By David Paulsen
Correspondent
The Whitewater High School girls basketball team began a stretch of three out of four games against state-ranked squads Tuesday when they hosted Rock Valley Conference foe East Troy.
The Whippets, who are themselves ranked No. 7 in the state in Division 2, lost 61-52 to Division 3 No. 2-ranked East Troy.
East Troy slowly pulled away in this game, leading 16-13 after one quarter, 33-27 at the half, and 44-35 after three periods.
Brooke Trewyn led the Whippet girls with 23 points, but she was the only Whitewater player in double figures.
Breanna Gaspervich also had 23 points for East Troy, with Rachel Atchison and Andrea Olsen adding 12 each.
Whitewater made 12 of 16 free throws, while the Trojans sank 13 of 18. Trewyn was 10 of 11 at the foul line.
The loss was the first of the year for Whitewater, which fell to 10-1 overall, and 6-1 in the RVC North.
East Troy improved to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the RVC North.
Vs. Evansville
After a close first quarter that saw the Whippets with just a 16-12 lead, Whitewater pulled away in the second and third quarters on their way to a relatively easy 60-34 win over Evansville Jan. 3 at Evansville.
“Although it would have been nice to not be in foul trouble early, it was great to see the girls overcome the particular position we were in, maintaining good decision making the rest of the game,” head coach Judy Harms said.
A 21-11 margin in the second quarter gave the Whippet girls a 37-23 halftime lead, which ballooned to 54-27 after three quarters when Whitewater dominated the third quarter by a 17-4 bulge.
Brooke Trewyn had a double double in this game with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
“Brooke continues to lead the way with consistent all-around stats,” Harms said.
Dani Dolan added 11, giving Whitewater two players in double figures.
“Dani stepped up playing her best game of the season,” Harms said.
Gina Hollingshead and Kailey Reynolds added eight each.
“We were just shy of four players in double figures, which is a positive going into (the East Troy game),” Harms noted.
A total of eight Whippets scored in this game.
Sarah Schumacher added 10 rebounds, and Heather Hookstead had three assists.
Schedule
On Friday, Jan. 11, Whitewater will travel to Palmyra-Eagle for an RVC crossover game at 7:15 p.m. Palmyra-Eagle is 3-7 overall and 0-6 in the RVC South.
Next week, the Whippet girls will face two very tough tests.
The Whippets will travel to Wilmot to take on No. 5-ranked Wilmot (10-0 overall) on Monday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. in a non-conference matchup.
On Thursday, Jan. 17, Whitewater will host Brodhead in an RVC game at 7:15 p.m. Brodhead leads the RVC South with a 6-0 mark (9-0 overall), and is ranked No. 4 in Division 3.
BOX SCORE
Vs. East Troy
ET 16 17 11 17 – 61
WW 13 14 8 17 – 52
WW: Trewyn 23, Reynolds 9, Schumacher 8, Dolan 6, Mathews 6
Vs. Evansville
WW 16 21 17 6 – 60
EV 12 11 4 7 – 34
WW: Trewyn 19, Dolan 11, Hollingshead 8, Reynolds 8, Schumacher 6, Hookstead 4, Jaskolski 2, Mathews 2