The ‘runner’ from the paint ignited Katey Litten for 10 points in the second quarter…and 37-21 halftime lead over New Bremen. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Senior Katey Litten found the rim Tursday, while Versailles defense went a long way toward doing the rest. Bottom line…a complete 61-36 conference win over New Bremen.
Versailles, OH – Through their first six games and a 4-2 start the Versailles Tigers’ leading threat to score had hardly scorched the nets. Things weren’t falling for Katey Litten…a shooter’s woes.
Was it a concern?
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Internally, not so much. Out in the concourse in the popcorn line, however, people were talking about it prior to Thursday’s MAC conference matchup with New Bremen. “Litten really hasn’t shot it that well yet. Maybe tonight?”
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A shooter’s wish.
And a wish come true, as it turned out, as Litten seared the nets for ten points in the second quarter to ignite a 19-6 run…and that’s all she wrote, game-wise. Leading 37-21 at halftime, Tracy White’s Tigers would go on to score 34 in the second half and wax the 2-5 Cardinals, 61-36.
Close at the outset, Versailles would rely on 6 points from Elli Stammen and 5 from Kynnedi Hager to get out to an 18-15 lead by the end of the first quarter. Litten, to the concerned, scored just 2 points off a baseline layup.
But as shooters often do, she started the second quarter with a made runner from the lane, then followed that on successive possessions with made three-pointers from the wing…and she was on her way. She finished with 10 in the quarter – half of the Tigers’ 19-6 run – 12 for the half, and played the second half largely distributing the ball to open teammates. She finished the game with five assists.
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“The coaches have really been pushing me in practice, and letting me know that it’s all right to miss,” said Litten, afterward. “They tell me that nobody’s perfect and that’s kinda’ boosted my confidence. Just keep shooting, keep trying to score.
“And when I see an open player I’m going to try to give it up for a better shot instead of trying to score on a contested shot, myself. As far as finding the sweet spot [as a shooter], I’m not sure how close I am. But hopefully I get there.”
Versailles guard Elli Stammen blows past a Cardinal defender to score two of her 12 points in Thursday’s win.
Odds are she will, of course, as that’s a part of basketball. And the sooner the better for a Versailles team with tons of height and size to do damage in the paint with Hager (6’3″), Jenna Heitkamp (6’0″), and Allie Weitholter (6’2″), the trio combining for 19 points Thursday on a 44% shooting night.
But Litten’s points and points from the paint, while good, wasn’t as satisfying to Tracy White as her defense, forcing 19 turnovers by New Bremen and creating havoc with the Cardinals’ attempt to find some kind of offensive rhythm.
“The first quarter was a little bit more back-and-forth than we like,” said White. “But then the intensity picked up and our defense was able to drive everything. Scouting-wise, everyone’s got Katey’s number so it’s important to get everyone involved. And as we grow, and as there’s more people who score, we become harder to scout and she’s going to get her points. She’s everyone’s focal point in preparing to play us.”
Litten led all scorers with 14 points, while Elli Stammen had 12, Heitkamp finished with 8, Madison Yagle and Hager each had 7, and Isabel Barga had 5.
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For New Bremen Halle Kuenning had 13 and Stella Patch had 12, with five other players combing for the remaining 13 points.
Litten’s emergence, even for that one quarter, was a welcome sight.
New Bremen’s Halle Kuenning gets to the rim for two of her 13 points.
“That’ what I tell her (Litten),” White said with a smile. “She’s going to get her points. And luckily, tonight she was able to get the cap off the basket and have some shots go down. And ideally we can pound it inside with our size, force people to make adjustments, and then come back out and our guards are going to be more open. If we can counter the adjustments by other teams we become even better.”
Their schedule will be heavy with non-conference Centerville, Miami East and Anna prior to New Year’s, and then conference play becomes more intense with a date against Minster to open 2026. But White’s strategy is sound and she would seem to have all the makins’ to make it work as planned.
Kynnedi Hager, Jena Heitkamp, and Allie Weitholter can score inside. If they do, Katey Litten and Elli Stammen are going to make perimeter shots.
The defense…will drive everything else.
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