Published: December 09, 2008 11:51 pm      

HOOPS: Boards send Kats past Panthers

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RUSSIAVILLE — With foul trouble a constant problem for his Wildkats, Kokomo girls basketball coach Jason Snyder didn’t have to think twice when it came time to pass out credit after his squad’s 61-48 victory at Western.

“I’m very proud of the girls. Especially the play off the bench,” Snyder said after his squad committed 25 fouls, yet held the lead throughout the final three quarters. “Ashley DeWitt did an amazing job, brought some energy. Javona Olivares brought some energy, hit some big shots. And Ashley Lobeck handled the ball really well, hit some big free throws down the stretch when we needed it.”

Kokomo starter Abby Hemmeger had two fouls in the first quarter and was in constant trouble before fouling out. Clarissa Woodard picked up her fourth foul seconds into the third quarter and played sparingly in the second half. Kelly Hopkins and Kali Ackison also finished with four fouls, and the fifth starter, Skylarr Shurn, had three.

“[I’m] really proud of a young team, being able to handle adversity,” Snyder said. “Kelly gets in foul trouble, Clarissa, Abby, even Skylarr’s in a little bit of foul trouble, and we just continue to have people come in and do the right things in different spots. I was really pleased with their effort and focus.”

Kokomo took the lead for good on a rebound bucket from Woodard — one of 19 offensive caroms for the Kats in the game — midway through the first quarter to give the Kats a 7-5 lead. The Wildkats maintained the advantage throughout the rest of the game.

Western challenged in the second half, cutting Kokomo’s advantage to 32-27, but the Wildkats responded with a 10-2 run to push the lead back up to 13 points at the end of the third. Western was never closer than nine points down after that.

“When you dig yourself a hole like that, it’s tough to get out,” Western coach Dave Merica said.

Kokomo’s 48-34 advantage on the glass played a big role in determining the outcome. When Western took away Kokomo’s post game in the halfcourt over the first two quarters, Kokomo got a few treys — one each from Shurn, Ackison and Olivares — and the inside players hunted down rebounds to score. Kokomo had a dozen offensive rebounds in the first half.

“Early in the game they did a great job of zoning us and taking away [post] plays,” Snyder said. “Fortunately, we were able to hit some outside shots there in the first half and they were forced to extend a little bit more than I think [Merica] wanted to. In the second half, then that allowed us to get the ball inside.”

“We came in with the mindset that they were going to have to shoot the perimeter shot to beat us, and they hit three out of their four 3-pointers in the first half,” Merica said. “I think that they just had more horses and played more physical than we did.”

Hopkins, the center, finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Woodard, a power forward, had 11 points and eight rebounds.

“That’s something that we continue to work on and the girls know … once the ball goes up, you’ve got to be strong and go to the basket,” Snyder said. “I felt like in the second half, our post players did a much better job of playing physical and being able to finish at the basket.”

Shurn added nine points for Kokomo, Ackison had six and Olivares five.

Western struggled to find points in the first half, falling behind 28-16 at halftime. A.J. Finch — who drew tight defensive attention from Kokomo — had four points in the first half before breaking free in the second to finish with 19. Nicole Rogers added 15 and Kiley Camp had a dozen. One of Western’s main weapons, Brooke Jackson, missed 11 shots and did not score.

“Our shots weren’t falling,” said Merica, whose team was 15-of-48 from the field and 15-of-27 from the free-throw line. “Brooke Jackson doesn’t even score. She’s averaging double digits for us. She just had one of those games where the ball doesn’t go in the basket.”