Published: February 07, 2008 12:53 am            

Kats look to get back on sectional track

Winning sectional championships has come almost commonplace in the Kokomo High School girls basketball program, but not necessarily taken for granted.

Over the past 23 seasons, the Lady Wildkats have captured 18 sectional titles along with a slew of regional, semistate and state championships.

A year ago, forced into having to play three sectional road games in four days, the Kats fell to Logansport in the championship.

Coach Jason Snyder is hoping to make amends starting Friday night in the Berry Bowl.

“We just didn’t have enough to pull it out,” Snyder said. “That meant a lot to those players last year and our seniors this year have spent a lot of time making sure this team keeps its focus.”

Kokomo takes on McCutcheon in Friday’s nightcap after Lafayette Jeff and Logansport battle in the 6 o’clock opener. The championship is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Kats have beaten all three sectional opponents — Logansport (41-39 in OT), Jeff (75-59) and McCutcheon (55-45) — and have won nine of their last 10 games, but Snyder knows the regular season means nothing now.

He is pleased with what he’s seen from his team over the past three months.

“We’re excited because every day we feel we’ve improved in certain parts of our game,” Snyder said. “We’ve not played that perfect game yet, but the effort has been outstanding. We’ve played very well together and we’re playing intelligent basketball.”

Kokomo survived a treacherous mid-season streak before finishing strong.

Over a one-week period, the Kats lost three straight — two in overtime — to Huntington North, Carmel and Marion.

“We played fairly well against very good teams and we had leads in the fourth quarter of all those games,” Snyder noted. “After that, we spent more time focusing on end of game situations and we responded well. We beat Peru then went to Christmas break and that was a time when the girls didn’t just go through the motions in practice, but rather really worked hard to become a better team.”

The Kats were nearly unstoppable in January. Over their final 10 games, they lost only to Warren of Gurnee, Ill. (51-49) — a team which offered Stanford-bound, 6-foot-5 center Sarah Boothe. In the Kats’ regular season finale, they knocked off Class 4A No. 5-ranked North Central 43-40.

Snyder points to his seniors for their part in a season that produced the school’s 13th North Central Conference championship since 1991.

Kayla Drake is the NCC’s No. 2 scorer at 17.9 and also ranks No. 2 in steals at 3.2. Shakeeta Cotton (9.3) and Aelleon Woodard (9.2) have been solid scorers and Woodard leads the boards at 7.1. Kelcey Ackison leads the conference with a 2-1 ratio, assists to turnovers.

Snyder has been particular pleased with his senior trio of guards who have dictated tempo by pressuring opposing backcourts.

“Kayla is a four-year starter and a solid leader and defender who has been on a nice hot streak shooting. Shakeeta has always been a defensive stopper for us [she leads the NCC in charges taken] and as the season has progressed, has become more of an offensive threat. Kelcey is a dream point guard who would rather get a teammate a basket than score herself — she’s very unselfish.

“Aelleon does all the dirty work,” Snyder continued. “She’s a physical post player, very good rebounder and leads the conference in field goal percentage [54.3] because she gets great position and finishes well. Katie [Zunick] has been a nice role player and her leadership on and off the court has been invaluable.”

Freshman Kelly Hopkins is still learning at the varsity level, but started 19 games, contributing 6.5 points and 5.2 boards. Sophomores Abby Hemmeger and Clarissa Woodard have each made significant contributions while averaging about 13 minutes a game off the bench.

It was Hemmeger whose 10 points sparked Kokomo in the mid-January win at McCutcheon.

Snyder knows his team will be challenged Friday.

“[McCutcheon] has solid guard play and is well coached,” he said. “We have to make sure we rebound and contest every shot. They have five players who can shoot the [3-pointer].”

        

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