1998-99
GIRL'S BASKETBALL RECAPS
February 1, 1999
Looking up
Deep lineup big reason why North is setting sights on Big Rivers title
By Steve Beaudry, Leader-Telegram staff
Kricket Whyte wasn't on the roster.
But she was on the spot.
Fifty seconds remained in the fourth quarter of the Eau Claire North girls basketball team's game against Hudson on Jan. 5.
The visiting Huskies led Hudson 54-50, but the Raiders were rallying. Illness, injury and crippling foul trouble had left North with a precariously thin fivesome on the court.
"I call them my Gandhi lineup. They're not exactly our beefiest combination," Huskies coach Chico LaBarbera said in playful reference to Whyte, Lindsey Rongstad, Nicki Robinson, Kristi Gehring and Erika Reber. "Please do understand: I'm kidding when I say that."
Reber hoisted a 15-foot baseline jump shot. The ball smacked off the rim.
It plopped down between three Raiders, all of whom were poised to start a fast break in the other direction and slice their fast-fading deficit to two points.
From out of nowhere, though, Whyte slithered through the prickly thicket of enemy elbows. Whyte clamped the ball between her hands and, with eyeblink quickness, flicked it upward.
It carved a path through the net.
And through Hudson's heart.
Presto. North's tenuous lead had swelled to six points, en route to its pulsating 58-50 victory over the reigning WIAA Division 1 state-champion Raiders.
Was Whyte's basket the game's biggest field goal?
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Probably.
Was Whyte's basket the biggest field goal of North's season?
So far, arguably, yes. It cemented the win that moved the Huskies into sole possession of first place in the Big Rivers Conference standings -- a perch they've maintained for the past month and a spot Hudson had held for the past 4 1/2 seasons.
Further, North's victory halted Hudson's 49-game BRC winning streak (which began when Whyte was in the sixth grade).
Was it the biggest basket of Whyte's career?
Absolutely. Positively. Indubitably. At the time, it was the ONLY basket of her varsity career.
Was it beginner's luck?
Well, considering the game was Whyte's first on varsity, along with the fact she had practiced with North's varsity team for a total of two sessions leading up to the game, she certainly qualified as a beginner.
But Whyte's basket, improbable as it seemed, certainly wasn't lucky.
In actuality, it was a Cliffs Notes version of what has been an enchanted season for North.
New stars have appeared in every game, taking turns leading the way to the Huskies' vast improvement since last season's 12-9 finish and fourth-place standing in the BRC.
North (8-1, 12-2) squares off against host Eau Claire Memorial (5-3, 8-4) tonight, then will brace for Friday's home rematch versus Hudson (7-1, 10-4).
"North is the hardest team in our conference to prepare for," said Hudson coach Dave Johnson, the state's reigning coach of the year in girls basketball. "You can't key on one of their players and say, 'OK, if we take her out of her game, we'll win.'
"I saw the other night they had someone step up for them. I'd never heard of her. What was her name ...?"
Johnson referred to Rongstad, a sophomore guard whose name, like Whyte's, was nowhere to be found on North's preseason prospectus.
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Rongstad averaged 3 points per game through her first seven varsity contests. She then erupted for 13 fourth-quarter points in the Huskies' 47-35 victory over Chippewa Falls on Jan. 23. Against Hudson, Rongstad coolly swished two free throws with 1 minute, 9 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give North a 54-50 lead.
Rongstad's performance against Chippewa Falls was crucial. That night North was without the services of 6-foot-3 center Chandra Johnson, who was out with a sprained ankle.
"We've played, what, 14 games this year? Not one time have we gone into a game with our entire roster intact from the preseason," LaBarbera said. "That speaks volumes, first of all, for how much each one of these girls in our program has stepped up and accepted challenges.
"Second of all, it says a lot about how well the coaches for our JV and sophomore teams have prepared these players for that next level."
Like many teams, the Huskies have been beset by injuries and sicknesses throughout the season. Unlike most teams, the Huskies haven't wilted.
Robinson, North's starting point guard last season who appeared to be on the cusp of stardom, has missed 3 1/2 games and been slowed in several others with calf, knee and foot maladies.
The 5-9 Robinson has shown glimpses of greatness this season. And her absence afforded fellow junior Scooter Aspen to earn a niche at point guard.
"With the way Scooter's stepped up," LaBarbera said, "I'm comfortable playing Nicki in the one, two, three and four slots."
"We win because we all have confidence in our teammates," the 5-3 Aspen said after the Hudson game. "We know any one of us can lead us."
Aspen took charge against Memorial on Dec. 17, scoring 15 points in a 52-42 North triumph.
Senior Rachel Evjen, another starting guard on last season's team, has been hindered by a stress fracture in her right foot that knocked her out of five games. Senior forward Bridget Aspen recently recovered from a sprained ankle that chopped five games off her season.
"When someone goes down, someone else has to step up," said 5-11 sophomore forward Larissa Parr, whose vast improvement has softened the blows of her teammates' injuries.
Parr, who averaged 2.3 points per game last season, is North's leading scorer this season at 10.7. Gehring, a senior, is second at 9.9.
"Blanton Collier, a former NFL coach, has this quote that I think typifies our team this year," LaBarbera said. "He said, 'It's amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.'
"That's what's made this team tick: Its selflessness. This truly is a team."
Beaudry can be reached evenings at 833-9212 or (800) 236-7077.