Whitko Moves On, But At A Steep Price
SYRACUSE – Watching the Whitko girls basketball team file out of their lockerroom Wednesday evening, you would have thought the team lost by 17 and not won by that margin. Adorned with red faces, several looking at the floor in a scurry, many a Whitko letter jacket were headed to the Wawasee athletic training room where teammate Brianna Cumberland was laid up.
That’s where the focus went after a freak injury occurred to Cumberland in the final 11 seconds of a 56-39 Whitko win against West Noble at the Wawasee Girls Basketball Sectional.
The injury occurred as Cumberland tried to slice between West Noble defenders as the Wildcats were milking the clock. As Cumberland shifted, her knee gave out and was left in a screaming heap on the court as the once-jubilant Whitko crowd, as with the rest of the gym, went completely silent.
Why Cumberland and other starters were in the game with a double-digit lead was the primary question throughout the gym as the final minute wore off the clock. Whitko head coach Brandon Bradley was steadfast with his answer.
“When I first thought about it with 40 seconds to go, there wasn’t any stoppages,” stated Bradley. “We just took care of the ball, Aly (Reiff) shredded another 20 seconds off the clock. There wasn’t a great opportunity.
“Their second five players are juniors and seniors that have played multiple years of varsity basketball. Our second five players are freshmen, sophomores and a couple juniors that haven’t played much varsity basketball. A couple weeks ago at Adams Central, they gave up an 8-0 run that trimmed the lead and we had to put our starters back in. So, this is the sectional. This is win or go home. I feel bad for her, I absolutely feel bad for her, but I’m not second-guessing my decision at all.”
Cumberland will be evaluated Thursday, but the star guard for the Wildcats will be a game-time decision for Friday’s sectional semi-final against Wawasee. The 11 points Cumberland scored as well as several defensive gems could be a gigantic void if the sophomore is unable to continue.
“It’s hard to tell until an official doctor sees her, but she had full movement in the training room,” Bradley said of Cumberland. “She was talking about throbbing and not sharp pains. I’m not in the position to diagnose it, but she even said herself I felt pain but I was just scared with what happened.”
The game itself took over a quarter to get going, with only a 4-3 West Noble lead that finally turned into a game in the second, with West Noble grabbing a 22-20 advantage at the half.
Whitko, however, came out of the break on fire, led by Reiff. The crafty guard had her way with West Noble in the third quarter, scoring 11 of her game-high 27 points and seemed like she wasn’t going to miss in that stretch. Whitko exploded for 23 points in the third, aided by eight from Cumberland.
Reiff also put on a tremendous ball-handling display in the fourth quarter as West Noble became desperate and chased at the half court. Weaving circles and breaking double teams with ease, Reiff took over the game in a masterful performance.
Helping Whitko’s cause in the ballgame was a 20-22 showing at the free throw line. West Noble was just 6-12 from the stripe.
After the big second quarter, West Noble could not reclaim its momentum as Whitko pulled away. The Chargers only scored six points in the third quarter on two threes by Rebecca Schermerhorn, who led her club with 13 total points. Kaylie Warble added 10 points, but foul trouble hindered her progress as the game evolved.
Whitko (15-8) will move on to face Wawasee Friday night, which needed overtime to beat Lakeland 40-36 in Wednesday’s second game. Game one of the semis will feature Tippecanoe Valley and NorthWood.
West Noble closes at 14-9.