SOUTH WHITLEY – Whitko High School’s girls basketball team may be at its highest point in school history. Coming off consecutive school-record 16-win seasons, and having won a pair of sectional games in each of those two seasons, has the Lady Wildcats and coach Brandon Bradley looking for more. The squad returns eight letter winners from a team that fell in the Class 3A sectional final to Three Rivers Conference rival Tippecanoe Valley. Whitko finished 4-3 in the conference last season. The TRC had a state finalist (Valley), two more semistate teams (2A Wabash and 3A Rochester), plus two other schools (Whitko and Northfield) that lost in sectional finals to other TRC teams. In postseason games against teams outside the conference, TRC squads went 17-2 and six of eight teams lost in the postseason to TRC member schools. So, Whitko is used to tough competition. “We played every game last season without two or three projected starters due to injuries, so staying healthy will be key for us,” Bradley said. “We aren’t very big, but we have good guard play across the board and a high skill level and understanding of our system throughout the roster. “If we can stay healthy, I think we have a talented enough team to make a run at our first-ever sectional title and our second-ever conference title.” Whitko will be led by junior Aly Reiff, a two-time member of the Times-Union All-Area team. She averaged better than 17 points a game last season and pulled down just under seven rebounds a contest. She also averaged just under five assists a game, getting the ball to the open player when she finds herself double-teamed. “Obviously I see Aly as a key contributor,” Bradley said. “Her motor, versatility and competitive fire are hard to match. I would actually expect her to do more things this season as her defense, rebounding and physicality have all improved.” Junior Brianna Cumberland is returning after an offseason spent rehabilitating the knee she injured in the waning seconds of a sectional semifinal win over Wawasee last winter. She averaged just under 15 points a game and led the TRC by hitting 39 percent of her three-point attempts last season. “I think the thing most overlooked with Brianna is her ability to defend. She almost always defends the other team’s best player,” said Bradley. “Offensively she’s a big threat for us on the perimeter. Her rehab with her knee has come along nicely, and she’ll be full-go in our first game of the season.” Other returnees include seniors Jennifer Reiff, Emily Day and Avaree Freel, and juniors Kennedy Krull and sisters Hanna and Haley Yohe. “Hanna is one of our toughest kids, and she really started to figure things out mid-season last year,” Bradley said. “She was great defensively for us, and her numbers improved as the season went on and she moved into the starting lineup. Unfortunately she missed the final nine games due to a broken finger. “Emily came on late in the year and was a key defensively and on the boards for us after playing sparingly early last season. I think she’ll be one of our better interior defenders and rebounders again this season. Avaree is entering her third year of varsity play, and she has consistently provided a veteran presence off the bench for us and will likely do the same again this coming season.” The Wildcats open their 2015-16 campaign at Fort Wayne North on Friday. They’ll play at Central Noble on Tuesday before opening the home schedule Nov. 13 against Columbia City.
