Photo by Drew Fritz/Times-Union Kacilyn Krebs plays tight defense against the Blue Jays.
Photo by Drew Fritz/Times-Union Kacilyn Krebs plays tight defense against the Blue Jays.
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Hosting the 43rd annual Lady Tiger Tournament, which became a three-team event after Rochester dropped out due to covid-related issues, Warsaw beat Chesterton 50-30 and followed that up with a 53-32 win over North Judson on Saturday.

The 20-point victory over Chesterton came in the program’s 1,000th career game.

Head Coach Lenny Krebs has referred to Warsaw as a special place numerous times.

He did so when he took the reigns of the storied Lady Tiger basketball program before the 2017-18 season, and he said it again as his team posted a pair of decisive victories on a day the program reached an historic milestone.

Now in their 46th season, the Lady Tigers boast an all-time record of 712-289 following the 21-point win against North Judson.

“That’s a huge milestone, a unique opportunity … 1,000 games,” said Krebs, whose team improved to 11-3 this season with Saturday’s two wins.

“When you think about the fact that Warsaw has won 71 percent over those games, that’s a pretty impressive feat considering the way girls basketball has changed over the course of those 1,000 games.

“For 13 of the 14 years (while coaching at Goshen) I was on the wrong end of that 71 percent. And this is a special place. When I had the opportunity to come here, you don’t turn down a place like this. It’s a special place to coach, and a special place to play. It’s an honor to be a part of that 1,000th game, and the fact we were able to get a win, it can go down in the record book that we won that 1,000th game.”

In beating Chesterton, the Lady Tigers led 10-4 after one quarter of play, and then used a dominant second stanza to stake a 30-7 lead at halftime over a Lady Trojans squad that entered the contest with a 9-2 record.

Chesterton outscored the hosts 19-9 in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to as little as 12 at 38-26, but got no closer the rest of the way.

Junior standout Abby Sanner dominated the paint during Warsaw’s first contest of the day, pulling down 15 rebounds to go along with seven points, a block and numerous intimidations.

Kensie Ryman led the Lady Tigers in scoring against Chesterton with 13 points. Audrey Grimm was also a powerful force inside, collecting ten rebounds to go along with her eight points.

Showing no signs of a knee injury that had hampered her earlier in the season, Kacilyn Krebs tallied eight points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

As usual, Bailie Stephens was all over the floor, adding 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.

The Lady Tigers outrebounded Chesterton 45-27, including a 19-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

In Warsaw’s second game of the day,  against North Judson, who beat Chesterton 40-31 earlier in the day, the Lady Tigers led 11-6 after one quarter of play, 25-18 at halftime and 38-22 heading into the final frame where they continued piling it on for the final 21 point margin.

Sanner was again a force to be reckoned with in the paint, tallying 15 points and eight rebounds,.

Grimm had another solid outing as well, as she grabbed another nine rebounds and scored six points.

Always a threat from deep, Ryman hit on three of six three-point attempts and was perfect from the free throw stripe to finish  with 13 points and six assists.

Krebs contributed 12 points and Stephens six against the Blue?Jays.

Ryman, Sanner and Krebs represented Warsaw on the all-tournament team.

In JV action, Warsaw beat Chesterton 57-40 and topped North Judson 33-16.

The Lady Tigers are in action again Saturday when they travel to Middlebury to play Northern Lakes Conference foe Northridge.