Lady Tigers Batttle, But Come Up Short Against Homestead
January 19, 2022 at 3:38 a.m.
Lady Tigers Batttle, But Come Up Short Against Homestead
By Chip Davenport-
While all eyes seemed to be on the Spartans’ star, University of Connecticut signee, 6’3” Ayanna Patterson, her counterpart, Warsaw’s 6’2 senior forward Abby Sanner punctuated a 24-13 second-half Tiger stretch by sinking a 3-point shot bringing the home crowd on its feet with a roaring crescendo. The trey moved the Tigers from their greatest deficit, 37-21 early in the third period, to trail by only 5 points, 50-45 in the fourth stanza. Patterson remained positioned inside as if she were daring Sanner to launch her bomb from 21-feet.
“We cut it maybe to five at one point, and we were rolling,” Krebs noted. “But we have to learn to maintain that type of execution. We came out of the time out and gave up two scores.”
The roll Krebs cited ended abruptly after Homestead called a time out, and the Spartans returned to the floor to clamp down on the orange and black with a 9-1 run to finish the night victorious 59-46.
The Tigers, who trailed in each of their first three quarters, 15-9, 34-19, and 46-38 respectively, played aggressively enough to force their top-ranked guests into 15 turnovers, but the Spartans’ strength in other aspects of the game resulted in a 59-46 loss for the host Tigers.
Homestead played a man-to-man defense most of the night limiting Warsaw to 15 of 41 (37%) shooting accuracy from the field. The Spartans outrebounded the Tigers 32-22, shot 53% from the field (21 for 40), and connected on 7 of 17 shots beyond the arc (41% accuracy to boot). The top-ranked Spartans also hit 10 of 12 free throws for 83%.
Patterson led all scorers with a 30-point performance for the Spartans with a mix of dominant inside scoring and second-chance baskets, four mid-range jumpers, 6 of 8 (75%) shooting from the free throw line, 18 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. When she wasn’t lighting up the Tiger Den scoreboard, teammate Ali Stephens, a 5’11” junior, was hitting contested and uncontested 3-point shots (5 of 10) on her way to a 17-point finish.
“Great ball club, great defensive team,” Tiger head coach Lenny Krebs said. “They are ranked where they belong… I thought our kids gave a championship effort tonight. I’m proud of them.
“We learned a lot today about our ball club. Before the game I told our team ‘Your belief needs to be tested.’ Our girls responded in ways I wanted to see. The girls fought the whole game.”
The Spartans arrived at the Tiger Den with a 64-points per game scoring average. Warsaw held their guests five points below their average.
“At the beginning of the year, Crown Point,” Krebs said referring to an earlier season clash with another Class 4A number-one squad. “They held us to 19 (points), but we held them to 40. I would have loved to hold the Spartans to 40.
“I’m more concerned about our effort, playing hard, finishing strong, coming out healthy.”
Krebs’ squad has been playing top-notch non-conference competition throughout the season to prepare for the rigors of post-season, but in closer range, is the Tigers opportunity to run the table with a win in their final Northern Lakes Conference game of the season when they host the Concord Minutemen Saturday for Senior Night at 7:45 p.m.
Kacilyn Krebs, one of the upcoming Saturday evening’s honorees, led Warsaw’s scoring with 17 points, including five buckets from beyond the arc, moving her to 147 career 3-pointers, moving her to second in career treys past Lindsey Baker Erba (145).
Abby Sanner finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Bailie Stephens added 7 points, Ava Egolf added 4 tallies, and Zoe Bergan picked up 3 points and 3 steals for the Tigers.
While all eyes seemed to be on the Spartans’ star, University of Connecticut signee, 6’3” Ayanna Patterson, her counterpart, Warsaw’s 6’2 senior forward Abby Sanner punctuated a 24-13 second-half Tiger stretch by sinking a 3-point shot bringing the home crowd on its feet with a roaring crescendo. The trey moved the Tigers from their greatest deficit, 37-21 early in the third period, to trail by only 5 points, 50-45 in the fourth stanza. Patterson remained positioned inside as if she were daring Sanner to launch her bomb from 21-feet.
“We cut it maybe to five at one point, and we were rolling,” Krebs noted. “But we have to learn to maintain that type of execution. We came out of the time out and gave up two scores.”
The roll Krebs cited ended abruptly after Homestead called a time out, and the Spartans returned to the floor to clamp down on the orange and black with a 9-1 run to finish the night victorious 59-46.
The Tigers, who trailed in each of their first three quarters, 15-9, 34-19, and 46-38 respectively, played aggressively enough to force their top-ranked guests into 15 turnovers, but the Spartans’ strength in other aspects of the game resulted in a 59-46 loss for the host Tigers.
Homestead played a man-to-man defense most of the night limiting Warsaw to 15 of 41 (37%) shooting accuracy from the field. The Spartans outrebounded the Tigers 32-22, shot 53% from the field (21 for 40), and connected on 7 of 17 shots beyond the arc (41% accuracy to boot). The top-ranked Spartans also hit 10 of 12 free throws for 83%.
Patterson led all scorers with a 30-point performance for the Spartans with a mix of dominant inside scoring and second-chance baskets, four mid-range jumpers, 6 of 8 (75%) shooting from the free throw line, 18 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. When she wasn’t lighting up the Tiger Den scoreboard, teammate Ali Stephens, a 5’11” junior, was hitting contested and uncontested 3-point shots (5 of 10) on her way to a 17-point finish.
“Great ball club, great defensive team,” Tiger head coach Lenny Krebs said. “They are ranked where they belong… I thought our kids gave a championship effort tonight. I’m proud of them.
“We learned a lot today about our ball club. Before the game I told our team ‘Your belief needs to be tested.’ Our girls responded in ways I wanted to see. The girls fought the whole game.”
The Spartans arrived at the Tiger Den with a 64-points per game scoring average. Warsaw held their guests five points below their average.
“At the beginning of the year, Crown Point,” Krebs said referring to an earlier season clash with another Class 4A number-one squad. “They held us to 19 (points), but we held them to 40. I would have loved to hold the Spartans to 40.
“I’m more concerned about our effort, playing hard, finishing strong, coming out healthy.”
Krebs’ squad has been playing top-notch non-conference competition throughout the season to prepare for the rigors of post-season, but in closer range, is the Tigers opportunity to run the table with a win in their final Northern Lakes Conference game of the season when they host the Concord Minutemen Saturday for Senior Night at 7:45 p.m.
Kacilyn Krebs, one of the upcoming Saturday evening’s honorees, led Warsaw’s scoring with 17 points, including five buckets from beyond the arc, moving her to 147 career 3-pointers, moving her to second in career treys past Lindsey Baker Erba (145).
Abby Sanner finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Bailie Stephens added 7 points, Ava Egolf added 4 tallies, and Zoe Bergan picked up 3 points and 3 steals for the Tigers.
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