The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Whitefield Academy earns signature win over CAL
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Whitefield Academy earned a signature win over a top-25 foe after outlasting No. 18 Christian Academy, 70-55, on Thursday night in girls basketball.
It was the Wildcats’ second consecutive double-digit win over CAL. Whitefield Academy now has won its first six games this season — all by comfortable margins — including a confidenceboosting victory against Bullitt East on Dec. 5. The victory against the Chargers was a first for the Wildcats program, which coach Glenn Wathen has led for five seasons.
“It’s been a process,” Wathen said. “This isn’t something where we’ve been around forever. We haven’t; everyone knows that. Last year, the year before that, we started setting milestones. This year we’re still climbing that ladder, and in a week we beat Bullitt East and CAL. To us, it’s just a process. We’re taking it one day at a time, one game at a time, and that’s it.”
The Wildcats used sharp shooting from senior guards Sara Ritter (15 points) and Allison Spieker (23 points) and stifling defense to handle the Centurions.
After a fast-paced opening quarter, the Wildcats grabbed control late in the first half with an 8-0 run, powered by back-to-back 3-pointers from Ritter and junior forward Noel Smith (15 points). From there, Whitefield never looked back, grabbing a 13-point lead late in the third quarter after Spieker converted a four-point play.
“Hats off to them, they outplayed us tonight,” Centurions coach Byron Wilkins
Jr. said. “(Spieker) has been a shooter ever since I’ve known her. You leave her open, she’s gonna knock them down. Kudos, she works hard off the ball, gets to her spots, her teammates set good screens, and she knocks down shots. That’s what she does.”
Spieker scored 17 points in the second half to help the Wildcats seal their upset. Besides Spieker’s scoring, Wathen said the Bethel University commit’s seven rebounds played a big role in the win.
In the fourth quarter, Wathen told Smith to utilize her craftiness and speed after he overheard Wilkins tell the Centurions not to double-team her. Smith scored 10 points in the final period — including six of the Wildcats’ final eight points — by slicing to the rim or knocking down free throws.
“These teams, we used to not be able to dream of beating them,” Smith said. “We’re just a small school; we were just barely competing. Now we’re really getting our name out there, and we’re letting people know we’re something to be reckoned with. It puts respect on our name. People come in, they can’t roll us like they used to.”
Whitefield Academy is off until Wednesday, when it is scheduled to begin play in the Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. CAL will look to rebound at home against Oldham County on Monday before participating in the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic Dec. 21-23 in Lexington.