Whitko rolls to 61-29 win, keeps conference rival winless
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Anthony Gadson-agadson@timesuniononline.com
SOUTH WHITLEY — Committing 15 turnovers and scoring just one point in the opening quarter, the Manchester girls basketball team’s chances for its first victory faded quickly Friday night at Whitko. Falling 61-29 in Three Rivers Conference action to the Whitko Lady Wildcats, the Manchester Lady Squires’ 0-7 record is its worst start since they lost their first nine games of the 2002-03 season. On the other side, the victory left Whitko with a 5-3 mark, its best start since the 2007-08 season, which also matches the best start for the program since the turn of the century. Coming off last season’s 7-14 campaign, third-year Whitko coach Brandon Bradley credits unselfishness with the team’s early success. “We do share the ball really well,” he said. “We’re averaging around 14 assists per game, which is a great number for a team. Usually you have a primary ball handler who is in the 6, 7, 8 (assists per game) range, but then we have multiple players with 2, 3, 4 assists, and that’s really good.” Spreading the ball around, Whitko was led by freshman Aly Reiff’s 15 points, while sophomore Jennifer Reiff and freshman Brianna Cumberland each had 10, senior Jordan Hall scored nine and senior Kelly Reiff netted seven in the win. Along with her game-high 15 points, Aly Reiff also had 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Helping the Lady Wildcats ease into the win, Manchester turned the ball over on its first six possessions and didn’t take it’s first shot until Whitko already led 6-0. From there, Whitko continued to pile it on, building a 16-1 advantage after one quarter and a 37-7 lead at the half. Leading by such a large margin, there was really only one coaching point Bradley could use at the half. “It’s always hard to coach, and hard to play, in the second half of a game like that,” Bradley said. “The thing we talked about at halftime was wanting to stay very crisp, very determined and we wanted to remain the aggressor. We didn’t want to sit on our heels.” Instead of sitting back, Whitko’s lead bulged to 58-19 with 6:40 remaining. Then the bench was emptied and the reserves took over. Despite the lopsided victory, Bradley was pleased with how his girls entered the game, improving their TRC record to 2-0, while Manchester fell to 0-2. “The one thing I appreciate about these girls is they really want to compete,” Bradley said. “They really want to achieve something. It’s not just, ‘We’re going to talk about achieving something.’ They want to go get it. For the most part, all season, we’ve practiced that way. “Another thing I like about this group is, they didn’t take this (Manchester) game lightly,” he added. “They approached this game with the same approach they came in with Warsaw. They just want to get through this game. They’re not looking ahead to anybody. Right now, they’re going to enjoy this win this weekend, but then it’s about West Noble on Monday.” Whitko hosts West Noble Thursday, while Manchester’s next contest is Friday at Southwood. In the loss, Manchester senior Tabby DeWitt continued her impressive season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 20 rebounds.
WHITKO 61, MANCHESTER 29 M 1 6 10 12 – 29 W 16 21 20 4 – 61 Whitko – Jennifer Reiff 5-8 0-0 10, Reghan Craig 1-2 2-2 4, Aly Reiff 5-9 4-6 15, Kelly Reiff 1-5 4-4 7, Jordan Hall 4-7 1-3 9, Haley Yohe 0-0 1-3 1, Brianna Cumberland 4-11 1-3 10, Avaree Freel 0-3 0-0 0, Hanna Yohe 0-0 0-0 0, Lyndsey Sapp 0-1 0-0 0, Michelle Kelsey 0-0 0-0 0, Aly Nicodemus 1-6 1-2 3, Kennedy Krull 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-53 14-23 61. Manchester – Kaitlyn Parrett 2-3 0-0 4, Rae Bedke 2-3 0-0 5, Emily Haecker 0-0 0-0 0, Tabby DeWitt 4-13 3-4 11, Cierra Carter 1-4 2-2 4, Kiana Gillum 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Thompson 1-7 0-1 2, Ellie Milam 0-1 0-0 0, Brooklyn Howard 1-4 0-0 2, Sydney Snep 0-2 1-2 1, Celina Carter 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-39 6-9 29. Three-pointers – Whitko 3 (K. Reiff, A. Reiff, Cumberland), Manchester 1 (Bedke); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Whitko 12, Manchester 23 (Bedke); Turnovers – Whitko 14, Manchester 34; Rebounds – Whitko 34 (A. Reiff 11), Manchester 35 (DeWitt 20; Assists – Whitko 9 (A. Reiff 3), Manchester 3; Steals – Whitko 16 (J. Reiff 4), Manchester 7 (Ci. Carter 2, Howard 2); Blocks – Whitko 0, Manchester 2 (DeWitt 2). Records: Whitko 5-3 (2-0 TRC), Manchester 0-7 (0-2 TRC) JV – Whitko 33, Manchester 32 Whitko – Hanna Yohe 8, Brooke Cristoffel 8, Haley Yohe 6, Sapp 4, Emily Day 3, April Bishop 2, Krull 2. Manchester – Bethany Collett 11, Thompson 6, Hanna Olk 6, Milam 2, Tiffany Johnson 2, Bailey Sewell 2, Rachel Cave 2, Howard 1.
