SOUTH WHITLEY – Few teams in the area have a combination quite like Whitko. The Lady Wildcats were Class 2A’s top-ranked team for much of the season, and have played the toughest schedule in the class (58th overall). In head coach Brandon Bradley’s six years, the program has come a long way. Before his arrival, Whitko had experienced four double-digit win seasons, but this year’s senior class won 16 games as freshmen, 16 more as sophomores, a school-record 19 last season and has matched that number this season. Seniors Aly Reiff and Brianna Cumberland have become the program’s first two 1,000-point scorers, And the Lady ‘Cats are looking for the first sectional title in school history this week. Whitko has played in the sectional title game each of the last two years, and is making a push to break through in 2017. But there’s a lot more to the team than just Reiff and Cumberland. Senior twins Hanna and Haley Yohe, Kennedy Krull and Brooke Christoffel are just part of the supporting cast. Sophomore Ellie Snep has started games all season. Classmate Emalee Duggins and freshman Brielle Harrison have played significant minutes coming off the bench. All in all, Whitko has seven players averaging at least two points and two rebounds per game. “I think Ellie Snep has shown the most growth throughout the season,” Bradley said. “Since about the West Noble game in mid-December, she has really turned a corner and changed a lot of things to her game. I think it just shows how coachable she is and how intelligent of a kid she is to be able to change so quickly. “Brielle Harrison, like Ellie, has come quite a long way this season, too. We kind of threw her into the fire early on, and she's accepted the challenge and shown steady improvement. Kennedy Krull has done a nice job of “leading by example and playing selflessly, worrying only about the team's success. Emalee Duggins, Hanna Yohe, and Haley Yohe have all had some nice contributions this season. They are all feisty, tough-nosed, and they compliment each other well. We typically always have at least a couple of them playing really well. “Brooke Christoffel and Anna Ousley have been the epitome of great teammates. They work as hard as anyone in practice, they play their roles, and when they get opportunities they always come in with energy and effort.” Bradley said his top two scorers, Reiff (17.6 points, 7.1 rebounds per game) and Cumberland (12.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg.) have been strong leaders for the team. “They have been extremely coachable, they set good examples for everyone else by their actions, and they don't act like they're above anyone. They are two of the most humble players I've ever coached,” said Bradley. “They help teammates when they struggle with concepts, and they are great with the younger players in our program.” The Lady Wildcats had a couple of hiccups in the third week of January, losing consecutive games at Wawasee and to Three Rivers Conference champion Tippecanoe Valley. Bradley said the things that hold them back are things taught in practice. “The items we almost always seem to talk about after games are maintaining discipline, both offensively and defensively,” he said. “Offensively we have gotten sloppy at times and turned it over too much, and defensively I think each player tries so hard to process too many items simultaneously instead of just simply adjusting to the situation and making a single basketball decision. There was an effort to upgrade the schedule for this season in an effort to prepare to play late in to February. “I absolutely think there are advantages to the strength of our schedule. When you consider teams like Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw, Penn, Gary West Side, and Fort Wayne Northrop, I'm not sure there are teams like those in Class 2A, let alone in our sectional,” Bradley said. “Don't get me wrong, there are teams in our sectional who can beat us, but those teams I just mentioned are built differently, whether it be depth, size and strength, skill, experience, or pure talent. Hopefully by facing teams like that, it will help us prepare for any type of matchup we can see in the postseason. That being said, most teams play the other schools in the sectional at some point in the regular season. Since moving to Class 2A at the beginning of last school year, the only sectional team on the docket is host Central Noble. “As for whether or not to play other teams in our sectional, I honestly think you could make an argument either way whether it's advantageous or not,” said Bradley. “We aren't necessarily avoiding those teams on our regular season schedule, as much as we are finishing our second year in a new sectional, and it's our fourth sectional in seven years. “We tried adding teams from our past sectionals, only to have the sectional change again and again. Who knows what will happen with us next year when they restructure everything once again.” Whitko plays in the opening game of the tournament against Fremont at 7 p.m. Tuesday. With a win, the Lady ‘Cats would play in the first semifinal against LaVille at 6 p.m. Friday. The title game is set for 7 p.m. Saturday.
