THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

Cosumnes Oaks made a furious charge to overtake the Whitney girls basketball team’s early lead Tuesday, but the Wolf Pack could not sustain the momentum and fell 69-62. The Wildcats literally outfought the Pack under the boards, in the backcourt and with stamina. Whitney did an excellent job of boxing out the taller players of Cosumnes Oaks’ on both ends of the court. The ‘Cats started the game loading up quickly and trying to score from 3-point range, but with little success. Head coach Sydney Gatson said it was only a situation of taking the shots the Wolf Pack gave them. “I think we are just trying to get whatever shot we had open,” Gatson said. “The thing is, I think, a lot of our shooters have a lot of confidence shooting because we have such good rebounders. So they know if the ball is going up we have three to the boards who are going to go in and try to clean it up if they do miss.” Not only was Whitney cleaning up underneath, they were scoring on second and third efforts as well. Jada Lewis scored 16 of her 18 points from inside the arc; two came from the free-throw line. Emily Brustman, who is capable of playing virtually any position on the floor, was the only Wildcat to knock down a 3 on her way to 16 points. Senior point guard Kailee McCarrick played part of the game on the baseline to counter Cosumnes Oaks’ defensive changes. “Goodness knows we have a lot of people who can play a lot of positions,” said Gatson. (Cosumnes Oaks was) playing a box and one most of the game and then went to a triangle and two. And so they were trying to pull (McCarrick) and Jada off the ball in a triangle and two and we were trying to set the screen for them to get open.” McCarrick got open enough for 10 points and Akira Cherry added nine. With the Wolf Pack out of the way, at least until Whitney visits them Jan. 30, the Wildcats will continue heading into the teeth of the Capital Valley Conference, playing Roseville, Oakmont and Antelope in that order. “This (win) is hugely important,” Gatson said. “We know that getting that conference title is going to go through Cosumnes Oaks, Roseville and Antelope, so this is just taking care of the first order of business. “This one felt good, though,” the coach added. Whitney 76, Del Campo 50 After an 8-5 preseason, Whitney ripped into the conference campaign defeating Del Campo in Cougar Canyon Friday. McCarrick scored 21, Lewis 20 and Makenzie Macfarlane added 14 to the mix to help bury the Mountain Cats by 26 points. If there was a question concerning the Wildcats’ 3-point shooting, they hit 10 Friday to help lay concerns to rest. The Wildcats controlled the boards with 40 rebounds; McCarrick grabbed 10, Lewis eight and Macfarlane five. McCarrick also had seven assists and the team turned the ball over just 11 times.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

WHITNEY GOES 2-0 IN CONFERENCE PLAY

JIM LINSDAU

Placer Herald | 1/10/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Linsdau