The Whiteland girls basketball team was not pleased with how the beginning of its season had gone.
On Wednesday, the fashion in which the Warriors opened conference was much more in line with their expectations.
Whiteland scored 25 consecutive points during the first half, eliminating any drama whatsoever from a 63-29 drubbing of Decatur Central in the Mid-State Conference opener for both teams.
"Our record doesn’t show how good we should be," senior guard Sidney Crowe said, "so we were just hungry for victory and wanted to show people that we can take care of business."
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryAlready ahead 8-4 when the decisive run began, the Warriors (2-3, 1-0) stretched their advantage to 25-4 by the end of the opening period. Mackenzie Blazek sandwiched a three-point play in between 3-pointers by Jessyca Napier and Crowe late in the quarter.
Two more 3-pointers by Natalie Stuck and Crowe, followed by a Crowe breakaway layup, made it 33-4 with 6:06 left on the first-half clock. Whiteland led by as many as 34 in the second quarter.
"I’m proud of our girls tonight," Warriors coach Kyle Shipp said. "We kind of took care of business and took care of business pretty early in the game."
A three-point play by Libby Baker gave the Warriors a 55-17 cushion late in the third quarter, and Whiteland coach Kyle Shipp substituted liberally the rest of the way.
Crowe paced a balanced Whiteland offense with 12 points, while Mackenzie Blazek added 10. Blazek’s presence inside helped open things up on the perimeter, where the Warriors knocked down eight 3-point shots.
"We shot the ball really well tonight, and Mackenzie did a great job finding people," Shipp said. "If we shoot the ball like that, then some people are going to start having to guard us in a different way."
Napier and Ashley West each contributed nine points for Whiteland, which hosts another conference foe, No. 11 Plainfield on Saturday.
Shipp has been pleased with the way his girls have battled back after a disappointing 0-3 start.
"We just had the mentality of just coming back and going to work every time and trying to get better," he said. "We know it’s a long season, and opportunity arises every single day to get better. That’s kind of the approach that we take."
