Whitewater takes down Brodhead; set to play Dodgeville Saturday in Middleton
By Adam Knoll
The Whitewater High School girls basketball team has advanced to the sectional final round in the WIAA tournament. They will face Dodgeville at 1 p.m. Saturday in Middleton.
Below is a recap of last week’s games, leading up to Thursday night’s win.
It’s been a dominating undefeated season for the program, so it wasn’t entirely surprising that their first tournament game, last Friday night, featured much of the same.
Lake Mills came to town Feb. 27 and managed only one point in the first quarter and eight in the entire first half as the Whippets built up a 22-point lead by halftime. By the time Lake Mills woke up a bit and started hitting some shots, it was too late, as the Whippets walked away with a win, 53-32.
Rebekah Schumacher scored 18 points and Myriama Smith-Traore added 14.
Whitewater again dominated in the paint, but did hit three 3-point shots. Oddly, the Whippets only shot five from the foul line, hitting two.
Regional champs
The second game for the Whippets in postseason play, on Saturday, was more challenging. Taking on a fellow undefeated squad, Lakeside Lutheran, Whitewater found itself down by seven points after the first period. But then the defense went to work and clamped down, holding Lakeside to six points in the second.
Coming out of the break ahead by three in the Feb. 28 game, the Whippets traded blows with Lakeside, watching their lead fall to one point heading into the final quarter. A few body blows and some quick scores to close out the game however, helped Whitewater pull away with a 23-point fourth quarter and earn the win, 69-61.
Five Whippets scored in the game, four in double figures. Kailey Reynolds led all scorers with 20; Rebekah Schumacher and Myriama Smith-Traoere each had 16; Sarah Schumacher added 13.
In an almost unheard of scenario, the Whippets shot 36 free throws thanks to 25 fouls by Lakeside. Unfortunately, Whitewater only hit on 19 of them but balanced that stat out with six 3-point buckets.
The win against Lakeside clinched the regional title for the Whippets. After spending nearly all season as the state’s No. 1 Division 3 school, Whitewater took down the Lakeside squad and now, Brodhead.
Adding to the fanfare of the regional title win, Sarah Schumacher scored her 1,000th career point, finishing the game with 1,002. She is the third Whippet on record to reach that total along with Brooke Trewyn and Kristi Pease.
Due to it being postseason and the caliber of opponent they were playing, Schumacker’s milestone was lost in the shuffle temporarily. But coach Judy Harms had kind things to say about one of her star players.
“Sarah, especially, is not about individual stats, so it’s totally ironic but fitting that this would be a time an individual milestone was overshadowed by the biggest win of the year thus far,” Harms said.
Whitewater (25-0) faced Brodhead Thursday in the sectional semi-final round in Fort Atkinson and extended their undefeated streak with a 60-43 win.
On Saturday, the Whippets head to Middleton to take on Dodgeville. Tip off is set for 1 p.m.
Full coverage of the sectional games will appear in next week’s March 12 issue of the Whitewater Register.
Heather Ruenz contributed to this story.
