Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SOUTH WHITLEY - Tuesday night was a tale of two girls basketball programs with young talent headed in opposite directions.
Wawasee recovered from a poor showing Saturday against Northern Lakes Conference foe Elkhart Memorial and upended host Whitko 53-31.
The Warriors, led in scoring by freshman Taylor Goshert, start four underclassmen and boast just one senior on their roster.
Whitko, led in scoring by an injured sophomore Jamie Westness, start four underclassmen and have just two seniors on its roster.
The difference Tuesday night came in the fact that not only were the Wildcats without Westness, who sustained an ACL injury earlier this year, but freshman Ashley Hoopingarner.
Hoopingarner is out for the rest of the season due to a stress fracture according to Whitko head coach Ryan Cunningham.
Hoopingarner and Westness combined for more than 16 of Whitko's 46 point per game average.
"Considering those things," said Cunningham of his injury situation. "I thought our kids played well. Shots didn't go in for us but we never quit."
The Wildcats stayed within a basket of Wawasee for most of the first half before the Warriors went on a 6-0 run to end the half.
Wawasee then went on another 6-0 run to end the third quarter to extend its lead to 14 at 40-26.
The Warriors used a balanced scoring attack that saw Goshert and juniors Shawn Knafel and Megan Walker all score in double digits.
Walker and Knafel both finished with 11 points while Goshert finished with 10.
Goshert, who averages more than 12 points per contest for Wawasee, made just one field goal but was able to penetrate Whitko's defense enough and draw fouls to finish 8 of 10 from the charity stripe.
Both Goshert and Knafel are players Wawasee head coach Kem Zolman feels have really progressed from last year.
"Both Taylor and Shawn put an enormous amount of work in over the summer. When kids put extreme amounts of time in, this is the time you see it," said Zolman.
Knafel and Goshert combined with forwards Tiffany Fick and Jessie Wolf to provide a lot of frontcourt options for Zolman.
Wawasee used its frontcourt dominance to grab a 33-17 rebounding edge. The Warriors were led by Wolf who came off the bench to grab seven boards and score six points.
While players like Wolf come off the bench, Zolman considers the idea of starters and bench players to be a misnomer for his team.
"Jessie has accepted her role coming off the bench," said Zolman. "With this team we don't look at it as having a starting five and then a bench. When we put so-called 'bench players" in, we not only expect them to play at the same level, but to step it up."
The trio of Wolf, Kylee Ort and Brennan McAdams provided a spark on defense for the Warriors in the second half.
Wawasee can't take complete credit for Whitko's struggles as the Wildcats went ice-cold from the field in the second half.
Whitko finished 5 of 21 (24 percent) from the field in the final 16 minutes and went without a field goal in the fourth quarter until Veronica Jersey hit a jumper with 2:30 left to play.
The Wildcats failed to put a player in double-digit scoring but saw Kylee Brown, Jennaca Juillerat and Jayanna Begley all finish with eight points.
Cunningham was quick to point out the effort of Begley and Juillerat.
"I thought we got the best defensive effort out of those two tonight," said Cunningham.
With the win, Wawasee ups its record to 9-6 on the season. The Warriors are next in action Saturday when they host Plymouth in Northern Lakes Conference action. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
The Wildcats drop to 5-11 on the season and return to Three Rivers Conference play Friday when they travel to Northfield for a 6:15 p.m. tipoff.
WAWASEE 53, WHITKO 31
Wawasee 11 15 14 13 - 53
Whitko 7 10 9 5 - 31
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
*Lantz 1-2 0-0 2 0 3
*Walker 5-11 0-0 4 1 11
*Goshert 1-4 8-10 6 2 10
*Knafel 4-7 3-3 6 3 11
*Fick 3-4 0-2 2 0 6
Wolf 2-7 2-2 7 2 6
McAdams 1-1 0-0 3 2 2
Ort 1-2 0-0 3 0 2
Olson 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Totals 18-38 15-19 33 10 53
Whitko FG FT R S Pts.
*Brown 3-8 0-0 5 2 8
*Wendel 0-5 0-0 1 0 0
*Jersey 2-7 0-0 1 3 4
*Juillerat 1-8 5-8 3 1 8
*Begley 4-11 0-0 6 1 8
*Studebaker 0-0 1-2 1 0 1
Trump 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Stephens 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 11-41 6-10 17 7 31
Three-point goals - Wawasee 2-9 (Walker 1-5, Lantz 1-1), Whitko 3-14 (Brown 2-6, Juillerat 1-3). Turnovers - Wawasee 17, Whitko 16. Fouls - Wawasee 13, Whitko 15. Fouled out - None.
JV -ÊWawasee 30, Whitko 25
