Wawasee’s Kylee Rostochak drives through the lane against East Noble. (Photos by Mike Deak)

KENDALLVILLE —Both sides of the spectrum made a sometimes miserable vacation destination one to remember.

Wawasee freshman Kylee Rostochak played a huge role down the stretch while seniors KiLee Knafel and Cassie Martinez did a lot of the heavy lifting as Wawasee escaped a tough East Noble girls hoops team, 63-54, Friday night in Kendallville.

Wawasee needed every bit of help from a roster already thin before the game as senior guard Lexy Blunk was sidelined earlier in the week with a foot injury during practice. As foul trouble began to build in the second half and East Noble held a fourth quarter lead, Martinez stepped up with a huge run.

After Elizabeth Jackson fouled out for Wawasee, Jaymee Wolfe hit a free throw to give East Noble a 49-47 lead midway through the fourth. Coming out of a timeout, Martinez nailed a 19-foot jumper. An assist from Knafel to Martinez, who hit a three in the corner, gave Wawasee a 56-52 lead. Following a Lady Knight turnover, Martinez made a pair of free throws. The senior scored eight of her 11 points in the fourth, but none bigger than the three to shift the balance of power.

“Cassie made some huge shots for us,” said Wawasee head coach Kem Zolman. “This was a game where we just didn’t quit. We are just tickled to death as coaches for the kids. You know how hard it is to come here and play the day after Thanksgiving. To get out of here with that kind of win is very, very exciting.”

Wawasee’s KiLee Knafel drives past East Noble’s Madison Cook.

Knafel, who registered one of the more quiet 28 point, eight rebound games a high school girl could have, scored just five points in the fourth quarter, but kept Wawasee around early. Knafel, who averaged 33 points per game coming into the night, had 16 at the half, but missed all seven of her three-point shots on the night. Knafel still made 12 of 14 free throws and had four steals and four assists. The draw of the Lady Knights to Knafel left others wide open – like Martinez and Rostochak – to contribute.

“I really think Kylee is getting comfortable with her role and what she can do on the court,” Zolman said. “I think KiLee is also getting comfortable with her teammates around her. The first thing (Knafel) said in the lockerroom a minute ago was how well Cassie played, the big shots she knocked down and how well Kylee played. The girls are starting to find where they fit in.”

Rostochak continued her assent on the varsity court, scoring 16 points and dishing four assists. The freshman forward had more of a balancing act after drawing her fourth foul early in the fourth quarter, having to sit for several minutes before contributing late.

Wawasee opened the game by taking a 9-2 lead and led until the 5:48 mark of the third quarter when Jena Yates, who led East Noble (2-2) with 12 points, hit a three that gave her team a 31-29 lead. Four consecutive Rostochak points gave Wawasee the lead at 37-36, but the Lady Knights retook the lead and held it until Rostochak hit a pair of free throws to put the game at 51-49 Wawasee, which never trailed again. The win at East Noble is the sixth consecutive win for Wawasee in the series and the fourth straight win in Kendallville.

Wawasee guard Elizabeth Jackson rises for a shot at East Noble.

“Tonight, East Noble did a good job of spreading us out on both sides of the court,” Zolman said, adding East Noble’s size gave Wawasee fits inside. “The matchups then didn’t work in our favor, and that led to some of the silly fouls we made. That’s a dilemma we are going to face a lot as we see some of these bigger teams. We are going to probably be in foul trouble a lot. But to bounce back and play well down the stretch, that will help balance us out.”

The buzz for Wawasee (4-0) will have little time to settle as the Lady Warriors will turn around and travel to LaGrange to face Prairie Heights Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

The junior varsity game had East Noble use its full-court press to its advantage, smothering Wawasee’s offense into 24 turnovers while hitting four big three-pointers in a 33-15 win.

Chandler Jones had nine points to lead the victors while Paige DeCamp had eight points and five rebounds. Wawasee scored 10 straight points during a 10-minute stretch of the second half, but a 30-6 lead built by East Noble was too much to overcome. Alissa Flores and Natalie Jones each had four points for Wawasee, which is winless in four games this season.