WHITELAND — Jennings County came into Monday’s girls basketball game determined to stop Mackenzie Blazek.
Whiteland showed the Panthers exactly why that’s not a good idea.
The Warriors bombed eight 3-pointers and pulled away in the second half to beat Jennings 61-49 at home in girls basketball.
Blazek, the 6-foot-3 Indiana All-Star candidate who is headed to Illinois, still got hers, finishing the game with a game-high 16 points. But it was shooters Megan Harlow and Madelyn Napier who were the difference, hitting four treys each for the Warriors.
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Whiteland (15-4) never trailed, but it wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that it truly put Jennings (4-13) away.
The Warriors started fast, building a 15-6 first quarter lead. Jennings came roaring back to pull within 19-14 after one.
That theme played out all night. Every time Whiteland seemed to finally get some breathing room, the Panthers crawled back into the game.
Jennings trailed 26-14 late in the second quarter before a pair of Addyson Kent 3-pointers closed the gap and the Panthers trailed only 29-22 at the half.
Whiteland again built a big lead in the third quarter, going ahead 38-24, but Jennings got back to within 10.
Finally, in the fourth, the Warriors’ shooters came alive.
Harlow opened the final stanza with a pair of 3-pointers and Napier added a trey to push the Whiteland lead to 17 (54-37), its largest of the night. Napier added a final trey with 1:25 left to end any hopes of a Jennings comeback.
Harlow finished with 14 points and Napier had 12 to join Blazek in double figures for the Warriors. Callie Wilder had 13 points, Kent scored 12 and Baylee Byford 10 to lead the Panthers.
