ALBION – A team has to demonstrate heart before that heart can be broken. The No. 7 Whitko Lady Wildcats had their heart on full display Saturday night in the Central Noble 2A Sectional championship, and it was indeed broken. Down 12 points with under six minutes to play, and with every break seeming to go Westview’s way, Whitko fought its way back to tie the game with 16 seconds left, and nearly won it in regulation before falling 70-65 in overtime to the Lady Warriors. It was the third straight year the Lady Wildcats lost in the sectional championship game. Westview claimed its fourth straight sectional; the last two coming in title games that went overtime. After Grace Gum-Hales hit her seventh three-point shot of the game, and sixth in an 11-minute span, to give Westview a 53-41 lead with 5:26 to play, Whitko head coach Brandon Bradley admitted he had flashbacks to the last stretch of games where the Lady Wildcats lost five of six, including losses to Tippecanoe Valley, Rochester and Norwell. Those teams won sectional titles over the weekend. “When it was 53-41, I was visualizing Christmas break, the first of the year, those times, and this was completely different. The heart that was left out there was impressive. I can’t be any prouder of how they responded in that situation,” Bradley said. The comeback began when Kennedy Krull hit a layup with 5:11 left. Junior Aly Reiff then hit a runner, Hanna Yohe hit a short jumper from the left baseline, then Reiff hit a runner through the lane and a pair of free throws. Jennifer Reiff hit a contested jumper in the paint to finish a 12-2 run and draw the Lady Wildcats to within two with 2:57 to play. The teams traded baskets and stops down the stretch, and Jennifer Reiff tied the game by hitting a pair of free throws with 16 seconds to play. She then picked up a loose ball near midcourt and, with two Lady Warriors guarding her, drove near the hoop. Her eight-footer hit the rim twice before falling away, sending the game to overtime. In the extra four minutes, Whitko focused on stopping Gum-Hales, who finished with 31 points, and 6-foot-2 center Maria McCoy, who had 19. But Reagan Sharick hit a three to open the overtime, and Summer Konkle followed with another. Sharick and McCoy combined to go 7 of 8 from the free throw line to seal the win. “We decided to specifically key on McCoy and Hales and another person stepped up for them,” Bradley said. “I mean, it happens.” Whitko used its speed to take an early lead before Westview took advantage of its height in establishing a lead through the second and third quarters. “We tried to do what we could. We tried to box out where we could and scramble to the ball,” said Bradley. “But the one thing we are going to struggle with is height, the way we are built. We try to make up for it with speed, and they struggled with that at times, too. We made our run early, to start the game and then made the other run towards the middle and end of the fourth quarter, they really struggled with our speed and quickness.” Jennifer Reiff had 22 points in her final game, with junior Aly Reiff adding 18 and Yohe 12 for the Lady Wildcats. They finished with a school-record 19 wins against seven losses, and had an eight-game win streak snapped Saturday night. Westview (21-5) advanced to the Winamac Regional, where they will take on top-ranked Oregon-Davis at noon Saturday.
