Wawasee tops Lakeland 46-23 in game with 55 turnovers
Posted
Mark Howe-mhowe@timesuniononline.com
SYRACUSE – There are a lot of ways to describe Wawasee’s 46-23 girls basketball win over visiting Lakeland Tuesday night. But even after looking at the videotape of the game, it’s unlikely anyone will describe it as a thing of beauty. The teams combined for 55 turnovers, with Lakeland committing 33 against the 35 shots from the field for the Lady Lakers. There were plenty of floor burns to go around in an effort to corral loose balls, and plenty of thrown elbows in an effort to gain position in the lane. The tough, physical contest was played close to the baskets, with the teams combining for just one three-point basket. The Lady Warriors were in the process of making it a lopsided contest in the final moments before halftime when Lakeland scored seven points on three straight possessions to close the gap somewhat. Still, the home team slowly pulled away in the second half. “It wasn’t exactly the prettiest thing, was it? I thought for the first 15 minutes we played pretty well. The defensive effort was there, we were covering things pretty decently, we were seeing, finally, some box outs,” said Wawasee head coach Kem Zolman. “Offensively, I thought Kylee (Rostochak) was content to get the assists. The first 15 minutes she probably had as many assists as she did points, which is fine because now she’s getting her teammates involved. “For some reason they scored, what, seven unanswered points at the end of the half. And it changed the entire complexion of the game. I didn’t think we ever got back to that same intensity. We missed shots, we missed layups. Our first four possessions in the third quarter were nothing but turnovers. We just never got out of a funk, but we were still able to extend the lead. It just wasn’t the prettiest extension of a lead that I’ve ever seen.” Wawasee senior Kylee Rostochak had 10 of her game-high 19 points in the first half, and Hannah Haines had half of her 10 points by the intermission, when Wawasee still led 26-14. But Wawasee turned the ball over on each of its first four possessions to open the second half. Lakeland, returning the favor on three of their first four trips down the floor after halftime, couldn’t take advantage. Zolman said his team learned that while there is a certain sense of confidence in owning a large lead, it’s not a good reason to back off and give the opposition a chance to make the game competitive. “As long as they understand that you get comfortable and you think all you have to do is show up, that’s a lesson well-learned and still with a victory,” he said. Lakeland, now 0-3, was led by Beka Stroop’s six points. Wawasee junior Aubrey Schmeltz added seven points to the winning effort, and Aubrey Kuhn had six points. Wawasee takes a 2-2 record into Saturday night’s home game against Prairie Heights.
