Whitney takes control early, coasts to girls basketball win over Roseville

Coming into perhaps the first true regular season in two years, the Whitney High girls' basketball team dominated a Roseville club still in the rebuilding stages, 70-25, Tuesday night in Roseville. The Wildcats distributed the scoring among eight players, with Kendall Dykstra leading the way with 17 points. Whitney shot 47 percent from the floor, whereas the Tigers managed just 17 percent. "I thought we did great in transition, transition offense, getting out and running," Whitney Head Coach Sydney Gatson said. "Our forwards are doing a great job, whether it's rebounding or getting the ball out quick." In spite of the fact that the visiting Wildcats steadily pulled away throughout the game, Roseville's magnificent seven kept battling the entire way. "I learned that they're not going to quit," said Roseville High head coach Michael Mueck Jr. "When you face a team that's rolling out size and length after size and length, and they can sit in that zone and really stress you a lot, you find if your team has that click to keep playing and keep fighting." Despite a 70-point output, Whitney High proved they can play defense every bit as well as offense. The Wildcats held the Tigers scoreless in the third period with a suffocating zone. "I loved our anticipation defensively when they were on the balls of their feet, even in that zone. They're really starting to show confidence in reading the ball handler," Gatson said. "We've got some really good athletes and they're really starting to kind of find their stride on the defensive end in that way." On Nov. 18, the 'Cats allowed Del Campo just 16 points in Whitney High's 43-point victory. Roseville High is coming off a five-game season last year and Mueck started this year with just 11 players. He has since built the team numbers up to 18 and now has a junior varsity team as well. All total, the Tigers had 12 players available for Tuesday's doubleheader with Whitney. "We've got to start getting the young girls in and start feeding and learning and developing, while trying to balance the winning at the varsity level," Mueck said. "So it's definitely trying to do both at the same time, that's the juggle. But we're getting some numbers and building a positive culture is going to be the key for us." Senior Lolana Madrid led the Tigers with 16 points, canning three 3-point shots and sinking three free throws in the process. Senior Grace Aubin followed with seven points. Roseville High's highest points output was in the fourth quarter. I think they showed that ('click') at the last whistle," Mueck concluded, "taking a shot trying to put some more points on the board." Whitney High will continue its December pre-league play by opening tournament play against Rio Americano on Tuesday. The tournament concludes Saturday. Roseville High is tournament bound as well, opening against McClatchy High on Tuesday. That tournament also runs through Saturday.