For the Daily Journal
Earlier this season, Whiteland’s girls basketball team struggled to close out games. The Warriors made sure that wasn’t an issue in Tuesday’s rematch with Indian Creek.
Whiteland, which has lost by single digits in four of its five setbacks this season, broke Tuesday’s game open with a 9-0 fourth-quarter run and used pressure defense and Mackenzie Blazek’s post play to cruise to a 66-49 home win against the Braves.
The Warriors also defeated Indian Creek 57-47 on Nov. 19 in a county tournament consolation game. Tuesday night, Whiteland extended the winning margin thanks to its defense and Blazek, along with contributions from several other players.
“We had a lot of people hit shots tonight,” said Blazek, who finished with a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. “I tried to read the defense and know when to kick it out and when to take shots. It’s hard for the other team to get the ball past Taylor (Mirowski) when she’s at the top of the press.”
Whiteland (5-5) took command of the game late in the first quarter, using a 9-0 run to break an 11-11 tie and build a 20-11 edge with 45 seconds remaining in the period. Warrior defenders collapsed on Indian Creek ballhandlers down low whenever the Braves tried to drive to the basket during that time.
During their 9-0 fourth-quarter spurt, which expanded a seven-point lead to 56-40 with 4:46 to play, the Warriors employed a 2-1-2 trap. That helped force six of the Braves’ turnovers during that period.
In all, Indian Creek (4-8) committed 20 turnovers, while Whiteland lost the ball just seven times.
“The turnovers were the story to me,” Braves coach Dan Burkman said. “I feel like we played pretty hard, but when the press came on, we freaked out and didn’t take care of the basketball.”
The Braves, who start three sophomores and a freshman, were balanced offensively. Sophomore Katie Burkman led IC with 11 points and tied freshman Hannah Grider for team-high honors with nine rebounds. Addie Rund (junior) and Stevye Gonzales (sophomore) each added 10 points, while Caitlyn Snyder (sophomore) added eight.
While Blazek dominated Whiteland’s stat sheet, the Warriors had other contributors. Sidney Crowe added 10 points, shooting 8 of 10 from the free-throw line, while Megan Harlow and Jessyca Napier each scored nine. The Warriors’ bench contributed as well, with Natalie Stuck scoring seven points and Mirowski contributing six points and five rebounds.
“Mackenzie got us going and enabled us to spread the floor, so we were able to get production from a lot of players,” Whiteland coach Kyle Shipp said.
