Lady ’Cats hand Fayetteville first loss of season

MOWRYSTOWN — Dating back to last season, the Fayetteville Lady Rockets had won nine consecutive Southern Hills Athletic Conference games, including starting the season with eight consecutive conference wins and a 13-0 overall record. 

That all changed Monday night in Mowrystown. The defense of the host Whiteoak Lady Wildcats played strong all four quarters, plus the offense wasn’t too bad either, as clutch shots in the late stages of the fourth quarter, and big stops on defense led the Lady ’Cats to a 43-39 victory, moving into a tie for first place in the SHAC Division II standings. 

“They battled,” Whiteoak head coach Cole Schaefer said of the Lady Wildcats. “I mean, they are battle tested. We've played several top-tier teams. We were ready for the Fayetteville game coming in. We knew the girls really, really like to play to our style. We talked about slowing the ball down and doing what Wildcats do to be successful, and that was it tonight. 

“We had some huge games, huge games, some huge shots. It could have been very easy for us to waver one way or the other, but we came out on top, battling at every turn.” 

Whiteoak’s win improves them to an 10-3 overall record, and just as important, they are now 8-1 in the SHAC. Fayetteville now stands at 13-1 overall and 8-1 in the SHAC. The two teams are scheduled to meet again on Thursday, Jan. 30 in Fayetteville for their second and final meeting of the regular season. 

“I graduated from Fayetteville, so it's always a good time,” Schaefer said. “Coach [Tory] Rummel has a wonderful squad out there. They're not undefeated — or they weren't undefeated — for a reason, so they came out and played some ball today. It just so happened to be a cold Monday in Mowrystown. 

“We play again in a week and a half, so that'll be a highly, highly anticipated game there.”

The first three quarters was full of highly competitive, physical basketball between the Lady ‘Cats and Lady Rockets, and that continued into the final quarter, where Whiteoak entered the fourth frame trailing 29-28. 

Though WHS trailed by a point to start the fourth, they were first to add points in the final quarter, taking a one-point lead when Kylee Hamm scored two points with 7:08 on the clock for a 30-29 lead. Fayetteville came back at the 5:46 mark of the frame and regained the lead with a basket by Cara Rummel. 

Fayetteville lost the lead following a basket by Whiteoak’s Charli Hauke, who took the ball the length of the court for another one-point lead for the Lady ’Cats with 5:20 left in regulation. 

After more strong play by both teams, including Whiteoak’s Torie Potts taking a charge in the paint, it was Hamm who drove to the hoop at the 3:39 mark, and the two points she scored increased the WHS lead to three points at 34-31. Fayetteville continued to battle back as Scarlett Crawford sank a basket, but that was answered with a layup by Jillian Lucas for Whiteoak, giving them a three-point lead at 36-33 as the fast-break layup by the freshman came with 2:57 on the clock. 

Fayetteville tied the score with a 3-pointer from Crawford, leaving 2:21 on the clock, and the Lady Rockets regained the lead with a free throw from Crawford at the 1:37 mark. Following Whiteoak having a turnover and eventually regaining possession, plus following a timeout, maybe the biggest shot of the game came with .59 seconds left in regulation. Sophomore Addy Hauke drained a 3-pointer with defensive pressure in front of her, putting the hosts ahead 39-37 and bringing out strong emotion from Hauke as she raced back down the court. 

Fayetteville tied the game at 39-39 with a quick basket from Ryley Kleemeyer, but seconds later it was another big-time shot from an underclassman who pushed Whiteoak in front, this time with Lucas sinking the basket with 39.6 left in the game, pushing WHS ahead 41-39. 

Following a turnover by Fayetteville where they threw the ball out of bounds with around 20 seconds on the clock, WHS eventually ended up at the free-throw line with a two-point lead with 2.9 seconds left in regulation. This time it was a senior who sealed the win for good, as Hamm made both free-throw attempts, making it a two-possession game and a four-point lead that lifted Whiteoak to the win. 

“I am incredibly proud of these girls,” Schaefer said. “Each and every single one of them, doesn't matter what role they play on the bench, they are superstars. We had a big three in the corner, some clutch free throws from Kylee Hamm. She went 0-for-4 her last game, was really kicking herself down there, and came up with two really big ones today. And the defensive effort from our girls is top tier. That's one thing that we hammer home a lot.

“We learned the vocabulary word ‘camaraderie’ the other day, and that's what we were talking about. Together as a team, mutual trust between each other. You saw that when it was coming down to the wire. They got together, they got cooled down, that senior leadership that they had there.”

Hamm led Whiteoak with 13 points, finishing the game with three two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and she was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. 

Charli Hauke followed with 12 points, making three two-point baskets and two 3-pointers.

Addy Hauke also finished in double digits with 10 points, as she totaled one two-point bucket, two 3-pointers, and she was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. 

Also for WHS, Lucas totaled six points, and Potts scored two points in the win. Team totals for WHS included 11 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers, and they were 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. 

Going back to the start of the game, Whiteoak opened with a 5-0 lead, as Hamm scored the first five points of the game with a 3-pointer and two-point basket. WHS increased their lead to 7-1 with a basket by Charli Hauke, and later that lead went to 9-1 following two free throws made by Hamm. 

The first frame ended with the Lady ’Cats holding on to a 9-3 advantage, and in the second quarter each team scored 12 points for a 21-15 Whiteoak lead at halftime. 

The second frame for Whiteoak saw them lead by as many as 12 points, as they went on a 7-0 run from the 7:15 mark to the 5:58 mark of the frame, as the Lady ’Cats held a 16-4 lead. 

Fayetteville answered by outscoring Whiteoak 9-2 — as WHS had two points scored by Potts — from the 4:49 mark of the second to the 2:43 mark, leaving WHS ahead 18-15. 

WHS scored the final points of the second with a 3-pointer by Charli Hauke — who finished the second with eight points — for the 21-15 lead at halftime. 

Fayetteville played improved basketball in the third, outscoring Whiteoak 14-7 and taking a 29-28 lead after three frames. 

Fayetteville in the third took the lead with23 seconds left in the frame following a 3-pointer by Aubrey Barber. 

The third frame for Fayetteville included Barber with five points, Rummel with five points, while Ava Baker and Christine Murphy each scored two points. 

WHS in the third had five points from Addy Hauke (including a 3-pointer) and two points by Lucas. 

Whiteoak’s aforementioned fourth quarter saw them outscore Fayetteville 15-10. 

The win by WHS also included strong defensive play by Addison Roberts and Elly McMullen. 

Fayetteville was led in the scoring column by Barber with 11 points, finishing the game with three 3-pointer and a two-point field goal. 

The Lady Rockets also had nine points apiece from Rummel and Crawford. FHS also saw the following final scoring totals: Murphy (five), Kleemeyer (three) and Baker (two). Team totals for Fayetteville included nine two-point baskets, four 3-pointers and they were 9-of-16 from the free-throw line. 

Next for Whiteoak is a home SHAC game Thursday, Jan. 23 against a Highland County rival, the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs (3-6, 6-10), at 6 p.m. 

BOX SCORE
FHS        03 12 14 10 — 39
WHS        09 12 07 15 — 43

WHITEOAK (43) — K.Hamm 3 (1) 4-6 13, C.Hauke 3 (2) 0-0 12, J.Lucas 3 (0) 0-0 6, A.Hauke 1 (2) 2-2 10, T.Potts 1 (0) 0-0 2. TOTALS: 11 (5) 6-8 43. 

FAYETTEVILLE (39) — A.Barber 1 (3) 0-0 11, C.Rummel 4 (0) 1-2 9, A.Baker 1 (0) 0-0 2, R.Kleemeyer 1 (0) 1-2 3, S.Crawford 2 (1) 2-4 9, C.Murphy 0 (0) 5-8 5. TOTALS: 9 (4) 9-16 39. 

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