Photo by Gary Nieter/Times-Union Seniors Sidney Wagner (L) of Tippecanoe Valley and Audrey Grimm of Warsaw take to the floor while battling for the ball in the first quarter.
Photo by Gary Nieter/Times-Union Seniors Sidney Wagner (L) of Tippecanoe Valley and Audrey Grimm of Warsaw take to the floor while battling for the ball in the first quarter.
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Warsaw came into last night’s game sporting a 6-2 record, shooting at a 50% clip on the season.

It took more than two  minutes for either team to score but once the lid came off the basket, the Lady Tigers hit high gear in a hurry. Warsaw kept up a torrid pace for all four quarters and won going away 64-27.

Senior forward Audrey Grimm scored five quick points in a row and set the game’s tempo by being a disruptive interior presence on defense. Junior center Abby Sanner was also dominant on the boards early, sending a clear message to Tipp Valley that nothing was going to come easy in this game.

A run of 7 straight points for Warsaw saw their lead at the end of the first quarter grow to 13-5.

And then they really began to play. In a crushing second quarter, the Lady Tigers played exceptional basketball to stretch the lead to 37-9 at the half. But as well as they shot, the defense was better, as they  held Tipp Valley to just 4 points in the quarter.

With steal after steal by several Lady Tigers, free throws and commanding rebounds by Sanner and stifling pressure by Kensie Ryman, Kendall Wayne, Bailie Stephens and Kacilyn Krebbs, Valley looked nothing like the 4-2 team that had been averaging 51 points per contest on the season.

The second half began the same way the first half ended, with Warsaw totally dominating on both ends of the court. A quick basket put the Lady Tigers up by 30 and Warsaw continued to roll. After allowing Valley only two baskets in the third quarter, Warsaw led 54-13.

The fourth quarter was more of the same, with Hannah Hatfield, Lauren Grose, Abby Taylor, Zoe Bergen and rising freshman star Ava Wetzel getting some valuable game action.

Warsaw won going away by a score of 64-27 and were led in scoring by Abby Sanner and Kensie Ryman with 11 points apiece. Warsaw’s JV girls also won, 43-28.

Coach Lenny Krebs was very happy with his team’s performance.

“Just a great, great defensive effort from our Tiger team,” Krebs said. “We have a saying, defensive pressure leads to offensive confidence. It was an especially solid defensive performance by Kendall (Wayne) on their star, Wagner. I told her she may not have scored much but you have no idea how many points you prevented with your defense.”

Warsaw plays Carroll High School at home on Wednesday night.