HAVERHILL – With some mixed results on the precipice of opening their Commonwealth Conference schedule, Yaki Ortiz and the Whittier Tech girls were hungry to start showing what they could be.
On Tuesday evening, they accomplished their wishes, almost to perfection, running a scrappy Greater Lawrence Tech squad off the Wildcats’ home floor, 54-21.
“I think we’re playing really well. We’re really good as a team. We have great team bonding here, on and off the court. It’s just really good,” said sophomore guard Yaki Ortiz, who led a balanced Whittier attack with a dozen points in the win.
“We bounced back well (from the Christmas tourney loss to Amesbury. We played pretty well in the Amesbury game, just lost our lead, and they were a pretty good team.”
Ortiz’s older sister Yami had 10 points in a game where Whittier jumped to a 10-0 lead early and never looked back.
There are high expectations this winter in Wildcat country. Taking care of business in the CAC like this is priority one.
“I think we can be really good. We want to win championships here,” said Yaki Ortiz. “Last year, we lost in the playoffs to Wilmington, and it was terrible. But my goal is get to the playoffs and just keep winning.”
The Ortiz girls can be dynamic at times. Playing together since fourth grade has them almost in lock-step on the floor in the back-court.
“It’s really good. I love playing with my sister. Sometimes we go back and forth (at each other), but we have a really good connection on the court,” Yaki said. “We support each other for sure.”
Tuesday’s win was a prime example of what Whittier could accomplish and how the Cats can get it done.
With the Ortiz girls at the head of the press, the energy simply engulfed the Reggies.
“When we’re pressing, we can be really good. We just have all this energy,” Ortiz said “We talk. We communicate, make sure everyone is up.”
Whittier Tech 54, Greater Lawrence Tech 21
GLT (2-4): Sorielysmar Ocasio 1-0-2, Maliah Caban 1-2-4, Serenity West 1-0-3, Lexie Rabito 0-1-1, Ivelyse Lopez 1-2-4, Juneli Aristy 2-1-7, Totals 6-6-21
WT (5-2): Alina Abarca 1-4-6, Yaki Ortiz 5-0-12, Enajiah Lopez 2-1-5, Kylee Cannon 1-3-5, Vanessa Lawrence Taylor 3-3-9, Thailiane Ortiz 1-0-2, Yami Ortiz 4-1-10, Nevaeha Wilkins 1-3-5, Totals 18-15-54
3-pointers: GLT – West, Aristy 2; WT – Yaki Ortiz 2, Yami Ortiz