Wawasee sophomore Lucy Wilkinson prepares to pass to a teammate during the second quarter of Tuesday night's sectional game against NorthWood. Photos by Gary Nieter
Wawasee sophomore Lucy Wilkinson prepares to pass to a teammate during the second quarter of Tuesday night's sectional game against NorthWood. Photos by Gary Nieter
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GOSHEN — Wawasee saw its 2022-23 girls basketball season come to a close with a 50-42 loss to NorthWood Tuesday, Jan. 31 in the first game of IHSAA Class 3A Sectional 20.

But not before the young Warriors put up a fight against their Northern Lakes Conference rivals.

With a layup by sophomore Olivia Horn at the 4:00 mark of the fourth quarter, Wawasee trailed 40-35. The Warriors could get no closer the rest of the way.

NorthWood (14-10) advances to play Lakeland (12-10) in second semifinal on Friday, Feb. 3. The first game pits West Noble (3-19) against No. 7-ranked Fairfield (22-2) at 6 p.m. The championship is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4.

Top scorers for NorthWood were junior Karis Bennett and freshman Aaniyah Bonner with 13 points each and 6-foot-2 sophomore Claire Payne with 12 to go with 19 rebounds and four blocks.

Wawasee beat NorthWood 45-38 Jan. 7. Payne and Aaniyah Bonner did not play for the Panthers in that game.

“The silver lining with that situation is that we were able to build depth and have other players build their skills,” said first-year NorthWood coach Burkhart. “It was nice to have (Payne and Bonner) back. They brought some energy to the team.”

Pacing the Warriors attack Tuesday were Horn (14 points), junior Kaydence Shepherd (12), sophomore Mckenzie Hackleman (7) and sophomore Lucy Wilkinson (5).

Bennett netted the lone 3-pointer for the Panthers. Wawasee dropped in two — one apiece for Shepherd and Wilkinson.

At the foul stripe, NorthWood converted 13-of-25 while the Warriors made 6-of-12.

Wawasee made 17-of-51 floor shots and the Panthers 18-of-45.

“As a young team we’ve been fairly inconsistent with our shots all year,” said first-year Warriors coach Derek Gilreath. “When we hit them we look really good. When we don’t it can a struggle to put points on the board.”

The Panthers bested Wawasee 45-27 in rebounding. The Bonners — Aaniyah and Aaliyah — pulled down six each for NorthWood and Horn (8) and sophomore Molly Beer (5) led the Warriors.

“We’ve done well all year with bigger teams,” said Gilreath. “We were getting in front but weren’t necessarily making contact on our block-outs. When we held them to one shot our defense looks pretty good.”

With 11 in the first half, the Panthers committed 21 turnovers — five more than Wawasee.

NorthWood took a 37-26 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Panthers led 19-17 at halftime.

The biggest differential in the second quarter were 10-6 and 19-14 leads by NorthWood.

The Panthers lost the ball 11 times and Wawasee seven in the first half.

The Warriors shot 8-of-25 from the floor and NorthWood 6-of-19.

The Panthers doubled up Wawasee 22-11 on the boards in the opening 16 minutes,

The score was knotted at 6-all at the end of the first period.