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WABASH - It's difficult to imagine Whitko's boys and girls basketball teams each winning on the same night. The same gym. The same opponent - the Wabash Apaches.
The girls' team started the night off right as it sprinted out to a 23-point lead at the half and held on for a 57-48 win.
The gap was narrowed after the Wildcats' 22 turnovers in the second half. They got some big-time help from freshman Stacie Warner, who scored all 13 of her points in the first half.
"I was really happy the way we played the first half," Whitko coach Ray Davis said. "We got the ball down the court, especially with Warner, who started for the first time this year."
While Warner made quite a debut, Tisha Rowland poured in 18 and Heidi Hull added 10 for Whitko.
"I thought Hull played very well inside. She's very strong inside and I think she got into foul trouble because she is so much stronger than everybody else on the floor," Davis said.
When asked about the sloppy play in the second half, Davis said, "We played a lot of girls, rotating people in and out. We had some people in spots that they weren't used to."
Wabash had two players in double digits, Tiffany Richards with 11 and Gina Curtis with 10.
In the boys' meeting with Wabash, Whitko rode in with a dismal 1-8 record and looking for some confidence after a tough loss in a low-scoring affair with Manchester on Friday night.
Once again Whitko used its slow-tempo style to come from behind and squeaked by 67-65. One of the big keys for Whitko was senior forward Bo Mullins, who had 28 points and seven rebounds.
"They kept us from getting the ball to the high post early. Then we changed some things and came back and we were able to get Mullins the ball at the high post," Whitko coach Fred Fields said.
Midway through the third quarter, Wabash led the Wildcats 43-31. Whitko stormed back after shutting down Apache guard/forward Ryan Elward. He had 14 at the half and was held to only two more after defensive changes on him.
"I thought John Wendel did a good job defensively because No.22 (Elward) was killing us. It was just ugly. That kid himself had as many points as Manchester had as a team against us," Fields said.
Whitko took advantage of 21 turnovers by Wabash and pounded the ball into Mullins, Kevin Miller, and Jeremiah Laws. Miller turned in a eight-point, three-rebound performance, while Laws had four points and four rebounds."
"It was a dogfight and we knew it was going to be. We figured it wasn't going to be more than a 10-point spread either way - win or lose,"Fields said.
"Our kids have had six good practices in a row since last Saturday and that is unheard of for our team. I think they deserved to win one this weekend," Fields stated.
Whitko is now 2-8 and is at FW Dwenger Friday.
