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There’s statement wins, and there’s what the Whitko girls basketball team did on Saturday night.
A year removed from Eastside ending their season in the semi-state round, the Lady ‘Cats met the Lady Blazers in the postseason once again, this time facing off in a regional game. The result couldn’t have been any more different than last season’s contest, as Whitko throttled their opponent in every sense of the word, leaving Warsaw Community High School with its second straight regional title after a 64-28 win.
“This one definitely feels sweet,” Whitko head coach Justin Jordan said after the game. “We wanted to get them back, but we’re not done. We want to keep going and hopefully we’re cutting some nets down in two weeks.”
Whether it was the Lady ‘Cats forcing 21 more turnovers than they committed, making two less shots than Eastside attempted, or finishing with eleven assists to their opponents one, the constant in this game was Whitko playing incredibly well as a team for all 32 minutes.
“We’ve been working really hard all week, really being deliberate in our practices,” junior Jayma Stonebraker said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game, but when we got out there and started hitting shots, our energy just went to a different level.”
Despite the lopsided result, the early moments of the game were heavily contested, tied 5-5 after three minutes. Both defenses set the tone early, playing incredibly physical basketball for the entire length of the court. Whitko was especially aggressive in the first few minutes of the game, forcing more than a few turnovers in the backcourt and turning them into points. Senior Reese Stonebraker was the catalyst here, scoring a quick four in the middle stage of the period to force an Eastside timeout.
Playing aggressive defense, Whitko senior Reese Stonebraker sacrifices herself while diving for the ball as Eastside's Taylor Mack lands on her...Nieter
The Lady ‘Cats were definitely getting the better looks overall, but started the game struggling shooting from distance. It wasn’t until junior Jocelyn Luecke came off the bench and hit two quick triples that the Whitko offense really began to hum. Her younger sister, freshman Ady, hit a triple of her own a possession later and just like that, it was a double digit game.
“It felt really good to give my team the spark. I think once one of us gets going, the rest of us follow suit,” Jocelyn said. “We bounce off each other really well and once I got us going we really started playing well.”
The defense by the visitors on the scoreboard only got better as the quarter wore on, as the Lady Blazers were now having a seriously hard time getting the ball past midcourt. Whitko was having no such problems offensively, and after going on a 15-4 run to end the first, led 20-9.
“I think we just needed to see a couple shots fall, our defense started to ramp up,” Jordan said. “We got some deflections, some steals we were able to turn into easy offense, and ultimately took care of business.”
Things went from bad to worse for Eastside in the opening minute of the second, as the team’s leading scorer, Taylor Mack, picked up her third foul of the game and was relegated to the bench, still scoreless. The Lady ‘Cats only got better offensively as the game went on, getting contributions from every player that stepped onto the court. Thanks to her hot start shooting the ball, the elder Luecke became the first player on her team to reach double figures, making it a 20-point game in the process.
“They’re so unselfish. They don’t care who scores, it’s defense first,” Jordan said. “They share the ball, they care for each other, they just want to win.”
The halftime buzzer sounding was about the best thing that could have happened to the Lady Blazers after what was a nightmare second quarter. When the home team on the scoreboard was actually able to find enough separation for a shot, they came up empty This was true for more than a few wide open shots down low. Only taking 13 shots in the quarter, the Lady Blazers hit just four in the first 16 minutes of play.
On the other end, the Lady ‘Cats doubled their opponent up on shot attempts, and it showed on the scoreboard. Shooting nearly 50% in the first half, Whitko put an exclamation point on a stellar first half with a Jayma three that made it 39-14 at the break.
The Stonebraker sisters continued to shoot the lights out as the third quarter got going, leading the charge as their team scored 13 points in just the first two minutes. Mack was finally able to get on the board for the home side, and was even able to find a bit of a rhythm, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with the well-oiled machine the Lady ‘Cats were playing like. The Stonebraker sisters combined for 26 in the win.
“It’s so much fun playing together, I’m not ready for it to end,” Jayma said.
Junior Jayma Stonebraker of Whitko looks to score during the third quarter...Nieter
Reese’s second three of the second half made it a 35-point game just before the midway point of the third. Whitko had gotten its lick back and then some, leaving no doubt in this postseason rematch. Even with the lead now over 40, the visitors still showed no signs of letting up. Hazel Leffers was also putting together a great quarter, scoring six points to join Jocelyn and Reese in double figures with 10 minutes left in the game.
With the game having been decided long before the fourth quarter began, the Lady ‘Cats began to ease up as the final period got going. With a little under three minutes left in the game, both sides emptied their benches to let the second stringers finish things out. After an absolutely tremendous effort from the starters, they exited to a standing ovation.
Reese finished with 16 points and four steals, while Jayma, Leffers and Joeclyn each had 10. Kyra Lowe added seven. Adelaide Elden led Eastside with 14 points, while Mack scored 10.
Whitko (25-1) will take on Oak Hill on Saturday at Frankfort High School in the first round of the semi-state. The game will tip off at noon, and will follow a game between Bremen and Lapel. The two winners will face off later on Saturday night.
