THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

The third-seeded Whitney Wildcats (18-11, 7-3) stayed home for their first CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoff game against the 14th-seeded Grant Pacers (17-10, 7-5) Tuesday night and used a mix of crowd energy and team chemistry to easily win, 63-37. From a glance, the Wildcats looked to have a challenging matchup with Grant’s athleticism. However, what Whitney lacked in size, they made up for in discipline. Whitney controlled the game from the start defensively, and although the Lady ‘Cats weren’t able to offensively execute at some points, they were nearly always able to keep Grant from conjuring any sort of continuous offense of their own. Balanced passing produced Whitney’s offense, and causing unbalanced passing created their fast-break offense from defense. Wildcats’ coach Sydney Gatson said, “I thought we did especially great on defense. Usually, we struggle with man defense, but I feel that we did really well tonight.” On the court, the Wildcat players gelled with one another in a way that resonated with their bench and coaches so that a positive current flowed through all of them, making the victory feel like a true team effort. Whitney’s senior Jada Lewis, a Portland State commit, led her team with 16 points and proved that she has substantial potential to be a great player. Palpable contributions came from everyone, and there was a great mood about the group following the game, especially coach Gatson. All smiles after the game, she was “thrilled at the play of our point guards, and of the team overall… We came in thinking it could be really difficult to handle their athleticism, but it’s great to see that we did so well.” Following this victory, the Wildcats will stay put and host Modesto Christian (15-14, 9-3) on Valentine’s Day, this Thursday. Modesto comes in after pulling off a road upset at Atwater High (22-7, 11-1) and will look to cause similar turmoil against Whitney.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

WILDCATS WIN FIRST PLAYOFF GAME VS. GRANT, 63-37

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Placer Herald | 2/13/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Placer Herald