Lady Warriors Hold Off Lady Bombers For Fourth Win!
As was expected on Thursday night, Winamac and Rensselaer were ready for a physical ball game at Winamac High School. After getting a convincing win against West Central on Tuesday night, the Lady Warriors would find themselves in a close battle from start to finish on Thursday. Getting the fireworks going for Winamac early on would be 5’5 Junior Kaya Campbell, who would put in the first seven points of the game for the Lady Warriors, knocking down a couple of outside shots, including a three pointer, as well as steal which lead to a layup. Both teams would be playing a suffocating man-to-man defense at the beginning of the game, making points from the inside extremely difficult, but the two Sectional 34 opponents would not hesitate to score from the outside. At the end of the first quarter, Winamac would hold a slim five point lead over Rensselaer, 19-14. The bulk of the first half scoring would be handled by three individuals, as Kingsley Kroft and Kaya Campbell would account for twenty-three of the Lady Warriors’ thirty-four points, while Rensselaer Junior Jessie Ringen would pour in half of the Bombers’ first half points, dropping thirteen of their twenty-six.
As is always expected from Kole Kroft and Wes Radtke coached teams, defense was the name of the game from the start as the two teams would combine for eleven steals in the first two quarters with Winamac logging six while Rensselaer pulled away five of their own. The Lady Warriors would again narrowly outscore the Lady Bombers in the second quarter, putting up fifteen points while Rensselaer put in twelve to make the score 34-26 as the two teams retreated to their respective locker rooms at the half. From a statistical standpoint, the score sheet would well-represent what was happening on the floor as Winamac would narrowly hold an edge in rebounding, steals, and free throw shooting. The Lady Warriors would out-rebound the Lady Bombers elven to six, while pulling away six steals to Rensselaer’s five, and getting four more points at the free throw line, scoring eleven of twelve, compared to Rensselaer’s seven of nine.
The second half would continue to see a close contest, with Rensselaer cutting into the Winamac lead, outscoring Winamac thirteen to eight in the third quarter, making it a three point game, 42-39 as the teams prepared to begin the final quarter of play. Not surprisingly, in a game as close as this, free-throw shooting would be one of the main factors in the outcome, with Winamac outscoring Rensselaer by six points at the line, knocking down twenty-one of twenty-four, while Rensselaer was able to hit fifteen of nineteen. The Rensselaer defense would continue to make things difficult for Winamac as they would pull away six more steals in the second half, while Junior Morgan Van Meter would account for eleven of Rensselaer’s twenty second half points. It would be the balanced attack of the Lady Warriors that would ultimately be the difference in the game, with Winamac finding three players in double-digits scoring, led by Kaya Campbell with fifteen, followed by Kingsley Kroft with twelve, and Maggie Smith with eleven.
At game’s end the difference would be consistency for Winamac as they improved to 4-2 on the year. The starting five of the Lady Warriors would account for 100% of the scoring, as Aubrey Gearhart, Kingsley Kroft, Maggie Smith, Ella Gearhart, and Kaya Campbell would put up all fifty-two points for Winamac. The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI came with fifty-three seconds remaining in the game when Ella Gearhart drove to the basket and got fouled with Winamac leading 49-44. She was able to knock down both free throws to make the score 51-44, helping Winamac seal their fourth win of the season. The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game went to Winamac Junior Kingsley Kroft, who was second on the team in scoring with twelve points, all of which were scored in the first half. She was five for six at the free throw line, knocked down a three-pointer, pulled down seven rebounds, and logged two steals in the winning effort.
Statistics
Scoring
Winamac(52): Aubrey Gearhart-8; Kingsley Kroft-12; Maggie Smith-11; Ellah Gearhart-6; Kaya Campbell-15
Rensselaer(46): Jessie Ringen-13; Morgan Van Meter-14; Makenzie Moore-2; Kaylee Tiede-Souza-5; Avree Cain-2; Abby Ahler-8; Sara Kaufman-2
Made 3-Point Shots
Winamac(4): Kingsley Kroft-1; Maggie Smith-1; Kaya Campbell-2
Rensselaer(2): Jessie Ringen-2
Free Throws
Winamac: 21-24 87%
Rensselaer: 15-19 78%
Rebounding
Winamac(21): Aubrey Gearhart-4; Kingsley Kroft-7; Maggie Smith-7; Ella Gearhart-2; Kaya Campbell-1
Rensselaer(15): Jessie Ringen-2; Morgan Van Meter-4; Kaylee Tiede-Souza-3; Avree Cain-2; Abby Ahler-4
Steals
Rensselaer(11): Jessie Ringen-7; Morgan Van Meter-2; Avree Cain-2
Winamac(9): Aubrey Gearhart-1; Kingsley Kroft-2; Maggie Smith-2; Ella Gearhart-3; Kaya Campbell-1
*Statistical Information In This Article Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics.*