By ANDREW SHULTZ
Sports Editor
   SOUTH WHITLEY — Forget about going out with a bang, the Whitley County basketball season came in with one Friday night.
   In what has become one of the more meaningful rivalries between Columbia City and Whitko, the two girls basketball programs squared off in a season debut for the Lady Eagles.
   Former assistant to Columbia City’s Wayne Kreiger and current Whitko head coach Rob Bell took on his mentor for the fourth time with emotion being at the forefront of the night.
   A scrappy game for bragging rights for the season had a physical contest carry on into a marathon of 57 total fouls, 67 combined free throws attempts and a frenzied tempo.
   After three quarters, the underdog Whitko held its biggest lead of the night 36-33. However, a resurgence of their shot making along with 39 free throw attempts helped Columbia City rally in the fourth quarter and open the season up with a win 60-50.
   “We knew coming in it was going to be a tough game,” Kreiger noted. “It’s the typical rivalry game with aggressive defense on each side.”
   At the start, the mix of rivalry emotions seemed to affect Whitko more than it did Columbia City.
   The Lady Eagles opened the game forcing Whitko into 11 first quarter turnovers and stretching a lead out to 13-5 at one point.
   The lead quickly disappeared as Whitko turned up the full court pressure. Starting a run at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Wildcats trailed 17-14 with the help of the game’s leading scorer sophomore Micaela Sylvester.
   The point guard for the ’Cats scored 11 points in a 16-4 run for Whitko including a three-point play to open the second period and tie the game up 17-17.
   “She put her head down and decided she was going to go do it tonight,” Bell said of Sylvester. “The team fed off of her and she fed off the team and it just kept going.”
   Her first season at the helm for Whitko, Sylvester made a good first impression with two big blocks on defense and a 10-for-11 performance at the foul line, two of which gave Whitko its first lead 19-17.
   “That run at the end of the first quarter we just turned the ball over and they took advantage of every opportunity,” Kreiger said.
   Columbia City seemed flustered for the remainder of the first half. Another lead at 27-21 quickly evaporated for the Lady Eagles as foul trouble helped send Whitko to the free throw line.
   “Our kids quit thinking and just started playing,” Bell said. “We made mistakes but our heart, our guts and our desire made up for all the mistakes. You can’t coach that.”
   Another run before the half tied the game for the Lady ’Cats 27-27.
   A trade of the lead four times throughout the third quarter had Columbia City pulling out a marginal lead with the start of a run.
   The Lady Eagles, behind Sarah Woll’s team-high 14 points and Maddie Hinen’s 12 points, ran out to a 42-36 lead by the end of the third.
   What started as a 9-0 run in the third ended as a 15-0 stretch in the fourth quarter with Woll and Hinen combining for 10 points in the rally.
   “We started to get in our half court offense,” Kreiger commented of his team’s rally. “We really did do much of that until that point. We wanted to slow the tempo down and during that time we started to hit some shots.”
   Held scoreless for six minutes, the wheels started to fall off for Whitko. Sylvester and forward Rachelle Kessie both fouled out as Columbia City closed out the game at the free throw line.
   After nearly three hours of play, 67 free throw attempts and 57 fouls, the Lady Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 record on the season while Whitko falls to 0-2. Not far off is another rivalry game for the Lady ’Cats with a trip to Churubusco tonight.