<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Katie Whitten stands tall for La Center girls basketball team

Wildcats will face Cascade Christian in 1A regionals

By , Columbian Sports Editor
Published:

It’s easy to spot Katie Whitten on the basketball court.

Just look for the shortest player with the most energy.

Standing just five feet tall, the La Center senior will never be mistaken for a center. Yet she is in the middle of the action every time the Wildcats have the ball.

La Center’s Wyatt Aguirre takes aim at 1,000-point milestone.

King’s Way Christian boys get state tournament trip off to rolling start.

The Trico League Co-MVP for the second consecutive year, Whitten is scoring nearly six fewer points per game this season. But the point guard has her team in the state playoffs for the first time since 2009.

“Katie took on a whole new role as a leader,” La Center coach Herm VanWeerdhuizen said. “She learned that she didn’t have to score all the time. She’s become more of a facilitator. And you see that in her assists.”

At 6 p.m. Friday, La Center (19-4) faces Cascade Christian of Puyallup (19-3) in a Class 1A playoff game at Rogers High School in Puyallup. The winner advances to the final eight at the SunDome in Yakima.

“For me, this is the farthest I’ve ever gotten in postseason,” Whitten said. “It’s a good way to finish my senior year.”

But Whitten, the seasoned veteran, wouldn’t be where she is without a group of upstart freshmen. Her sister, guard Bethany Whitten, and 5-foot-11 post Taylor Mills both earned all-league recognition in their first year.

“She’s been a huge support,” Bethany Whitten said of her sister. “She’s been pushing us along and giving us her experience and knowledge.”

Katie Whitten said she loves being the role model to a freshman class that put five players on varsity.

“They’re a lot of fun, a lot of energy,” she said. “They’ve grown up playing together, so they have a lot of chemistry.”

Whitten is averaging 12.04 points per game, down from 17.86 points per game last season. She said she didn’t enter this season on a mission to distribute the ball more. Rather, her teammates have done a better job working in the offense to create scoring options.

“I’ve always looked to pass, but I’ve never really had a team that worked together like this team does,” Whitten said. “We mesh together really well. There’s more energy. It’s easy to assist and lead and get everyone fired up.”

Junior guard Andrea Griffee has been a beneficiary of Whitten’s spread-it-around style. The junior earned first-team all-league honors along with junior post Shelby Vermeulen.

“She gives us good passes,” Griffee said. “We work the ball around a lot more. I feel like I can take what Katie has taught us and be a leader next year.”

Whitten, in turn, praised Griffee’s defense.

“People give her a lot of credit for her shooting, which has improved a lot,” Whitten said. “But I think her defense has made more of an impact throughout the season. She might not be getting steals, but she’s knocking balls loose and throwing them off.”

La Center has many options on offense and a defense that allowed 50 points just twice over the last 10 games, of which La Center won eight.

That has Whitten confident for Friday’s elimination game against a Cascade Christian opponent that will be playing a few miles from its campus.

“I think we stand a good chance if we just play our game,” she said.

Loading...