On Redmond High’s Senior Night, during a crucial 4A Kingco girls’ basketball game against Skyline that would potentially doom the Mustangs’ playoff chances with a loss, one senior — playing with a heavy heart — stood out among the rest.
Katie Whitaker, who lost her 53-year-old mother, Sally, to a long battle with ovarian cancer just two weeks ago, scored a career-high 19 points as the Mustangs claimed their third straight win with a 47-33 victory against the Spartans.
Katie, a senior wing, made 8 of 10 from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
During her team’s current three-game winning streak, since her mom’s passing, Katie has averaged 15.3 points per game, compared to just 3.6 in the previous 16 games.
“She has been really stepping it up,” said Redmond head coach Sara Goldie of Katie’s efforts. “With the loss that the Whitaker family and Katie has faced, she’s really risen up, and she brings so much strength to the team.”
The Redmond High community has rallied support around the Whitakers since Sally’s passed away, with both boys’ and girls’ basketball teams warming up in black T-shirts featuring a teal ribbon with “Sally” written on the back.
The Whitakers got a standing ovation during the pre-game Senior Night ceremony. Katie has two twin brothers, Ben, who plays golf, and Alex, who plays basketball under head coach Jeff Larson.
“(The career high) is really special for me,” Katie said. “I know my mom’s helping me in some way since she passed away. And it’s really special for me to be able to do this for her.”
TEAM TRANSFORMATION
During their last three games, the Mustangs, who improved to 6-9 in league play and 9-10 overall, have not looked like a team that started the year 0-5 in 4A Kingco play.
Since then, they have amassed a 6-4 record, including a blowout win against Ballard, 82-55, and a 67-50 victory against strong Garfield.
During the game against Skyline, the Mustangs overcame a cold start, shooting 3 of 16 in the first quarter before shooting nearly 50 percent for the rest of the contest. Meanwhile, Redmond’s pressure zone defense forced turnovers and prevented Skyline from getting many good looks.
As a team, the Spartans shot 2 of 12 in the fourth quarter to stifle any comeback hopes.
“This win was huge, but it’s just a great example of how our team is finally coming together,” Goldie recognized. “We’re playing fantastic team ball, and we’ve become that team that is fun to watch, and that was our goal. The kids are having fun playing, and I can’t emphasize enough that it’s a group effort.”
For the Mustangs, senior captain Chandler Jones poured in 15, 11 of which came in the second half on a trio of three-pointers, and 6-foot-4 post Marissa Pratt added eight.
“It’s really great, our whole team played well tonight,” Katie said. “We just pulled out a win against Skyline, which is really good for our season.”
The win also kept the Mustangs’ playoff hopes alive in the tight Kingco Crest Division, with the top four of six teams moving on to the postseason.
With the win, the Mustangs now have a 6-9 record in league play.
Their entire season will come down to Friday night’s rivalry game against Eastlake (7-8, 11-8), as a Redmond victory and a likely Skyline loss to Issaquah (13-2, 16-3) will create a three-way tie with Redmond, Eastlake and Skyline for the final playoff berth in the division. If that was the case, a mini-playoff would decide who makes it to next week’s league playoffs.
After not earning a league win until 2010, Goldie is thankful for where her team sits with one regular-season game to go.
“We couldn’t be in a better position to have a rivalry game to end the regular season and give us an opportunity to make it to the playoffs,” she said. “It doesn’t get much better than that.”
Tip-off against the Wolves is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Eastlake High School.
To view more pictures from this game from photographer Matt Campbell, visit his Web site at www.sportspixs.com
