Today is Friday, November 29, 2024
The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team traveled to Racine Lutheran for the Regional Semifinal Game on Friday night, February 24. Racine Lutheran played a tight zone defense denying us open shots. We adjusted our offense and worked to get the ball inside. At the half, we were down 28-16.
Racine Lutheran came out on fire and our shots were not falling to start the second half, creating a bigger scoring gap. The second part of the half, we dug deep and fought hard with our defense forcing turnovers, which gave us a spark. Our offense started picking up, hitting our outside shots, but it was too big of a gap to overcome that late in the game, losing 45-62. We fought hard right to the very end and our post defense (Aidyn Amundson, Alex Martin, and Katie Gillette) did an amazing job containing Racine Lutheran’s 6’2 center.
Danielle DePorter led the Whippets with 15 points, all from 3-point range. Cali Kopecky scored 8 points and ripped down 11 rebounds. Katie Gillette also scored 8 and had 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Cali Grosinske added 6 points, 4 assists, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. Kindyl Kilar scored 3 and had 5 rebounds.
Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
On Thursday afternoon, February 23, Lauren Buehler and Aaron Porras had the opportunity to complete in their first appearance at the Wisconsin State Individual Wrestling meet at the Kohl Center in Madison. This is a great accomplishment for each of these two competitors as it is not an easy path to get there.
Lauren started our afternoon at state on Thursday in a great way. She started off the match with a beautiful takedown and did not look back. Up 11-3 in the second period Lauren was able to secure a pin for herself advancing her to the quarterfinal round. In her next match she ran into a young lady who is a real hammer and ended up getting pinned by her. Lauren came back on Friday morning needing to secure two wins to make the podium. Unfortunately, this year was not in the cards for Lauren, and she was defeated in her wrestle back match. Both young ladies who had defeated Lauren did making the top 6; one placed 3rd and the other 6th, so at least Lauren knows she went toe to toe with two of the top 6 students at her weight class in the state. Lauren is a junior so this was a valuable experience for her as she enters the off season.
Aaron Porras wrestled his opponent very well going with his game plan but unfortunately got into a scramble and ended up on his back and was pinned. Aaron closed out a very nice career with a 37-11 record as a senior, conference champion, Regional champion, sectional runner up and state qualifier. He ended his career with 72 wins.
Congratulations to both Lauren and Aaron on a great season as well as to the entire team as they have now concluded the 2022-23 campaign. The awards banquet is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8, 2023 in the high school cafeteria.
Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
According to a story in the Daily Jefferson County Union, “Monday’s Whitewater High School basketball game versus Evansville was about much more than who won or who lost. Ricardo (Ricky) Lopez-Navejas Jr., a sophomore WHS basketball member, died unexpectedly Sunday.
“We were really wanting to cancel this evening, but the family said to go forward in his (Ricky’s) honor,” Whitewater Unified School District Superintendent Caroline Pate-Hefty said. A moment of silence was held before the games began Monday night. Basketball players wore shirts in memory of Ricky warming up before the game and on the sidelines….
Tears were shed, hugs were given, and Whitewater’s community came together to support one another Monday night after a devastating tragedy.”
Here’s the post that appeared on the high school Facebook page on Tuesday:
Teary eyes, full hearts. Last evening, Whitewater came together for Ricky. Your generosity was tremendously moving and raised almost $3000 for the family of Ricardo (Ricky) Lopez-Nivejas Jr. The stands and the gyms were packed; our community, students and staff grieved together, as a family.
So many Thank yous…
Thank you to Ricky’s family for having the intuition to know that this is what our school community needed.
Thank you to our community for your generosity.
Thank you to the students who helped to set up a beautiful memorial for Ricky.
Thank you to our coaches for ensuring our students were supported and could honor Ricky’s memory yesterday.
Thank you to Aropa Designs for printing the amazing turn around in T-shirts for our students.
Thank you to our counseling and pupil services staff that gave of themselves tirelessly to assure our students and staff were okay.
Thank you to our staff for supervising and supporting while also grieving.
Thank you to the administrative team who worked tirelessly to support everyone.
Thank you to Evansville Community School District for your understanding and sportsmanship.
During this difficult time, it was heartening to see everyone come together to support one another. We will continue to accept donations for the family at the HS office through Friday, February 24th. Thank you so much. 
#24foreverwhippet
#1family
#whippetnation
3rd time’s a charm!
It was truly a team effort! The Whippet Girls’ Basketball Team (#10) defeated Clinton (#7) 57-54 in the first round of regionals on Tuesday, February 21. Losing two close games to the Cougars in the regular season, we knew we needed to play two solid halves.
We came out on fire with two steals by Cali Grosinske resulting in a 3-point shot by Danielle DePorter in our first possession. Grosinske stole the ball and hit a shot putting us up 5-0. Clinton inched ahead 5-6, but that was the last time they would lead as Kopecky hit her first of five 3-pointers of the game, putting us up 8-6. That set the tone for us offensively. Zoe Kohl, Kindyl Kilar, and Danielle DePorter joined Kopecky in connecting on shots from the arc.
Hitting those shots from outside was important for us a to counter Clinton’s zone defense. Mayte Navejas penetrated the gaps to score and create open looks on the perimeter. Senior, Cali Kopecky connected on four of her five 3s in the first half of the game.
Going into halftime we led 34-26.
The ball wouldn’t drop for us the first 5 minutes of the second half as Clinton started to close the gap 38-34. Solid defense in the lane by Kilar, Amundson, and Gillette, as well as hitting our free throws at the end of the game helped us maintain our lead. Danielle DePorter (5-5) and Kindyl Kilar (2-2) were 100% from the free throw line. Gillette hit the final bucket with 15 seconds left to secure the win.
Cali Kopecky led the Whippets with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Danielle DePorter added 11 points, and Katie Gillette scored 8. Cali Grosinske added 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. Mayte Navejas also scored 7 with 5 assists and 2 steals. Kilar scored 5 and rebounded 5.
Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
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