The Whitehall girls’ basketball team (0-3) is still seeking its first win of the season.
However, the girls stuck with a very competitive North Warren team for a good portion of last Friday’s game.
The two teams traded punches early on, as neither team could pull away in the first half. The Railroaders continually pushed the tempo and forced some North Warren mistakes early on, but the Cougars eventually found their grove in the half-court offense.
At the end of the first quarter the two teams were tied at 12, as neither could pull away.
The second quarter started with a few turnovers in each direction and then the Cougars began to get the defense working, holding Whitehall to seven points in the second quarter. The Cougars took a 25-19 lead into the locker room at the half and never looked back.
There were plenty more turnovers going in each direction during the third quarter and by the end of that stanza, the Railroaders trailed 43-25, being held to only six points.
In the fourth, the Cougars would expand the lead from 18 points to 22 points, for a 59-37 final.
Rachel Lavin shot the ball well in the loss for Whitehall and Caity Sandford was a force on the inside, blocking eight Cougar shots.
The girls played Wednesday at Salem, after this edition of the Times had already gone to press.