SOUTH WHITLEY - The Whitko Wildcats may be on the verge of joining the great teams, but the Wawasee Warriors are already there. And they showed it Tuesday.
The Class 3A No. 3 Warriors outscored the Wildcats 29-10 in the opening quarter en rout to a 66-35 road win in girls basketball action."We respected them greatly coming in," Wawasee coach Kem Zolman said of Whitko. "We did in no way, shape or form believe it was going to be like that. Not at all. We felt we were going to have a battle. We knew they were going to be really good - best team they've had in a real, real long time."
Whitko entered the game with 12 wins, one of its latest being a 41-38 win over Norwell, one of two teams to have beaten Wawasee this season. So with a top ranked team in the area, the Whitko gym had plenty of fans looking for a historical win. A win that wasn't to be.
"They've never even been close to that level," Whitko coach Rob Bell said of his team. "We went to see (Wawasee) play in the state finals last year. They're young kids, they look up and see that, thinking, 'Man, we're just coming on.' It's just that mindset that we have to get into their heads that they belong."
From the get-go, the Warriors looked dead set on not allowing the Wildcats to think they even had a chance.
"One of the main keys they didn't want to do, was come out flat in the beginning," Zolman said of his girls. "Obviously, that first quarter was a clinic."
The clinic began just eight seconds into the game when junior Taylor Goshert hit her first of four opening-quarter treys.
"When Goshert comes out and hits that first three off the tip, you just knew you were in trouble right there," Bell said.
Goshert netted 15 of Wawasee's 29 first-quarter points, finishing with a game-high 23, to go with five rebounds, two steals and a block.
"She looked like she was under control, very focused," Zolman said of Goshert. "A lot of times, you don't see that. It takes her a while to get winded, so she calms down - she's so wound up all the time. Tonight, she definitley got us started, then the rest of the girls came along."
Wawasee hit 6 of 8 three-pointers in the first quarter, and coupled with a swarming defense that forced eight turnovers in the stanza, Whitko was out of it quick.
"We really weren't even trapping, the kids were just playing real good position defense," Zolman said. "No one was really going through passing lanes, like we've been seen doing in the past. We were just there. It must have seemed like there was seven or eight of us out there."
Bell's girls may have indeed been seeing Wawasee's green jerseys everywhere, as seniors Jamie Westness and Jennaca Juillerat were held to just four points on the night, all four coming from Westness free throws.
"All they could see was green," Bell said. "I know all they were thinking was there was seven players on the floor."
Those phantom extra Warriors recorded 17 steals on the night, led by juniors Ashlee Ort and Brennan McAdams, who both posted five. Ort also finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
"They're a great team," Bell said of the 13-2 Warriors. "We came out and our confidence just wasn't there. They knocked us on our heels, and I just think, mentally, we lost our focus."
Whitko was led in scoring by junior Emily Bidwell's eight points and four rebounds.
"In the big scheme of things, this loss means nothing," Bell said. "It's just a loss in the record column. It wasn't one of our goals to beat Wawasee in the regular season, it's to do so in sectional."
The Wildcats still have a 4-0 mark in the Three Rivers Conference, while the Warriors recorded their first Northern Lakes Conference loss Saturday at Elkhart Memorial. After that setback, Zolman's team seemed prep to come out strong against Whitko.
"It's a matter of us learning from what happened Saturday," Zolman said. "I tell the kids all the time, a loss is only good if you learn from it. If you lose and you really don't learn from it - you come out and do the same old thing - it's really just a loss."
The girls defintely learned something, and they'll look to apply those lessons again Saturday when the seventh-ranked Plymouth Pilgrims visit Wawasee for a 6:15 p.m. junior varsity tipoff.
"A really good defensive team," Zolman said about Plymouth. "A very disciplined, fundamental team that you just have to play your best against. Fortunately, for us, we're coming back home."
The Wildcats will be back in conference play Saturday when Northfield visits Whitko.
"We have to come back and be ready to play Saturday," Bell, "That's our Senior Night, so it'd be nice if we could get a good crowd again. Hopefully we didn't scare them off."
WAWASEE 66, WHITKO 35
Waw 29 8 18 11 - 66
Whit 10 4 8 13 - 35
Wawasee - Lantz 1-4 2-2 5, A. Ort 5-5 3-4 13, K. Ort 1-5 0-0 2, McAdams 3-5 0-0 7, Goshert 6-13 7-7 23, Weisser 3-5 3-6 9, Wallace 2-4 1-2 5, Herr 0-1 1-4 1, Ward 0-1 1-2 1, Kaiser 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 18-27 66.
