By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
According to the latest wissports.net coaches poll, the Whitewater High School girls basketball team entered this past week as the No. 3 team in the state within Division 3. The team had two games scheduled, but the first of which – on Dec. 16 against Evansville – got postponed for a later date.
This left the Whippets with just a Dec. 20 matchup against Jefferson at home. The No. 3 team in the state proved it is worthy of a high ranking by winning convincingly, 71-47. The win marks the team’s sixth-straight victory after losing its season opener by six points.
“We did a great job taking care of the ball tonight, rebounding, and playing as a team,” Whippets head coach Judy Harms said. “Myriama [Smith-Traore] played extremely consistent, leading the team with 21 points and 14 rebounds. I was most impressed with our ability to connect from assists.
“Abby Grosinske [had] 5, and Rebekah Schumacher with 4, led the charge on tallying a team total of 21 assists. Our spacing in transition was much better tonight, and I look for the team to continue building on improvements as the season continues.”
Harms also mentioned that the team got out to a great start and never looked back. Whitewater controlled from the opening tip and took a 38-20 lead into halftime.
It was a balanced scoring attack for the Whippets as well, as six different players scored at least eight points in the game. Whitewater also attempted and made more free throws than Jefferson as well.
The next game for Harms’ team was Dec. 22 against Delavan-Darien at home – coverage will be included in the Dec. 29 issue of the Whitewater Register. The Whippets will have two more contests at Whitewater High School on Jan. 3 and Jan. 5 to complete a four-game home stretch.
The team, following the win over Jefferson, was 6-1 overall with one-third of its regular season complete. The lone two teams ranked ahead of Whitewater as of then were Wrightstown, at 7-0 overall, and Madison Edgewood, at 6-2, who defeated the Whippets in last year’s WIAA Tournament.
