LCS's Houk Settling in As Leader

Thu. December 22, 2011 at 1:00 a.m. | By Polk Preps Staff

Lakeland Christian senior Whitney Houk envisioned this season a little differently.

She thought her team would have an unstoppable 1-2 punch on offense: her as the outside threat, junior Christin Strawbridge as the dominating post player.

Strawbridge transferred to Kathleen before the 2011-12 season started, though, causing first-year Vikings coach Mike Carl to shuffle things up with his lineup.

It also forced Houk into more of a leadership role, something she's taken on without complaint.

After a close district loss to Fort Meade on Dec. 12, Houk was still upbeat.

Carl said she's often that way and that he hears her tell her teammates to "play hard, play together," and most importantly, "have fun."

That's what you like to see from an athlete.

Win or lose, teammates need that motivation on the court and in the locker room.

"She's been great in terms of leadership and the way she communicates," Carl said.

Lakeland Christian isn't doing so bad this season.

The Vikings are 6-5 and 2-2 in their district.

It's largely because of Houk and, more specifically, her stellar 3-point shooting.

She scored her 200th career bucket from long distance against Fort Meade and is 10th in the nation in 3-pointers made, according to MaxPreps.

Houk has 37 so far this season. The national leader has 66.

That's a big change from last season for Houk, who was only shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc. She's at 49 percent now.

"She's led the team with her ball handling and decision making," Carl said.

"She's had to because we've had to rely more on our outside shooting."

Houk doesn't mind taking those shots.

"When I shoot 3s it just feels comfortable," Houk said. "Anywhere beyond that line I feel comfortable."

But she's not OK with the losses.

She's competitive, and it irks her when her team doesn't win.

She's also pretty tough.

In a Nov. 14 game against Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate, Houk hit her head hard on the floor and had swelling above her eye.

Doctors cleared her to play before the next game against Kathleen and she led her team with 22 points and six 3-pointers in a loss.

The next day, the Vikings beat Lakeland 78-59 behind 29 points, including four 3-pointers from Houk. She also had eight assists.

Houk is hoping the team can put together more wins and make a deeper run in the playoffs. Last year, the Vikings lost big in a regional semifinal to Indian Rocks Christian.

Sure, this season could have been different.

But things happen, and it's encouraging to see a player like Houk keep pushing through it.

"It was a major change with Christin leaving, and it was hard to adjust. But it just motivated me more," Houk said.

It obviously has, and she's a fun player to watch, especially when she's hitting those 3s.