#22 Soph  Schnetavia Williams  5'10      #23  Soph Iesha Wallace 5'5    #55 Soph Summer Blackamore 5'10 

#33  Freshman  Gabby Smith  5'5    #34 Freshman Gabby Taylor 6'0

Saturday night, the Lady Kats turned around and faced county rival Northwestern on the road. Kokomo looked more comfortable offensively Saturday night, executing their offense and putting pressure on the Tiger perimeter players, which led to early fast break points. Early in the second quarter however, the Lady Kats ran into serious foul trouble which forced a lot of players to step up and receive early varsity experience. The game was close throughout, but Kokomo got cold from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. We shot 42%, including six missed free throws in a row, and the Lady Tigers held onto a 44-40 victory. 
Jordan Johnson again led the team with 15 points and added seven rebounds. Anastacia Kirby led the team with nine rebounds and added five points, while Arienne Beard, Kendra Ryker, and Johnson all played extremely aggressive and had as many hustle points as any three players I have coached in one game. 
As the year progresses we will continue to improve our shooting percentage, and we got better from one game to the next this past weekend. It was a good learning experience. We will go to work Monday as we turn around and prepare to face a very good Logansport team at Logan on Saturday. We will be improved when we walk into their gym Saturday night. This is a fun team to watch and a great group of girls to coach. We will be ready to battle in our first conference game on Saturday. Hope to see you at the gym. – Coach Snyder 

Our LadyKats took their game to Tiger Arean to play the Peru Lady Tigers. This was a tight game until the 3rd quarter when Kokomo started their goodbyes to the Lady Tigers who were playing without one of their great players. The 1st quarter was tight and at the stop it was Kokomo and Peru tied with points each The 2nd quarter was about the same but Kokomo led at the halftime 19 to 16. Then in the 3rd, Kokomo started connecting while at the same time hold Peru to no points scored. Then in the final quarter both teams played about even with Kokomo on top 52 to 26 for the win.  Kokomo attempted 15 from beyond the 3point line but only made 3 of them. Their shooting game from there was about as bad as I have ever seen. Kokomo outrebounded Peru 44 to 38. Kokomo committed 23 turnovers while Peru had 29. Kokomo had 18 fouls while Peru had 16. It was a win that pulled Kokomo to a 3 win, 3 loss season so far, but it wasn't pretty. 

 A year ago, the Western girls basketball team snapped a 24-game losing streak to Kokomo. Tuesday night at Memorial Gym, the Lady Kats regained the upper hand. Kokomo jumped out early on Western, withstood two second-half Panther rallies, and put the game away from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter for a 60-52 win. “We’re proud of this win, and it was a great game to be a part of,” Kokomo coach Jason Snyder said. “This was an entertaining game between two county rivals, and we were fortunate that we got a couple more shots to drop than they did.” The Kats hit only one field goal over the final eight minutes but converted 11 of 16 from the charity stripe. Clinging to a 49-48 edge with 2:00 to play, Kokomo (4-3) knocked down 9 of 12 freebies down the stretch to pull away and knock off previously unbeaten Western (6-1). “We had a hard time handling their physicality,” Western coach Chris Keisling said. “Hats off to Kokomo. They shot the ball probably as well as they have all year. We knew it would be a tough game and we allowed them to get us out of our offense.” Western sharpshooter Nicole Rogers scored five quick points to open the game as the Panthers and Kats were tied at 5-5 three minutes into the first quarter. The Kats quickly strung together a 9-0 run to take a 14-5 lead. Anastacia Kirby, who finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Kats, scored four points during the run. Kendra Ryker added a steal and lay-up and Jordan Johnson, who finished with a game-high 21 points, closed the spurt with a 3-pointer as Kokomo held an 18-11 advantage at the first stop. “Johnson showed great leadership,” Snyder said. “She knocked down some big shots and did an excellent job defensively.” Johnson drew the tough task of defending Rogers, and the Kats senior leader kept the Panthers star from getting many touches, let alone getting a shot off, for most of the first half. Rogers was 3 of 3 over the first two quarters for eight points. She finished with a team-high 19 for the game and needed to work for every single one of them. Following an evenly matched second quarter, Kokomo held a 29-21 advantage at the half. Johnson’s deuce to open the second half gave Kokomo its largest lead of the game, 31-21, but Western stormed back with a 12-0 run to briefly take the lead 33-31 on a Carley O’Neal hoop at 5:52. “We came out in the third quarter with the idea to be more disciplined and controlled on offense and that worked early,” Keisling said. “We were able to get back in it early in the second half and then, once again, they hit some big shots.” The Kats closed out the quarter on a 16-5 run to take a 47-38 lead heading into the final frame.Western made another run to open the fourth, stringing together a 10-2 spurt over the first 6:00 minutes to make it 49-48. Kirby hit 6 of 8 freebies over the final 2:00, Johnson added a pair of free throws, and Brayana Fowler scored the Kats only bucket of the quarter and added a freebie. Fowler came off the bench to score 10 points. “[Fowler] did a lot of good things for us [Tuesday]” Snyder said. “She also had four steals and gave us a nice boost when we needed it.” Jessica Givens, Carley O’Neal and Lauren Taylor all finished with eight points for Western. The scoring at the stops were Kokomo leadin 18 to 11. At the half it was Kokomo 29  Western 21, at the 3rd quarter it was Kokomo leading 47 to 38 and  the final score of this game was Kokomo 60  Western 52

Kokomo’s girls basketball team used a 21-2 advantage in second-chance points to whip New Castle 58-39 in a North Central Conference game Friday night at Memorial Gym. The Lady Kats took eight offensive rebounds in the first half to grab control of the game. They finished with a dozen. “In practice, we always work on attacking the offensive rebounds. We do drills and everything. It’s definitely a focus,” said junior forward Anastacia Kirby, who took five offensive boards. The Kats’ good work on the offensive glass complemented one of their best shooting performances of the season. They shot 52 percent from the field overall and 80 percent from the free throw line, well above their season marks. “This was one of our best games,” Kirby said. “Everybody shared the ball, everybody played good on offense and defense. This is building our confidence to go on to the end of the season.” Kirby finished with a terrific all-around line of 11 points, 14 rebounds and four assists — all team highs. She led the Kats to a 33-17 advantage in total rebounds. Kirby is averaging 9 rebounds per game. She just works so hard,” Kokomo coach Jason Snyder said. Kokomo (8-7, 3-3 in NCC) snapped a two-game losing streak. “I am excited about getting back in the win column [with a] good conference win,” Snyder said. “We had a lot of fans here with the girls-boys doubleheader and I think they saw a fun group — a group I love to coach every day.” New Castle held a 10-7 lead deep in the first quarter. Kokomo followed with a 21-3 run to take control of the game. Kirby and Brayana Fowler ignited the run with three-point plays off putbacks in the final 1:32 of the opening quarter. Fowler had another hoop-and-harm putback to open the second quarter and Kirby and Jordan Johnson followed with putbacks to give the Kats a 13-0 advantage in second-chance points less than 11 minutes into the game. Kokomo went into halftime with a 28-16 lead. Kirby had nine points and eight boards in the half and Fowler came off the bench to score seven points and grab three boards. “I thought Brayana Fowler really gave us a spark in the first half,” Snyder said. New Castle opened the second half with a 7-2 run to draw within seven, 30-23, but Kokomo quickly regained control. Jasmine Love hit a 3-pointer and scored off an offensive rebound to put the Kats up 41-28 with 2:35 left in the third quarter. The Kats kept a double-figure lead the rest of the way. Kirby’s 11 points led a balanced Kat attack. Arienne Beard followed with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range and five other players scored five or more points. Snyder pointed to good ball and player movement as keys. “We’ve done a nice job against man to man, but everybody has been zoning us because of our size so we’re starting to get a little better feel of what we need to do for that,” he said. Balanced scoring was key and will be key as people try to zone. We’re going to need people that they leave open to step up in those gaps and we did a much better job of that [Friday].”The scores at the stops were 13 to 13, 28 to 16 at the half, 47 to 33 and 58 to 39 at the buzzer, Both teams made 4 of of 12 3 pointers. Kokomo outrebounded New Castle 33 to 17. New Castle had 14 turnovers while Kokomo had 16. New Castle was called for 11 fouls while Kokomo had 14. 
 

Kokomo — On more nights than not, D.J. Balentine is going to lead Kokomo’s boys basketball team in scoring, and Friday night’s 65-56 win over New Castle at Memorial Gym was no different. The Evansville recruit entered the night averaging a team-best 18.1 points per game, and paced the Kats with 23 points. But, the remainder of the Kokomo mainstays have unwavering confidence in their own abilities as well. Balentine spent the last 4:36 of the first half on the bench with two fouls, and fellow starters Tayler Persons, LaBradford Sebree and Jaylen Tinder scored all 12 of Kokomo’s second-quarter points to keep the Kats afloat. Kokomo took a 24-23 lead into intermission, and Balentine broke out for 13 points in the third quarter to help the Kats, who led by as much as 17 in the second half, surge ahead for good and stay within striking distance in the North Central Conference race. “Everyday in practice, we work on all the players stepping up when maybe a guy like D.J. is in foul trouble, being guarded really tight or maybe just having an off night,” said Sebree, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds in the victory. “We have guys on this team who can rise to the occasion and step up when it’s their time.” Kokomo coach Brian McCauley lauded the defensive effort with Balentine a spectator for the last half of the second quarter. Kokomo (10-3, 2-1 NCC) held the Trojans to a 3-for-8 performance from the floor and no offensive rebounds in the period. For the night, Kokomo held a 37-23 rebounding advantage, including a 13-6 edge on the offensive glass. “Our guys did a great job of rebounding and defending pretty well when D.J. was on the bench,” McCauley said. “ Tayler had an excellent second quarter with six points, and Tinder got some offensive boards there. Those guys really stepped up offensively. The second quarter, statistics-wise, was our best quarter defensively.” Kokomo raced to a 7-0 lead through the first two minutes of the contest, but New Castle (9-2, 0-2 NCC) finished the period on a 13-5 run to pull ahead by one through eight minutes. The Kats responded with an 8-2 run to start the second period to go up 20-15 before Balentine was whistled for his second foul. A pair of buckets from Steven Bennett, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer, pulled the Trojans to within one at the half. Balentine hit a trio of jumpers, including a pair of deep 3s, to spark Kokomo’s 10-0 surge through the first four minutes of the third period. New Castle had no answer this time. Senior post Kyle Goolsby was saddled with his fourth foul at the 4:56 mark, and a trio of putbacks for the Kats exacerbated New Castle’s 2-for-4 performance from the field through the first five minutes of the stanza. Erik Bowen’s putback at the 2:28 mark put Kokomo up 42-31, and the Trojans got no closer than seven the rest of the way. “We had a couple turnovers, then our defensive transition was poor and we gave up some second-chance points. When you pile all those things together, we just aren’t a good enough team yet to [overcome] that,” New Castle coach Steve Bennett said of the third quarter slump. “… We have to learn to make plays defensively blocking out, and our big man [Goolsby] has to stay out of foul trouble.” Steven Bennett entered the night averaging 17.7 points per game and finished with a game-high 24 points. Kokomo chased him for most of the night, not giving him many open looks. He entered the night shooting 45.2 percent from the field, but was held to an 8-for-26 performance (30.8 percent) Friday, including 6 for 21 (28.6) from downtown. Jordan Richardson added 18 for the Trojans. Persons added 10 points and seven boards for the Kats, sharing team-high rebounding honors with Armon Bridgeforth, and Bowen added nine points and six rebounds off the bench.
The scores at the stops were 13 to 12, 24 to 23, 37 to 21, and 65 to 56 at the buzzer. New Castle made 7 of 23 attempts from 3 point area while Kokomo made 3 of 11. Kokomo out rebounded New Castle 37 to 23. new Castle had 7 turnovers while Kokomo had 10. New Castle was called for 19 fouls while Kokomo had 14. 

 Kokomo’s girls basketball team executed its game plan to near perfection against host Logansport in the first game of the Class 4A Logansport Sectional Tuesday.The Wildkats controlled the tempo for much of the way and had the Berries on the ropes for much of the contest. But the Berries made a burst to start the fourth quarter and were able to hold on to knock out the Kats with a 49-46 defeat. “I had a horseshoe in my pocket,” Logan coach Jerry Hoover said, “and if that wasn’t enough I found another horseshoe in the other pocket.” Logan (19-3) opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 44-37 lead with 4:00 left to play. But with the way the Kats (9-12) were playing on this night, they certainly weren’t going to go away. Jasmine Love knocked down a 3-pointer, Anastacia Kirby scored on a layup and Kendra Ryker scored on a nifty reverse layup to cut the Logan lead 46-44 with 1:22 remaining. Following a Whitney Jennings free throw, Ryker knocked down a pair of freebies to cut the lead to 47-46 with 27 seconds left. Following a Logan timeout, Jennings broke free of the Kats’ halfcourt setup and found McKenzie Mills for an open layup to push the lead up to 49-46 with 12 seconds left. Kokomo got the ball past halfcourt and called a timeout with 7.0 seconds to go to set up its final play. But Jennings got her hands on the in-bounds pass to push it into the backcourt, which created chaos for the Kats. They got the ball back into the frontcourt, but too deep — they got the ball around the basket but needed a 3 — and they passed the ball around and weren’t able to get off a final shot as Logan’s Nakeya Penny batted the ball away as time expired. “We just ran out of time,” Kokomo coach Jason Snyder said. “We had two players coming off a screen for a 3, our two best 3-point shooters percentage-wise going each direction. [Jennings] got a hand on it.” Kokomo shot 47.8 percent from the field in the first half, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, and held Logan to 30.4 percent to jump out to a 27-22 lead at halftime. Jordan Johnson made 4 of 7 3-pointers and scored all 14 of her points in the first half to lead the Kats. Kokomo cut its turnovers down from 11 in the first half to four in the second despite more aggressive defense played by Logan. But the shots started falling at a slower rate, as the Kats shot just 33 percent from the field and 1 of 7 from 3-point range in the second half. Ryker was also in double figures for Kokomo with 10 points. Kirby had eight points and owned the boards on the night with 17 rebounds, helping Kokomo to a 34-26 rebounding advantage for the game. Love hit 2 of 4 3-pointers for six points. Bri Poe chipped in four points, and Stacia Fletcher and Lisa Hopkins added two apiece. Jennings led Logan with 22 points, and the sophomore is now just two points shy of 1,100 for her career. She was just 6 of 17 from the field though and 8 of 13 from the foul line. But she hit a stop-and-pop 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to pull Logan to an 11-11 tie after one, and she hit a 3-pointer from the volleyball line to end the third to give Logan a 38-37 advantage. Nakeya Penny had 13 points for Logan, Mills had eight and Rachel Jennings added six. Kiley Victor added a team-high nine rebounds. “They’re an outstanding team and very well coached,” Snyder said. “This isn’t a one-player program, now Whitney is an outstanding player, but they have a great group. We wanted to keep it close and we wanted to control the tempo. I thought we did a pretty good job of that in the first half. We knew they were going to try and come out and pick up the pace. They did that same thing last year. “I thought the first part of the third quarter we took a couple quick shots that allowed them to get to the basket, but then the rest of the game we did what we wanted to do. We got shots where we needed it. We also knew that if we got behind it was going to be tough because it’s tough to turn Whitney and their team over. But I thought we did a great job coming back. Our game plan, the girls did a great job with it, gave us an opportunity. Unfortunately we just gave up too many free throws to them.” The Kokomo coach noted his team was outscored 13-4 at the foul line. “All the other stats were really in our favor. I was really pleased with our effort,” he said. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of our senior group that has really developed and improved for our team throughout the season. [Logansport] is an excellent ballclub and we were right there and had an opportunity. Our senior leadership was great and really helped get us here. And our underclassmen really developed as basketball players in the last three months. If they continue to put work in the during the offseason, I’m excited about what we’re going to have coming back next year.” On 3 point shots, Logan made 4 of 10 while Kokomo made 6 of 16. On rebounds Logansport had 26 while Kokomo had 34. Kokomo made 15 turnovers while Logansport had 10. Kokomo did well in assists this game as they had 12 assists to Logansport's 9. Once again it was Logansport 49 Kokomo 46.