Whitewater Cruises To "Senior Night" Win Over M.L. King for Third Straight Win
After picking up a couple of back to back region wins, the Whitewater Wildcats were back in action on Saturday hosting the M.L. King Lions in a non-region game and looking for their third straight win. Saturday’s game was also the Wildcats senior night celebration for seniors Leah Smith, Charity Cloud, Makaela Khiev, Ellia Chance, and Kechi Okonkwo.
The Wildcats would get contributions from all five seniors with Cloud leading the way with a team high 17 points, while Smith chipped 15 and Chance added 14. Whitewater relied on a suffocating defense early to help create distance between them and the Lions as they would close out the first quarter on 10-2 run and lead 20-8 at the end of the period.
From that point on, Whitewater would keep pressure on the Lions forcing several M.L. King turnovers in which they would capitalize and by the end of the second quarter, the Wildcats would find themselves up 38-20. The Lions played a much tougher third quarter, being outscored 20-19, but the were never able to dig themselves out of the hole they found themselves in early and Whitewater would go on to pick up the 68-51 win.
Following the their win, Whitewater head coach, Rashad Muhyee talked about how he’s had the opportunity to watch his seniors grow over the years and seeing them get the win on their special night. “I’ve had this bunch for a good four years and they all started when they were sophomores,” Muhyee said, adding that the group has been “fun to watch”, noting that four of the five seniors will be playing in college next season.
The Wildcats have two more regular season games before their region tournament begins and currently sit in fourth in the standings, with the possibility of moving up to third if they win out and get some help along the way. Muhyee says that he’s reminded his players of the importance of taking care of business in order to reach the tournament and from there, “it’s a lot you can do once you get in,” and for Muhyee, being consistent will be key for the Wildcats to finish strong and get into the post season.
