By Adam
Rouse
Staff Writer
WHITELAND
â??? With a Class 3A sectional showdown looming next week with No. 5 Indianapolis
Chatard, the eighth-ranked Warriors looked like a team ready for postseason
play as Whiteland got 28 points from senior Jessica Huffman to defeat 4A No. 12
Columbus North, 64-45, in convincing fashion on the last day of January.
Huffman
scored 14 points in each half and shot well (10 of 18) from the field to pace a
strong offensive effort.
The
Warriors, who improve to 16-3 on the year, have put together a five-game
winning streak heading into their final regular-season contest Feb. 2 at 2A No.
17 Triton Central. Whiteland is 16-0 against 3A opponents, losing only to 4A rival
Center Grove (15-3) and Mooresville (16-3).
Since
starting the season 11-1, Columbus North has lost four of its last six games to
fall to 14-5. To be fair, the Bull Dogs have been the visitor for four of those
six contests.
After Whiteland
jumped out to a 12-5 first-quarter lead, Columbus North was able to battle back
to make it a 14-12 game at the end of one. Huffman scored 17 seconds into the quarter
to give the Warriors a 16-12 advantage before the Bull Dogs went on a 9-0 run
to take a 21-16 lead. Junior Brittany Brown scored the final four points of the
run on back-to-back field goals.
Just as
the Bull Dogs were getting comfortable offensively, however, sophomore Sarah
Condra caught fire for Whiteland. The 5â??9â? guard outscored Columbus North 10-2
over a two-minute span to turn a 23-19 deficit into a 29-25 lead with 1:49 to
go in the half. Condra began and ended the spurt with 3-pointers.
With a
pair of free throws from Huffman, the Warriors were able to pad their lead
going into the half with a 33-26 advantage.
The third
quarter didnâ??t go according to plan for North after getting within four at
34-30 with 5:15 to go. Whiteland put together another big run (11-0) to
virtually put away the game before the final period started.
Huffman
began the spurt with five points on a three and a layup to give the Warriors a
39-30 lead. The back-breaker might just have been a four-point play by junior
Rusti White.
White
nailed a trifecta from the left arc and was fouled on her way down. The 5â??4â?
guard completed the four-point play with a free throw to increase the margin to
43-30.
Huffman
ended the 11-0 run with a basket to make it 45-30 before North was able to stop
the run with a minute to go in the third. But the Bull Dogs would get no closer
than 12 in the final period as Huffman chipped in another seven points to help
increase the Whiteland lead to 21 points at its highest mark.
Whiteland
coach Bill Hogue let up the reins in the final minutes to give his seniors a
chance to play or receive a final ovation on Senior Night.
Huffman
and Condra led Whiteland with 28 and 16 points, respectively, while no other
Warrior scored more than six. Condra scored all of her 16 points in the first
half.
Bowen led
a struggling Columbus North squad with 14 points.
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