ALBION – More often than not, senior leadership makes a difference in the postseason, and Friday night it did for Whitko. Seniors Aly Reiff and Brianna Cumberland teamed to score 13 points in the first quarter, helping the Class 2A No. 2 Lady Wildcats take an 11-0 lead, which eventually turned into a 62-41 win over LaVille in a sectional semifinal at Central Noble High School. Reiff had one of the best games of her career statistically. She was 13 of 16 from the field, and had a double-double with 31 points and 11 rebounds. She opened sectional play with a 27-point effort in a 74-35 win over Fremont Tuesday. Reiff is now at 1,728 points for her career. Whitko coach Brandon Bradley said he thought first-game nerves played a factor in getting a big lead early. The Lady Lancers had a first-round bye into the semifinal. Once LaVille found the basket, the game was closely contested in the middle two quarters. “This was their first sectional game this year, and we had nerves on Tuesday, just like every other team did this week. I think there was a little bit of that early on,” Bradley said. “When they settled in, they ran their offense really well. Give them credit. We talked before the game about how they are extremely patient. They’ll run 20, 30, 40-second possessions, and we can’t guard for 10 and be happy with it. I felt like when they scored in the half-court, I feel like they scored because they got to 15 or 20 seconds or longer. So it was something we talked about after the game, too, and that’s something we’ll continue to address as long as I’m coaching.” Whitko lead 37-27 at halftime and quickly expanded the lead. Reiff opened the second half with her third trey of the night, hit a pair of free throws on the next trip down the floor, then converted a stick-back. Hanna Yohe hit a pair of jump shots, sandwiched between Brielle Harrison’s steal and layup, making the score 52-34 with a minute to go in the third quarter. LaVille didn’t get closer than 14 the rest of the way. Whitko advanced to take on No. 9 Central Noble in tonight’s 7 p.m. title game. The Lady Cougars won their 18th straight game Friday, coming back from a 12-point first-quarter deficit for a 60-44 win over Bremen. The two teams met in Whitko’s second game of the year and the Lady Cougars’ season opener on Nov. 8. Whitko won 62-54. Since then, Central Noble has compiled a 24-2 record. The Lady Cougars are led by sophomores Meleah Leatherman and Sydney Freeman. The duo averages 16 points a game each. The winner of tonight’s top 10 matchup will claim its first sectional title. Bradley said he feels his team is ready to take the next step after getting to its fourth-straight sectional title game. “There will always be (nerves) because of the magnitude of the game,” he said. “We’ve been handed that stupid runner-up ball for three straight years, and I think we want to get past that. “But as long as we can get our seniors to help us stay focused back on the task at hand, as opposed to worrying about where you’re at, we’ll do well.”
