For the Daily Journal
Whiteland girls basketball coach Ashley Fouch lamented that slow starts usually hurt her team.
Tuesday offered a textbook example during the championship game of the Edinburgh Holiday Classic.
Class A No. 5 Jac-Cen-Del roared out to an 11-1 lead and never looked back as the Eagles dominated play to beat the Warriors for the championship, 63-48.
The win extended Jac-Cen-Del’s streak to eight games and improved its record to 10-2. Whiteland saw its modest two-game winning streak end and dropped to 4-7 heading into the holiday break.
Although the Warriors never led in the game, they didn’t fold up either as they fought back twice from a 20-point deficit to keep the Eagles from taking it easy — a fact not lost on either coach.
“Maybe our shots didn’t fall, but we fought, and I can’t ask for anything more,” Fouch said. “That’s a good, solid team we played, and they were deserving of the win.”
Fouch was correct about the shots not falling for Whiteland.
Compared to Monday’s semifinal game against Edinburgh, when Whiteland shot an impressive 63% from the floor — including a torrid 59% from 3-point range — the Warriors were considerably cooler against the Eagles.
Whiteland was 16 for 38 (43%) from the field against Jac-Cen-Del, and although the Warriors did get four second-half 3-pointers, they were off the mark for most of the night.
Jac-Cen-Del shot 55% from the floor and a 13 for 16 from the free throw line.
The Eagles lost their big girl in the middle, 6-foot-2 senior Anna Hubbard, with an apparent leg injury in the second quarter. At the time, Hubbard had nine points and four rebounds.
Without Hubbard, the time seemed perfect for the Warriors to take advantage, but the Eagles had other ideas.
“I think (losing Hubbard) got the kids to rally,” Jac-Cen-Del coach Scott Smith said. “When we lost her, we had to make a few changes and the kids did a really great job.”
Some of those adjustments included some good bench play and no panic whatsoever.
Plus, 6-foot senior Paige Ledford continued to plague the Whiteland players with her inside play and defense. Ledford had a double-double with 20 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 night from the free throw line, and 10 rebounds.
Even when Whiteland found the basket, it couldn’t quite climb out of its early predicament and could never get closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Whiteland was led by junior Braylyn Clendenen, who scored a game-high 21 points for the second consecutive night. Junior teammate Muskaan Ghuman added 11.
“We have to stay strong with the ball, we have to stay poised and we have to dictate the game,” Fouch said. “They are learning and understanding my system.”
The Warriors will have some time to continue learning under first-year coach Fouch, as they don’t play again until their Dec. 29 Mid-State Conference opener against Plainfield.
In the afternoon consolation game for third place, Hauser avenged a previous loss to Edinburgh, beating the Lancers 46-42. Gracie Crawhorn led the Lancers (4-5) with 19 points, while Annelise Lollar added 12.
