of the game to high-five and hug, and hear that (money) total, they were just happy to be around each other," Bell said.
"All of these communities have just been amazing," he added. "This is by far the biggest crowd we've had in the past couple of years at least, and probably the second-biggest crowd we've had in here at all."
The crowd was clad in pink in support of Castillo, who suffers from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
During halftime of the game, Castillo was able to tell her story of weekly spinal taps and bone marrow biopsies when the disease was first diagnosed.
"It's really hard to go through," Castillo said about ALL, a fast-growing cancer of white blood cells. "It really takes away your social life."
Castillo said she's currently OK, but still takes chemotherapy treatment in pill form every night, including 15-and-a-half pills every Monday.
When asked what she does in her free time, Castillo responded with, "I laugh a lot."
And she was laughing quite a bit Saturday, as Whitko was dressed in all pink uniforms and Rochester wore black uniforms with pink lettering and numbers.
"The kids were able to use basketball as a positive thing in the community," Rochester coach Tony Stesiak said. "It goes to show them that you don't have to be a pro athlete, or someone with a ton of money, to make a difference."
Bell came to Stesiak earlier in the season with the prospect of doing the project, which the Rochester coach accepted full-heartedly.
"It's cliché, but you do hate to see anyone lose this game," Stesiak said. "So much work has gone in on behalf of the players. Coach Bell and his staff took the lead on this. Just thank him and credit him for all the work he's done. The communities to support these kids is truly amazing. As I told the kids, 'This is a night you'll remember for the rest of your lives.'"
The night was made even more memorable by the Zebras, as they snapped a four-game losing streak, thanks to the play of senior Hannah Starkey.
Starkey came off the bench to score 13 points, grab 10 rebounds and block four shots.
"She struggled in our four-game losing streak," Stesiak said about Starkey. "She plays well, we play well - that seems to be a common theme. It was good for to respond well on this night."
Starkey's biggest response came right after her coach was whistled for a technical foul late in the third quarter.
Following the tech call on Stesiak, Whitko sophomore Micaela Sylvester hit two free throws to cut the Zebras' lead to 37-36 with only 20 seconds left in the quarter.
With her team's lead dwindling, Starkey came back to convert a three-point play 17 seconds later, igniting a 9-0 run that put Whitko in a 46-36 hole with 6:40 to play in the game.
"She can help the emotional tone, especially with Kayla (Lindsey) out," Stesiak said of Starkey and referring to Lindsey, who suffered a knee injury two minutes into the second half. "She kind of took over that emotional leadership role. The team stayed focus during that time, and kind of had my back a little. They stayed focused."
That focus is something Bell would like to see his girls have, as Whitko jumped out to a quick 10-1 lead in the game.
"I was so proud, because we just came out and blitzed them," Bell said. "(Rochester) didn't have an answer - they couldn't handle our pressure. We just couldn't build on it."
Sylvester led Whitko with 17 points, three assists and three steals, while junior Rachelle Kessie scored 14 points and freshman point guard Cagney Craig had a team-high six boards.
"As late as we are in the season, I'm sick and tired of saying we're young," Bell said. "But we are. It's part of growing up and part of learning."
Whitko has just one senior on its roster, but wasn't only learning about basketball in the loss.
"We did the Coaches Vs. Cancer (early this season), but I didn't know if the girls got out of it what they needed to," Bell said. "Understanding that you can make a difference with this gift you've been given. That's just the fact that you can play basketball."
With the support given during the game, Bell was able to put the loss to the side and recognize what the game really meant.
"It's a sign of what's good and that's what we want out of people," he said.
The Wildcats travel to Class 3A No. 2 Norwell Thursday at 6:15 p.m.
