The Varnum Whippets came home Tuesday night to host the Paden Pirates before their clash at the Cashion County Line Tournament this weekend.

The Whippets and Lady Whippets just came off the road from Moss Friday night with wins from both teams. The Lady Whippets won 60-44 with Ashlyn White-Richards leading Varnum with 18 points in the game and the Whippet boys won 74-33 with C.J. Bernard leading Varnum with 15 points.

Tuesday night the Lady Whippets kicked off the evening facing the Paden Lady Pirates. Both teams were ready to play and kept it close throughout the first quarter. Ashlyn White-Richards scored 6 points in the frame with one being a three-point shot. The Lady Pirates also knocked down a trey and came away with a slight lead over Varnum by one at the end of the quarter.

In the second quarter, White-Richards continued with her 3-point shooting and Katherine Morgan added another trey to motivate the team and home crowd. Katherine Uhlman of the Lady Pirates also continued to find her 3-point range and helped Paden keep the lead at the break.

The Lady Whippets were down by 3 points, heading into the third quarter. The game turned into a slugfest as each team traded baskets with great passing plays and layups.

Varnum’s Morgan again found her 3-point range and knocked down two treys to help Varnum close the gap.

The Lady Whippets were just two points down at the start of the fourth. Shysie Harjo joined the Lady Whippets three-point club by draining a three in the frame, but the Lady Pirates hit two of their own and were 7 of 12 from the line in the final quarter and pulled out the win with a final score of 45-38.

Leading the way for the Lady Whippets was Katherine Morgan with 17 points, three treys, 4 assists, 10 rebounds, 4 steals and was 4 of 6 from the free throw line.

Ashlyn White-Richards had 10 points, two treys, 1 assist, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and was 2 of 4 from the line.

Shysie Harjo had 7 points, one three-point shot, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

Before the Varnum Whippet boys took to the court Tuesday, Varnum school and Varnum Head Coach Jon Hadley honored C.J. Bernard with a plaque for reaching 1,000 points scored in his High School Basketball career. Barnard reached the point while Varnum was playing at Lexington on the 17th of December.

The Whippets boys were set to play by game time. The game started out as a defensive battle as both teams fought to get on the board until Varnum loosened up a bit with Devyn Fullbright knocking down a three-point shot and Jon Madkins scoring 6 points from inside the paint.

Varnum had an 8-point lead heading into second. Paden’s Israel Pulido got the hot-hand and closed the gap with three 3-points shots made in the quarter.

Varnum’s Trenton Mack and C.J. Bernard found their three-point range and helped the Whippets go on a 20-15 run in the frame.

Varnum had a 20-point lead, but Paden closed the gap to a 10-point deficit by the break.

The Paden Pirates leaned on Pulido to close the gap with two more treys in the third but the defense of the Whippets frustrated Paden with steals and their offensive pressure. Madkins scored 7 points, Bernard scored 8 with a slam dunk and Ruben Zapata, Fullbright and Kylan Mack added to their lead with a three-point shot of their own.

The Whippets had a commanding lead of 61-30 heading into the final quarter. The Pirates had no answer in the fourth and went 3 of 7 from the free throw line but managed 8 points in the frame.

Varnum cruised through the final frame with 14 points scored in the paint to seal the victory and remain undefeated with a final score of 78-38.

Scoring for Varnum was C.J. Bernard with 19 points, one three-point shot, 2 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and was 4 of 4 from the free throw line.

Jon Madkins had 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals and was one of three from the line.

Kylan Mack had 13 points, one trey, 6 assists, 7 rebounds, 1 block, 3 steals and was 2 of 2 from the line. The Varnum Whippet boys are 16-0 on the season and are ranked #2 in Class B in the State.

Varnum is currently playing in the Cashion County Line Basketball Tournament this weekend.

The next home game for Varnum is Friday the 31st of January against Strother.

Games are set to start at 6:30 p.m.

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