SOUTH WHITLEY — The Whitko girls basketball team has quietly been getting better and better over the past few years and people finally started to take notice last season. The Wildcats set single-season program records in virtually every statistical category. The 2015-16 team also won 19 games, a program best, as well as cracked the state polls for the first time in history. This year, however, there are no surprises left to be made.

South Whitley’s best-kept secret is finally too big to ignore. The ‘Cats are out of the bag and they are ready to dominate the court this winter. Whitko opens up as No. 3 in the Class 2-A poll, sitting behind No. 2 Providence and No. 1 Lafayette Central Catholic, the Class 2-A defending state champion. With a healthy group of returners, including one of the area’s most prolific players in Aly Reiff, the Wildcats are looking to grab some hardware this season.

“It does benefit us greatly to return such an experienced bunch,” said head coach Brandon Bradley. “Aly and Brianna  (Cumberland) have been all-conference multiple times, and Kennedy (Krull), Hanna (Yohe) and Haley (Yohe) have each earned multiple letters. Even though Aly and Brianna played as freshmen, I think as sophomores the collective senior class got their feet wet in terms of playing in big games which helped them into their junior year. I think last year, with the improved schedule, they as juniors were able to improve upon some of the past results.

“But, they were also able to see a newer, tougher schedule with even stronger teams, and we had our share of mistakes we needed to fix. This year, as seniors, we’ve enhanced the schedule a little bit more, but I think now they’re ready to compete at an even higher level with some of those top tier teams.”

Whitko will see its fair share of good teams in December’s Greenfield-Central Tournament which features heavy hitters such as Gary West, Westfield and Marion, among others. But the Wildcats also added defending class 4-A champion Penn. That game will be played in Granger on December 10. The Wildcats only play one 1-A program, Three Rivers Conference foe North Miami, while tipping off against seven opponents in class 3-A and eight in class 4-A.

Winning games should be a common thing this season for a team that returns Reiff, Krull, Cumberland and the Yohe girls. Reiff has gotten her name out there as she has verbally committed to Xavier Unviersity. She’s already the program’s all-time leading scorer and averaged 19.1 points per game last season and nearly six boards per contest. With the stress of choosing a college out of the way, look for Reiff to take her game to an even higher level this winter.

Krull will provide an inside presence for the Wildcats as she looks to build off a successful junior campaign. Cumberland had a rough 2015-16 season as she tried to return from an ACL injury. She averaged 9.6 ppg last year, but had scored 14.3 ppg her sophomore year before the injury. She finally started to turn a corner near the end of the season. The team will lean, at times, on her perimeter shooting and strong defensive presence.

Both Yohe girls will provide the edge the team needs as both are very tough players. Hanna averaged over seven ppg last season and is a “jack of all trades” type of player that plays much bigger than her listed height of 5’3″. Haley takes on many of those same traits and served as the team’s first bench option last year.

In addition to those key returners, the Wildcats return sophomore Ellie Snep, junior Anna Ousley and senior Brooke Christoffel as well as several other newcomers. Whitko lost Jen Reiff, Avaree Freel and Emily Day to graduation.

The Wildcats have seen their season end in the sectional title game in each of the past three seasons. That’s a trend the ‘Cats hope to buck this year to earn the program’s first-ever sectional title.

“Yes, we’ve fallen short each year in the sectional championship game, and that’s something that I think is driving them this year,” admitted Bradley.  “I think our deep senior class understands this is their last chance. I think some of it can be attributed to inexperience in the past, some of it to key injuries, and some of it to just playing a better team that night.

“However, this year I feel like our experience in big games will be a major key for us. I think our toughest opponent will likely be Central Noble. They won 18 games last year with two freshmen leading the way. They did graduate a key scorer, but those two sophomores are a tough matchup for anyone on their schedule. From there, until anyone knocks off Westview, I think they’re going to be a favorite.”

Whitko has only won conference once before, 2008, so that remains a goal for the team. Class 3-A No. 4 Tippecanoe Valley will be the biggest road block in earning a conference crown.

“Conference will again come down to someone figuring out a way to beat Tippecanoe Valley,” explained Bradley. “This might be the best team they’ve had since I’ve been at Whitko, and in my opinion they are probably the best, or second best team in the state in their class. From there Rochester has been strong, but the graduation loss of four starting guards with major experience will be tough to replace. They will still be very competitive, just with several new pieces.

“I think the team on the rise will be North Miami. They have strong sophomore and freshmen classes with size that will be tough for opponents to match up with. Wabash is always competitive, Northfield has some good young kids, and the rest of the teams in the conference are always tough and scrappy, no one just lays down during a conference game.”

Whitko averaged 57 ppg on offense last season and surrendered 43 ppg on defense. The Wildcats start its season Friday night by hosting Fort Wayne North.