Strong first half not enough in Whiteoak Lady ‘Cats loss to West Union
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — The Whiteoak Lady Wildcats worked hard all game long, and in the first half they kept the score close against the visiting West Union Lady Dragons in Southern Hills Athletic Conference action. In the end, though, West Union pulled away in the second half, leading to a WHS loss by a 69-44 score for their first win of the season.
Whiteoak’s best quarter of the game was the first quarter as they scored the first six points of the game, Thursday at Whiteoak High School, as the trio of Brooklynne Campbell, Cylee Bratton and Emmy Hawkins all scored two points each to open the first quarter for a 6-0 Lady ’Cats lead with 6:10 left in the opening frame.
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"This was the best game we’ve played all year,” Whiteoak head coach Steve Smith said following the game. “We started out playing with some intensity, got a lead. We got a little worn down and gave up some layups on some turnovers when we didn’t get back, but this is the best game we’ve played offensively, the best game we’ve played defensively.
“We rebounded better than we have been, and overall I’m pleased. Yes, I want to win ball games, but if I can get them to keep playing that hard, we will win some ball games. We played well in the first quarter, but we made a few mistakes. Turnovers hurt us, but from last night to tonight, it was a heck of a difference. We know West Union isn’t what Eastern is, but still, we played with more intensity and more determination that we did against Eastern.”
Following a timeout by West Union, from the 5:50 mark until the 36-second mark of the first frame they went on a 12-0 run for a 12-6 advantage with eight of those points from Alexa Rowe, who made two 3-pointers in that span of scoring.
For the game, Rowe totaled a game-high 35 points for the Lady Dragons. Rowe totaled three 3-pointers (all in the first half), along with nine two-point baskets and she was 8-of-11 from the free-throw line.
As for the conclusion of the first quarter, Bratton sank a 3-pointer with 8.0 on the scoreboard to end the first-quarter scoring, putting WHS within three points of West Union at 12-9.
Bratton tied the score at 12-12 to start the second quarter as she made another 3-pointer with 7:19 remaining in the first half, but West Union again went on a run of nine consecutive points for a 20-12 lead with 4:31 left in the second frame. The string of scoring was broken up by Bratton with two free-throw conversions. WU came back with a 3-pointer by Rowe, her third trey of the game, for a 23-14 WUHS advantage.
The first half eventually ended with West Union adding six more points, including a 3-pointer by Audrey Weakley, while Whiteoak had points from Kara Ward (a 3-pointer) and four points by Bratton for a 29-21 lead for West Union at halftime.
Then came the second half, and the third frame is where West Union took over the game, setting the pace for the final two quarters played. In the third, West Union outscored the Lady ’Cats 24-7 to build a lead of 53-28.
In the fourth frame, WHS scored 16 points, while West Union also collected 16 points for the 25-point win at Whiteoak.
Bratton led the Lady ’Cats with 21 points, scoring 14 points in the first half, plus adding seven points in the fourth quarter. Bratton totaled three two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Ward also finished in double figures with 10 points for WHS, making two 3-pointers in the home SHAC game. Other final scoring for the Lady ’Cats included four points each by Brie Walker and Kayla Jones, plus three points by Campbell and two points off a basket by Hawkins.
The loss drops Whiteoak to 0-7 in the SHAC and 0-11 overall, while West Union is 1-3 in the SHAC and 1-8 overall.
“We are seeing improvement from the start of the year too now,” Smith said. “I have girls who have never played at all, and they are starting to contribute. Ann Ames is improved and helping more and plays hard. The most improvement I’ve seen is from Lizz Edwards. She’s a senior and is playing some quality minutes, rebounding more and doing a lot of good things.
“I still think we have a chance to win five or six games before the year is out. We have a couple teams coming up we have a chance to beat. We are off until Dec. 30th, so we came back to play Northwest, and hopefully we’ll have a couple days off for the holidays and still get some practice in, come back and try again.”
Whiteoak’s best quarter of the game was the first quarter as they scored the first six points of the game, Thursday at Whiteoak High School, as the trio of Brooklynne Campbell, Cylee Bratton and Emmy Hawkins all scored two points each to open the first quarter for a 6-0 Lady ’Cats lead with 6:10 left in the opening frame.
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"This was the best game we’ve played all year,” Whiteoak head coach Steve Smith said following the game. “We started out playing with some intensity, got a lead. We got a little worn down and gave up some layups on some turnovers when we didn’t get back, but this is the best game we’ve played offensively, the best game we’ve played defensively.
“We rebounded better than we have been, and overall I’m pleased. Yes, I want to win ball games, but if I can get them to keep playing that hard, we will win some ball games. We played well in the first quarter, but we made a few mistakes. Turnovers hurt us, but from last night to tonight, it was a heck of a difference. We know West Union isn’t what Eastern is, but still, we played with more intensity and more determination that we did against Eastern.”
Following a timeout by West Union, from the 5:50 mark until the 36-second mark of the first frame they went on a 12-0 run for a 12-6 advantage with eight of those points from Alexa Rowe, who made two 3-pointers in that span of scoring.
For the game, Rowe totaled a game-high 35 points for the Lady Dragons. Rowe totaled three 3-pointers (all in the first half), along with nine two-point baskets and she was 8-of-11 from the free-throw line.
As for the conclusion of the first quarter, Bratton sank a 3-pointer with 8.0 on the scoreboard to end the first-quarter scoring, putting WHS within three points of West Union at 12-9.
Bratton tied the score at 12-12 to start the second quarter as she made another 3-pointer with 7:19 remaining in the first half, but West Union again went on a run of nine consecutive points for a 20-12 lead with 4:31 left in the second frame. The string of scoring was broken up by Bratton with two free-throw conversions. WU came back with a 3-pointer by Rowe, her third trey of the game, for a 23-14 WUHS advantage.
The first half eventually ended with West Union adding six more points, including a 3-pointer by Audrey Weakley, while Whiteoak had points from Kara Ward (a 3-pointer) and four points by Bratton for a 29-21 lead for West Union at halftime.
Then came the second half, and the third frame is where West Union took over the game, setting the pace for the final two quarters played. In the third, West Union outscored the Lady ’Cats 24-7 to build a lead of 53-28.
In the fourth frame, WHS scored 16 points, while West Union also collected 16 points for the 25-point win at Whiteoak.
Bratton led the Lady ’Cats with 21 points, scoring 14 points in the first half, plus adding seven points in the fourth quarter. Bratton totaled three two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Ward also finished in double figures with 10 points for WHS, making two 3-pointers in the home SHAC game. Other final scoring for the Lady ’Cats included four points each by Brie Walker and Kayla Jones, plus three points by Campbell and two points off a basket by Hawkins.
The loss drops Whiteoak to 0-7 in the SHAC and 0-11 overall, while West Union is 1-3 in the SHAC and 1-8 overall.
“We are seeing improvement from the start of the year too now,” Smith said. “I have girls who have never played at all, and they are starting to contribute. Ann Ames is improved and helping more and plays hard. The most improvement I’ve seen is from Lizz Edwards. She’s a senior and is playing some quality minutes, rebounding more and doing a lot of good things.
“I still think we have a chance to win five or six games before the year is out. We have a couple teams coming up we have a chance to beat. We are off until Dec. 30th, so we came back to play Northwest, and hopefully we’ll have a couple days off for the holidays and still get some practice in, come back and try again.”