TOPEKA — There’s nothing like a sectional championship loss to temporarily dwarf the rest of the season’s accomplishments.

Exhibit A: The Westview Warriors.

The credentials were all there. A third-straight 20-win season, undefeated in the Northeast Corner Conference, undefeated against 2A and 3A schools in the regular season and a shot for its fifth sectional title in six years.

A loss nullifies that — at least until the pain goes away — and Westview coach Rob Yoder knows as much.

“Twenty-and-four,” Yoder said, referring to Westview’s record. “A lot of positives to take. But it feels now that there’s nothing right.”

A 20-win season couldn’t save the Warriors from the cold shooting that plagued them in its 44-36 sectional title loss to LaVille (18-6) Saturday, March 2.

Double-digit wins against Bremen and Central Noble in the first two games of the tournament couldn’t save the Warriors from being outscored 14-3 in the third quarter against the Lancers.

It wasn’t from lack of effort, either. Westview attacked with 26 shots from behind the arc, from the elbow, from right underneath the basket, even from transition layups. All but six clanked out in the second half.

“We went cold the second half,” Yoder said. “We can play basketball really well and still have to make some shots along the way. It’s unfortunate for our group because they work hard and they try hard. Over the course of the season you would have games when you shoot poorly and, unfortunately, tonight it was one of those games.”

Westview ended the first half winning 21-17 and shooting a hair under 50 percent from the field.

Yoder said a loss in the sectional championship after an otherwise “really good season” is a frustrating way for his seniors to end their high school careers.

Despite the heartbreak, Yoder put things into perspective: At the end of the season, there’s usually only one team that doesn’t go out tough.

“I haven’t been through a season yet that if you don’t win the state championship it isn’t a tough loss at the end,” Yoder said. “When we get time to just reflect back, we’ll see that we had a really good season.”

“Winning 20 games is extremely difficult. If you look at the number of teams that accomplish that, it’s no small feat. Obviously our seniors have had a lot to do with that.”



Class 2A Westview Sectional Championship

LaVille 44, Westview 36

Westview — Jordyn Bontrager 4-10 3-3 12, Brett Yoder 2-2 0-0 5, Chandler Aspy 2-10 0-0 4, Nick Raber 2-5 2-2 6, Kyle Miller 3-9 0-0 7, Cody Litwiller 0-0 0-0 0, Jamar Weaver 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 14-41 (.341) 5-5 (1.00) 36.

LaVille — Blake Berger 3-5 7-10 13, Landon Manuel 1-2 0-2 3, Jeff Haygood 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Hostetler 4-13 2-2 15, Nicholas Amor 3-5 1-2 8, Alec Baker 1-3 0-0 2, Cameron Gurtner 0-2 3-3 3, Ryan Bettcher 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 13-33 (.394) 14-19 (.737) 44.

Scoring By Quarters

Westview 9 12 3 12 — 36

LaVille 6 11 14 13 — 44

3-point goals: Westview (3-12) — Bontrager, Yoder, Miller; LaVille (4-14) — Manuel, Hostetler 3.

Rebounds: Westview (19) — Miller 5; LaVille (21) — Hostetler 6, Amor 5.

Steals: Westview (3) - Weaver 2; LaVille (4) — Berger, Haygood, Baker, Amor.

Turnovers: Westview 9, LaVille 7.

Fouls: Westview 18, LaVille 10.

Officials: Dave Spencer, Matt Hans, Steve Keck.

Records: Westview 20-4, LaVille 18-6.

Next: Bluffton/FW Luers vs. Boone Grove/Winamac, LaVille/Westview vs. Hammond Noll/Bowman Academy, Saturday, March 9, in semifinals of Class 2A North Judson Regional, 11 a.m. ET and following; championship, 8:30 p.m.