West Lafayette Jr-Sr High School

On Saturday January 17th the West Lafayette 7th grade A team participated in the 2026 WCJC tournament at Tecumseh Junior High School. Their first match up of the day was against Benton Central. The Red Devils had already beaten BC earlier in the season, but it was without one of the Bison's most talented players. West Lafayette started the game strong and by the end of the first quarter had built a 18 point lead. The Red Devils continued their offensive efficiency, with 5 different players contributing to their seven made 3 pointers of the game. Kendall Williamson led the team in scoring with a total of 16 points, 9 of his points coming from 3 point shots. Ryne Emke ended the game with 10 points, followed closely behind by Ben Feldmeyer with 7. Parker Strode did a great job finding open teammates throughout the game, collecting 4 assists. The West Lafayette defense was also impressive against Benton Central. P. Strode, Ehmke, Feldmeyer, Jaxton Hysong, Niko Harris and Williamson all contributed to the 8 recorded steals during the game. Jack Strode, Brayson Gaeta and Williamson each made a big block on defense. When the final horn sounded, the score was 49-22 in favor of West Lafayette. The win moved the Red Devils to the championship game against Tecumseh. Early in the season Tecumseh handed West Lafayette their first loss. West Lafayette knew they would have to play a near perfect game in order to compete with talented and deep Tecumseh team. The game was fast paced and physical from the beginning. West Lafayette took an early lead and managed to keep that lead until late in the 4th quarter. Eventually Tecumseh emerged as tourney winners with the final score in the championship game being 50-48 in favor of the Bronchos. Despite the heartbreaking loss, the Red Devils showed a lot of positives in their final game. Ryne Ehmke was in his zone, scoring a game high 20 points. Only three other Red Devils scored, Kendall Williamson with 10 points and Ben Feldmeyer and Parker Strode with 9 a piece. Rebounding was difficult against Tecumseh, with West Lafayette being out-rebounded by 17. The Red Devil's still played aggressive defense, recording 10 steals. The steals were a collective effort from P. Strode, Connor Hollingsworth, Jack Strode, Kohen Morlan, Ehmke and Williamson. The A team ended their season with only 4 losses, a Covington tourney championship and a WCJC tourney runners up. The future of West Lafayette basketball looks bright with this group of talented athletes.