By Adam Knoll
Sports correspondent
Whitewater leading scorer Brooke Trewyn returned to action and scored seven points in a conference crossover game last Friday night. Using their defense to lead the way, the Lady Whippets are now on a seven game winning streak after defeating Clinton 44-28.
It might just be that Trewyn’s ankle injury really may have been a blessing in disguise. Before the injury, Whitewater’s defense was mediocre, prone to giving up large point totals to the opposing team’s leading scorer. Since the team was no longer assured of simply running away from teams, the overall team defense has been nothing less than stifling, giving up no more than 36 points in any one game over the past six contests (30.6 average).
In no place is this more important than when the offense is running cold, as it was against Clinton. “We missed a ton of bunnies as well as outside shots.” said Head Coach Judy Harms after the game. Luckily, it didn’t matter as the Whippets still dominated Clinton, winning 44-28.
“Our defense was very impressive.” Harms explained, “The girls did an excellent job sliding their feet, and our intensity level set the tone for creating a ton of Clinton turnovers.”
Whitewater started off the game on an 18-5 run, and led 29-14 at half. Do to their attention to defense, Whitewater could not have scored another point and still won the game. Coach Harms believes the team is turning a corner.
“We are doing an excellent job playing together, and we are looking to continue building on that team momentum,” Harms said.
Leading the charge was freshman Myriama Smith-Traore who had 16 points coupled with 15 rebounds and 7 blocks. This near triple-double was needed as only seven players scored on the night. Sarah and Rebekah Schumacher combined for another 14 points.
All told, this is only the third time in 10 games that the Whippets have scored under 50 points, this is truly a high powered offense. If the team can stay consistent on the defensive end, the unit truly does have a good chance at reaching state.
Whippets control Westosha
On Monday night, Whitewater got back to being dominant on both sides of the floor. The squad ran up a 17 point halftime lead, mostly due to a 23-4 second period which put the game away before Westosha could begin to think they were in the game. For good measure, Whitewater allowed an entire two (2) points in the third quarter.
Brooke Trewyn led the Whippets with 15 points, Kailey Reynolds and Myriama Smith-Traore scored 14 apiece, and Sarah Schumacher added 12. Westosha-Central did not have one scorer in double figures.
Overall, Whitewater is on an eight game winning streak and now stands at 9-2 on the season. In the last six games, the highest point total against has been a tepid 36.
The Whippets are set to take on conference foe Evansville tonight.
