Lady Whippets head to state for first time in school history
By Adam Knoll
Sports Correspondent
The Lady Whippets remain undefeated and with the most recent win, Saturday against Dodgeville in the sectional final, have earned a trip to the WIAA State Girls Basketball Tournament for the first time in school history.
Dodgeville gave Whitewater a run for its money, especially late in the game. In a vicious fourth quarter battle, both teams put it all on the line, with the Whippets having to fight off a near comeback from the final opponent standing between them and a trip to state.
As they’ve done all season, Whitewater refused to fold, scoring 19 points in the final period to Dodgeville’s 22. When the final buzzer rang, the Whippets had won a thriller, 57-54.
Whitewater began the game much as they’ve done all season, with a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 9-point margin going into halftime, thanks to the Whippets defense limiting Dodgeville to seven points in the second with Whitewater up 28-19.
However, teams generally don’t reach the sectional final without knowing how to respond. Dodgeville did just that by holding the Whippet offense to 10 points in the third period while adding 13 themselves to make it a 6-point game with Whitewater up 38-32.
In the fourth, Dodgeville refused to concede, outscoring the Whippets 22-19 but Whitewater decided it wasn’t ready to close out this season just yet and earned a hard-fought, 57-54 victory.
Myriama Smith-Traore scored a game-high 22 points for the second game in a row, including four free throws near the end to keep the Whippets in it.
Sarah and Rebekah Schumacher scored 17 and 16 points, respectively while the other Whitewater scorer, Kailey Reynolds added 2.
Sweet revenge
Obviously, taking down Dodgeville was a must for Whitewater but the game prior, on some level at least, might have held even more meaning when the Whippets faced the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year.
None other than Brodhead stood in Whitewater’s path last Thursday but this year was different because the Whippets did not take any chances and played strong on offense and defense, outscoring the Cardinals in each quarter en route to a 60-43 victory.
After a sterling first period, the Whippets took a 14-7 lead into the second when both teams upped defensive pressure. The 7-point lead for Whitewater held until halftime, following which a regrouped Whippets offense hit the floor and put up 19 to extend Whitewater’s lead to 12.
Six Whippets scored in the sectional semi-final, 60-43 win over Brodhead, led by Smith-Traore with 22 points. Reynolds and Rebekah Schumacher had 10 apiece; Sarah Schumacher, 9; Melanie Martinez, 5; and Keely Fiedler and Whitney Treder, 2 each.
Up next
Tomorrow morning, March 13 at 9:05 a.m., No. 1 ranked Whitewater (26-0) will face No. 10 ranked Kettle Moraine Lutheran (20-6) at the Resch Center in Green Bay. The winner will face Hayward (24-2) or Appleton Xavier (23-4) at 2:30 p.m., Saturday.
Editor Heather Ruenz contributed to this story.
