Basketball team beats Beloit, falls to Whitewater
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
It’s not a secret that the Whitewater High School girls basketball team is among the best in the state – perhaps in any division.
After all, the Whippets are just two years removed from a perfect record and a Division 3 state title.
It looks like Whitewater is on that same path again – and it won’t be hard to convince East Troy of that fact.
Just days after it vaulted into the top spot in the latest wisssports.net poll, Whitewater jumped out to a 38-14 halftime lead and never looked back in a 61-30 Rock Valley Conference victory.
The loss dropped East Troy to 8-5 overall and 4-4 in the RVC. Whitewater improved to 11-1 and 8-0, one game ahead of McFarland’s 7-1 mark in the North Division standings.
“Whitewater is just an outstanding team,” East Troy coach Jeff Brown said. “We turned the ball over too many times, but we didn’t play poorly.
“They are outstanding and worthy of their number one ranking.”
Mackenzie Lindow led East Troy with 14 points and six steals, followed by Erin Rice with seven points and four rebounds. Kayla Casper added six rebounds, while Samantha Betley added four rebounds.
Rebekah Schumacher and Myriama Smith-Traore, both NCAA Division I recruits, led Whitewater with 24 and 10 points, respectively.
Those two are always a handful – but not the only two, Brown said.
“(As a team), they have great length and play at a fast pace,” he said.
The loss to the Whippets came on the heels of a thrilling 60-56 double overtime victory last Tuesday at Beloit Turner.
Clinging to a two-point lead late in the second extra session, East Troy forced a Turner turnover, followed by two free throws by Rice that sealed the victory.
“(That was a) great win,” Brown said. “We showed a lot of toughness and found ways to win.”
Turner held a six-point halftime lead before the Trojans rallied to knot things at 44-44 to force the first overtime. Turner led 44-42, but Rice tied the game with two free throws.
East Troy, which was 21-of-25 from the free-throw line, again came up big at the end of the first overtime, as Maddie Rosin made two from the charity stripe to send the game to the second overtime.
The Trojans led 57-50 with just 42 seconds left before Turner forged a comeback and cut the deficit to 57-54 with 30 seconds left. After an East Troy turnover, Turner got within a point with 21 seconds left, but the Trojans held on.
Lindow enjoyed a huge night with 26 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead the way.
“Mackenzie played great all game, but really came through in the second overtime,” Brown said.
Rice had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists, followed by Rosin with 13 points. Both Rice and Rosin also made three 3-pointers apiece.
Callie Vogel added nine rebounds and four assists, followed by Casper with seven rebounds.
