Whippets’ last game vs. Edgerton started winning streak
By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
The Whippets girls basketball team’s recent winning streak started with a 56-41 win at Edgerton two months ago. The two teams faced off in a rematch last week.
After moving to 3-1 on the season after that game, the Whippets hadn’t lost a game going into the rematch on Feb. 2. The team was 15-1 going into the game against Edgerton, and in those 12 games in between, the team had beaten each of its opponents by at least 20 points.
The first time around, the Whippets only beat Edgerton by 15, and again, Edgerton stayed within striking distance, but couldn’t come away victorious.
The No. 1-ranked Whippets held just a 25-19 lead, but the defense held strong throughout, pushing the team to a 46-32 win.
“Whitewater girls basketball stepped it up when the going became tough, holding Edgerton to 13 points in the second half,” head coach Judy Harms said. “We were quite sloppy in the first half, turning the ball over too many times, allowing Edgerton to crawl back in the game. Although we certainly didn’t play the caliber of play we are capable of, we did do an excellent job coming together to finish it out.”
Leading the way in the scoring department was senior guard Rebekah Schumacher, totaling 21 while going 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Senior forward Myriama Smith-Traore scored just 10, but grabbed 17 rebounds and recorded at least eight blocked shots – according to Harms – in the 14-point victory.
Whitewater’s 46 points scored were its second-fewest scored as a team since scoring 44 in the second game of the season. No Edgerton player scored more than eight points in the game.
The win gave the Whippets a 16-1 record heading into its next two games, which took place on Feb. 3 and Feb. 7, both against Evansville.
The Feb. 3 game was a make-up game from earlier in the season and in Whitewater’s fourth consecutive home game, the team kept Evansville to just 23 points scored – the second fewest the team has allowed all season (Delavan-Darien scored 21).
Evansville needed to mirror this past weekend’s Super Bowl performance by the New England Patriots in order to top the Whippets in this one, as at halftime, Harms’ team led, 37-8. The final score would eventually be 66-23.
“Whitney Treder was a huge spark off the bench with nine points,” Harms said. “Overall, the Whippets ran the floor well and dominated the boards. Smith-Traore ended with [19 points] 14 boards and six assists, while Schumacher and [Allison] Heckert each had five assists.”
Four days later, in the rematch, the final score wasn’t much closer. Whitewater was on the road in this game, but still came away with a 77-39 victory.
Five different Whippets scored at least 10 points, led by Smith-Traore’s 22. For Evansville, just one player reached double digits. With the win, the team is now 18-1 overall and 14-0 in Rock Valley Conference play.
Thanks to the 38-point victory, Harms said the team clinched a piece of the conference title (since McFarland is 12-2), but three games remain on its regular season schedule. Two of the three games are against Rock Valley Conference opponents.
This Friday, Feb. 10, Whitewater faces Jefferson on the road and then on Feb. 14, the team plays a non-conference foe in Wilmot, also on the road. The Whippets’ final home game of the regular season is set for a 7:15 p.m. start time on Feb. 16 against East Troy.
