The women’s basketball teams played their Quarry Classic games Dec. 15 at Rocklin. The varsity Wildcats fell to the Thunder 49-42.

The game was highly physical from the beginning — both teams played full court press and emphasized their defenses over their offenses. As a result, many shots were blocked defensively and missed offensively in the first half of the game. Several Rocklin fouls on Jada Lewis led to frequent free throw opportunities, which she took advantage of to catch the team up from their original deficit. The team went into the locker room at halftime down 22-17.

When the second half began, the dynamic of the game changed right away. Both teams were reenergized and started to focus more heavily on the offensive side of the ball. Shots were being made at a higher rate than previously, especially for the Cats. Kailee McCarrick broke away for three consecutive layups, tying the game at 28 points, the closest Whitney would come to Rocklin all game.

In the fourth quarter, the Thunder reverted to tough defensive play to stop the Wildcats’ scoring rampage and to seal up the win for themselves. They did just that, outscoring Whitney and earning a seven-point victory.

Lauren Roskelley lead the team in scoring with eight points on the night, followed closely by Kymaya Wallace with seven. Although they fell short of a win, Wallace feels that the Cats played tough against rival Rocklin.

“I think the team played really well. We kept their best player from shooting three-pointers and we broke their press pretty easily at times,” Wallace said.

Coach Sydney Gatson was also proud of the effort her team put up against the Thunder.

“The girls played hard. I always expect that out of them. We mainly missed on some execution things down the stretch, but I’m not disappointed in them,” Gatson said.

Wallace touched on improvement areas in the game in addition to the positives as well.

“I feel like we could have had a better shot selection and we could have prevented all the offensive rebounds they got, which led to more points for them,” Wallace said.

Although they stand at 3-6 now, the Wildcats’ win-loss record doesn’t start really adding up until they reach league play in January. Gatson isn’t surprised by a losing record at this point in the preseason because she knows they have been facing elite competition.

“I purposely scheduled a very hard preseason for the team. We play a couple of the top teams in the state because we’re going to have a very tough league this year, and I think this is great preparation for that,” Gatson said.

The Cats will play four more preseason games before kicking off league play Jan. 5 against Bella Vista.

by RYLEA GILLIS