For the second straight night, Warsaw and Northridge met on the hardwood as two top-10 teams in the state. This time it was the girls teams in action, facing off at the Lady Raiders’ brand new gym. While the Lady Tigers were in control on the scoreboard for a majority of the contest, it felt a lot closer than that. In the end, Warsaw put itself in the driver's seat in the Northern Lakes Conference and remained undefeated with a 60-44 win.
“I don’t even know where to start. I’m so proud of those kids in that locker room,” head coach Lenny Krebs said after the game. “Those girls, their heart, their fight, their passion and their love for each other. We needed a win like that against one of the best teams around.
“People will look at us and say we’re not battle tested, but you can look at some of the teams we’ve played not just this year but last year too. We’ve beaten some good teams. These girls are warriors.”
The team that got off to the fast start was Warsaw, as the Lady Tigers began the game on a 10-2 run over the first two minutes of the game. A major part of that run was two big three pointers by Joslyn Bricker, the second of which led to an early timeout call by Northridge.
She’d hit another one quickly after the break to put up a quick nine points as well as give her team an early double digit lead. A trifecta of Warsaw turnovers following the latest triple was just what the Lady Raiders needed to get back into things, as just a few minutes later, Northridge had cut the lead to four.
Brooke Zartman’s first basket of the night finally put an end to the home run and gave her team a bit more separation for the time being. Following it up was Bricker’s fourth three of the quarter and just like that, Warsaw was up by nine again.
The Lady Raiders did well to pick up crucial baskets to stick around whenever it looked as if the Lady Tigers were on the verge of taking control of the game. A fifth three pointer by Bricker in five attempts during the final minute of the first gave her 15 of the team’s 25 points. It would also be the final Warsaw points of the first quarter, as the visitors led 25-18 after eight minutes.
“Joslyn got us off to a great start. We knew Zartman was going to be shadowed all night and that keeps a defender occupied and opens things up for others. Joslyn took advantage of that tonight,” Krebs said.
After nearly a minute-long possession to begin the second quarter, Abbey Peterson put in a layup for the first Lady Tiger points of the period. After yet another triple from Bricker put Warsaw back up by double figures, Northridge once again had an answer that cut the deficit back down to four. During this stretch, Brooke Winchester picked up her third foul for the visitors, relegating her to the bench for the rest of the half.

    Warsaw senior Abbey Peterson puts up an uncontested layup during a fast break in the first quarter...Nieter

It continued to be a game of runs, as the Lady Tigers were able to push their advantage back up to seven with three minutes to go in the first half. During this stretch, Northridge had multiple opportunities to cut into the lead, but the Warsaw defense held strong. A three by Alexis Neely, who had also put together a great first half of offense, put her team up eight with a little under two minutes to go.
“Alexis Neely is one of the most underrated kids not only in the Northern Lakes Conference but in the northern half of the state. You can put her on so many teams and she’d be their go-to option on offense,” Krebs said. “Great game for her tonight, on both ends of the floor. She doesn’t understand the value she adds to this team.”
The sharpshooting Zartman hit her first triple with a minute to go until halftime after a Lady Raider bucket to make it a nine-point game. The Lady Tigers would have the final shot of the second quarter, but a turnaround by Bricker would bounce off the back of the rim to leave things at 39-30 at the break. Bricker led all scorers with 21 points at halftime.
It took over two minutes into the third quarter for Warsaw to score its first points of the second half, a floater by Neely. During that same stretch, they only allowed a single point at the charity stripe, so harm was done to their advantage. A three by Peterson briefly put the Lady Tigers up by eleven, but Northridge was able to answer with a three-point play on the other end to neutralize it.
Back on the court to start the second half, Winchester finally picked up her first point of the game at the foul line with a little under four minutes to go. A big three pointer by the Lady Raiders gave the home crowd some life and put the team within six not long afterwards.
With three minutes to go in the third, Winchester picked up a fourth foul and went back to the bench. Even with one of their top defenders no longer on the court, the Lady Tigers remained stout on that end of the floor, preventing Northridge from inching any closer. Despite leading the game by eight, things felt much closer, as the home side had the firepower to make the run it needed at any time.
Bricker was fouled driving to the lane in the final seconds of the third, and while it was called on the ground, she was given two free throws with Northridge in the bonus. She’d hit them both, and with just one quarter to go, Warsaw led 50-40.
Neely extended the lead to 12, the largest of the night so far, with a layup early in the fourth. Zartman added another two pointer not long afterwards to create even more breathing room. As time continued to tick away, Warsaw remained up by double figures, holding onto a 13-point lead with a little less than five minutes to go.
In the biggest moments of the game, the Lady Tiger defense played perhaps the best it had all night long. Getting multiple stops in succession to stay in front, the visitors were able to use that stout work on one end to stay in control of the contest as time became more and more of a factor.
Two clutch free throws by Neely kept Warsaw up by 13 with now just three minutes remaining. With Northridge giving everything they had, the Lady Tigers continued to play well defensively, and perhaps even more importantly, dominated the glass to prevent multiple opportunities for the Lady Raiders.
“Kyra Kiser was another player that had some big minutes for us tonight. I’m incredibly proud of her,” Krebs said. “There were stretches in that fourth quarter where we weren’t scoring the way we wanted to to stretch that lead, but we weren’t giving up points either. Limiting them to one shot and applying pressure was a big key.”
With 90 seconds to go, Warsaw now led by 15, and the fans were starting to sense it, giving their team a standing ovation as they milked the clock on offense. After one last free throw by
Zartman, the visitors were able to dribble out the clock for a double-digit victory in their biggest test yet.
Bricker led all scorers with 27 points. Neely had 13. Peterson and Zartman each scored eight, with Peterson grabbing eight rebounds. Winchester led the team with nine boards in limited minutes.
Warsaw (16-0, 4-0 NLC) is on the road at Mishawaka Wednesday.
“This was a big win for us, but it doesn’t mean anything if we take a step back after this. We need to stay focused and continue to get better as the tournament gets closer,” Krebs said.