Whited hits 1,000 mark in Lady Bulldogs’ win over Frazier
Dave Stofcheck
Beth-Center’s Kinlee Whited dribbles up court as Frazier’s Jovanna Isaac prepared to defend during the Section 3-AA girls basketball game on Thursday night. Whited scored her 1,000th career point as the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Lady Commodores, 58-48.
Frazier's Jovanna Isaac (5) dribbles up court ahead of Beth-Center's Kinlee Whited (33) during their game Thursday night at Beth-Center.
Frazier's Brooke Poling (4) fires a pass as Beth-Center's Kinlee Whited (33) defends during their game on Thursday night.
DEEMSTON — Beth-Center’s Kinlee Whited reached the 1,000 career point plateau with a free throw at the 1:57 mark of the fourth quarter, as the Lady Bulldogs opened up Section 3-AA play with a 58-48 win over Frazier in girls basketball action Thursday night.
“It was definitely on my mind tonight and at times it was a little bit nerve-racking,” Whited said. “I just had to focus on my game and the most important thing tonight was to get the win in the section opener. This is a big win for us and I just tried to treat this like a normal game.”
Whited, the 5-foot-7 senior guard, finished the game with 22 points and became the 10th member of the 1,000 point club in Lady Bulldogs’ history and the first since Anna Bartman (2014-15).
“This has always been a work in progress (to get 1,000 points) and it’s something that I wanted to do,” Whited said. “I was a freshman when Anna got hers and I knew it would take a lot of hard work. My team has been with me through everything and they have pushed me to this goal. It’s a great feeling to do it in a win and to do it in front of the home crowd.”
B-C coach Steve Beyer has now coached six out of the 10 players that hit the milestone mark.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to coach some 1,000-point scorers and it’s always a special moment,” Beyer said. “It never gets old and that is what high school basketball is all about. Kinlee is a great kid and she improved her game every year. She is a slasher to the basket and she hustles every play for us on both ends of the court.”
Olivia Greco added 11 points for the Lady Bulldogs (3-1, 1-0), while Sarah Hess chipped in with eight off the bench.
Frazier’s Brooke Poling, who is also closing in on 1,000 career points, scored 20 points and Jovanna Isaac had 14 for the Lady Commodores (1-3, 0-1).
“Our offense has been hit or miss,” Frazier coach Ken Poling said. “I really don’t know what to say about it. We turn the ball over way too much. It might be nerves, but we have to battle through it. When we play good defense it seems to ignite us on offense. We just need to be consistent.”
After both teams traded points in the early moments of the opening quarter, B-C broke open the game and ended the period on a 12-2 spree that gave it a 19-8 lead.
Both offenses were clicking in the second quarter, as a combined 40 points were scored.
Midway through the second, a 3-pointer by Greco gave the home team a 30-21 lead, but the visitors battled back with five straight points.
B-C rebounded and ended the wild quarter with a 7-4 spurt and carried a 37-30 advantage into intermission.
The Lady Bulldogs clamped down on defense in the third and limited the Lady Commodores to just four points. B-C scored 10 in the quarter and had a 47-34 lead at the end of three.
“We are still a work in progress on the defensive end,” Beyer said. “We are usually a defensive-minded team, but so far our balance on offense has carried us. We have a lot of different options on offense and that’s good to have. But we pride ourselves on defense. We only allowed four points in the third quarter and I think that was our best eight minutes of the night.”
Poling opened the final quarter with a trey for Frazier, but B-C’s Whited countered with five unanswered points to stretch the lead to 52-37.
The Lady Commodores cut the lead to single digits with a 9-3 run and the spree was capped off by a 3-pointer by Ashley Moger with 2:37 left in regulation.
Whited was fouled in the paint on the next possession and calmly sank two foul shots to hit the scoring milestone and to give B-C some cushion in the tight game.
“It’s funny that I got my 1,000 on the free throw line,” Whited said. “It just shows that hard work pays off because I always try to be a good free throw shooter. I got a second to breathe before the shot and it felt good to see the ball go in the hoop. I knew it was in as soon as it left my hand.”
After a basket by Frazier, Whited hit one of two free throws and the Lady Bulldogs were able to secure the section triumph.
“This section is so even and I think on any given night anybody can beat anybody,” coach Poling said. “It’s early in the season, but we have to find that consistency at both ends of the floor. We just need to play with energy. I think Beth-Center played with more energy and was faster than us tonight.”
Both teams will be back in section action on Monday, as B-C travels to Carmichaels and Frazier hosts Bentworth.