Changes In 'D' Lead To Warsaw 'W'
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The line to buy tickets for Thursday's Warsaw/Wawasee girls basketball game stretched 10, 20, 25 feet long and longer, and the drawing card was not Wawasee's girls basketball team, nor was it Warsaw's girls basketball team.
One player - a 16-year-old sophomore named Shanna Zolman - drew approximately 2,000 people to this girls game, as many people who have attended any Warsaw boys basketball home game this season.
Zolman, the Wawasee forward who leads the state in scoring with 34.2 points per game, was the featured attraction. But on the court, Warsaw had the better team.
The Tigers beat Wawasee 63-50. Warsaw improved to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference, while Wawasee dropped to 8-5 overall and 1-2 in the NLC.
"Wawasee has been playing in front of crowds like this all year," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said. "We have not. That was a big plus for us."
Warsaw "held" Zolman to 27 points, one off of her season low of 26 against NorthWood. No other Warrior scored more than nine, and Warsaw's bench outscored Wawasee's 17-1.
Warsaw sophomore guard Hilary O'Connell hit 5 of 11 field goals and 10 of 10 free throws to lead Warsaw with 22 points. Senior center Rachael Conley played the best varsity game of her career, adding nine points and 10 rebounds, and senior backup center Nerecia Taylor added eight points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman center Jessica Leach scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Wawasee.
As has been the case all year, as Zolman went, Wawasee went. She started the game 7 for 7 from the field and had 18 points as the Warriors took a 29-18 lead with 5:13 left in the second quarter.
Then Warsaw took a timeout and changed defenses. Instead of having O'Connell or Sara Parker chase Zolman around, as they did the first 11 minutes, the girls closest to Zolman when she had the ball picked her up the rest of the game.
"We worked on three defenses for this game: man, diamond-and-one and a zone," Wienhorst said. "We ran man at first. She got hot. Their team play the first 11 minutes was so good. They set tremendous screens. It's difficult. You go on top, she fades. You go underneath, she curls.
"We didn't try the diamond and one, because it would be the same thing. So we went to the 2-3 zone. What it did was put two girls on each outside and made a good check on her. That was the second quarter, and we ran it the rest of the game, unless she came out."
The change worked. Zolman, who scored 18 in the first 11 minutes, scored nine on 4-of-14 shooting in the final 21 minutes. After Warsaw's timeout, the Tigers outscored Wawasee 16-3 the rest of the second quarter to take a 34-32 halftime lead. From the second quarter on, Warsaw outscored Wawasee 52-30.
"They just covered Shanna like a blanket," Kem Zolman said. "If we set screens, they switched off on her. They forced her to do some things she normally doesn't do. When they're switching off, we have to learn to slip into the gaps where we're open. The guards have to look and pass the ball to who's open and not concentrate on Shanna.
"I would love to play defense against us. Right now, you can focus solely on Shanna. If the others score six or four, so what."
The Warriors looked like they would escape the first half with a 32-31 lead, but with no time left on the clock, Wawasee sophomore guard Dusty Krull fouled O'Connell on a three-point attempt. With no time on the clock and no other players on the floor, O'Connell made all three free throws to give the Tigers the 34-32 halftime lead.
The Tigers took control of the game in the fourth quarter. The Tigers began the quarter on a 9-0 run to go up 50-41 with 5:05 left. Two three-point plays, one each by Sara Parker and O'Connell, fueled the run. Parker scored inside, drew a foul and hit a free throw, then O'Connell scored inside, drew a foul and hit a free throw.
"I believe we had five possessions where we turned the ball over every time," Kem Zolman said. "That was the difference, because they were able to extend their lead to five or six points.
"I told our girls that we played 28 of 32 minutes very, very well. With three freshmen and two sophomores going against a veteran club, I'm very proud of our kids."
Wawasee had one run left to pull within 50-45 with 3:41 left, but the Tigers salted the game away by making 11 free throws in the final minutes.
Because Warsaw beat country rival Wawasee, and because Warsaw improved to 3-0 in the NLC, the Tigers' 63-37 loss to Mt. Vernon in the Warsaw Holiday Tournament was a distant memory.
"This was a great game for us to come back to after the last game of our tournament," Wienhorst said.
For Kem Zolman, he left the game still searching for another consistent scoring threat on a team that starts three freshmen and two sophomores.
"We have Dusty Krull, Jessica Leach and Meagan Wallen, all who could score in double figures," he said. "When that starts happening, we'll be all right. It will come."
WARSAW 63, WAWASEE 50
Wawasee (8-5) 20 12 9 9 - 50
Warsaw (6-5) 11 23 8 21 - 63
Wawasee FG FT A S R Pts.
Zolman (F) 11-21 0-1 1 4 6 27
Leach (C) 4-6 1-3 2 1 11 9
D. Krull (G) 3-10 1-2 3 1 2 7
Wallen (F) 3-6 0-3 0 1 5 6
Fawley (G) 0-6 0-2 5 0 2 0
Sawyer 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1
Pletcher 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Lamb 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
S. Krull 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Team - - - - 1 -
Totals 21-49 3-13 11 7 28 50
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
O'Connell (G) 5-11 10-10 3 1 1 22
Conley (C) 3-5 3-6 3 1 10 9
Kesler (G) 2-4 1-2 1 2 0 6
Rooney (F) 2-7 1-2 1 1 4 5
Overton (F) 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 4
Taylor 3-4 2-2 0 2 11 8
Parker 2-4 3-5 0 0 6 7
Colt 1-7 0-0 5 0 2 2
Poling 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Team - - - - - -
Totals 20-45 20-27 14 7 36 63
Three-point goals - Wawasee 5-13 (Zolman 5-10, D. Krull 0-3), Warsaw 3-12 (O'Connell 2-5, Kesler 1-2, Colt 0-4, Rooney 0-1). Turnovers -ÊWarsaw 16, Wawasee 16. Total fouls -ÊWarsaw 19, Wawasee 25. Fouled out - None.
JV - WARSAW 41, WAWASEE 26
Warsaw -ÊAshley Wyatt 12, Holly McGriff 9, Kayla Burner 7, Stephanie DeRenzo 5, Leah Kiphart 5, Keriann Conley 2, Holly Stackhouse 1.
Wawasee - Kelsey Bender 7, Stephanie Sorenson 4, Annette Lamb 4, Jocelyn Higginbotham 4, Shanna Krull 2, Jessica Henderson 2, Carie Lundy 2, Sara Weisser 1. [[In-content Ad]]
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The line to buy tickets for Thursday's Warsaw/Wawasee girls basketball game stretched 10, 20, 25 feet long and longer, and the drawing card was not Wawasee's girls basketball team, nor was it Warsaw's girls basketball team.
One player - a 16-year-old sophomore named Shanna Zolman - drew approximately 2,000 people to this girls game, as many people who have attended any Warsaw boys basketball home game this season.
Zolman, the Wawasee forward who leads the state in scoring with 34.2 points per game, was the featured attraction. But on the court, Warsaw had the better team.
The Tigers beat Wawasee 63-50. Warsaw improved to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference, while Wawasee dropped to 8-5 overall and 1-2 in the NLC.
"Wawasee has been playing in front of crowds like this all year," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said. "We have not. That was a big plus for us."
Warsaw "held" Zolman to 27 points, one off of her season low of 26 against NorthWood. No other Warrior scored more than nine, and Warsaw's bench outscored Wawasee's 17-1.
Warsaw sophomore guard Hilary O'Connell hit 5 of 11 field goals and 10 of 10 free throws to lead Warsaw with 22 points. Senior center Rachael Conley played the best varsity game of her career, adding nine points and 10 rebounds, and senior backup center Nerecia Taylor added eight points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman center Jessica Leach scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Wawasee.
As has been the case all year, as Zolman went, Wawasee went. She started the game 7 for 7 from the field and had 18 points as the Warriors took a 29-18 lead with 5:13 left in the second quarter.
Then Warsaw took a timeout and changed defenses. Instead of having O'Connell or Sara Parker chase Zolman around, as they did the first 11 minutes, the girls closest to Zolman when she had the ball picked her up the rest of the game.
"We worked on three defenses for this game: man, diamond-and-one and a zone," Wienhorst said. "We ran man at first. She got hot. Their team play the first 11 minutes was so good. They set tremendous screens. It's difficult. You go on top, she fades. You go underneath, she curls.
"We didn't try the diamond and one, because it would be the same thing. So we went to the 2-3 zone. What it did was put two girls on each outside and made a good check on her. That was the second quarter, and we ran it the rest of the game, unless she came out."
The change worked. Zolman, who scored 18 in the first 11 minutes, scored nine on 4-of-14 shooting in the final 21 minutes. After Warsaw's timeout, the Tigers outscored Wawasee 16-3 the rest of the second quarter to take a 34-32 halftime lead. From the second quarter on, Warsaw outscored Wawasee 52-30.
"They just covered Shanna like a blanket," Kem Zolman said. "If we set screens, they switched off on her. They forced her to do some things she normally doesn't do. When they're switching off, we have to learn to slip into the gaps where we're open. The guards have to look and pass the ball to who's open and not concentrate on Shanna.
"I would love to play defense against us. Right now, you can focus solely on Shanna. If the others score six or four, so what."
The Warriors looked like they would escape the first half with a 32-31 lead, but with no time left on the clock, Wawasee sophomore guard Dusty Krull fouled O'Connell on a three-point attempt. With no time on the clock and no other players on the floor, O'Connell made all three free throws to give the Tigers the 34-32 halftime lead.
The Tigers took control of the game in the fourth quarter. The Tigers began the quarter on a 9-0 run to go up 50-41 with 5:05 left. Two three-point plays, one each by Sara Parker and O'Connell, fueled the run. Parker scored inside, drew a foul and hit a free throw, then O'Connell scored inside, drew a foul and hit a free throw.
"I believe we had five possessions where we turned the ball over every time," Kem Zolman said. "That was the difference, because they were able to extend their lead to five or six points.
"I told our girls that we played 28 of 32 minutes very, very well. With three freshmen and two sophomores going against a veteran club, I'm very proud of our kids."
Wawasee had one run left to pull within 50-45 with 3:41 left, but the Tigers salted the game away by making 11 free throws in the final minutes.
Because Warsaw beat country rival Wawasee, and because Warsaw improved to 3-0 in the NLC, the Tigers' 63-37 loss to Mt. Vernon in the Warsaw Holiday Tournament was a distant memory.
"This was a great game for us to come back to after the last game of our tournament," Wienhorst said.
For Kem Zolman, he left the game still searching for another consistent scoring threat on a team that starts three freshmen and two sophomores.
"We have Dusty Krull, Jessica Leach and Meagan Wallen, all who could score in double figures," he said. "When that starts happening, we'll be all right. It will come."
WARSAW 63, WAWASEE 50
Wawasee (8-5) 20 12 9 9 - 50
Warsaw (6-5) 11 23 8 21 - 63
Wawasee FG FT A S R Pts.
Zolman (F) 11-21 0-1 1 4 6 27
Leach (C) 4-6 1-3 2 1 11 9
D. Krull (G) 3-10 1-2 3 1 2 7
Wallen (F) 3-6 0-3 0 1 5 6
Fawley (G) 0-6 0-2 5 0 2 0
Sawyer 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1
Pletcher 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Lamb 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
S. Krull 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Team - - - - 1 -
Totals 21-49 3-13 11 7 28 50
Warsaw FG FT A S R Pts.
O'Connell (G) 5-11 10-10 3 1 1 22
Conley (C) 3-5 3-6 3 1 10 9
Kesler (G) 2-4 1-2 1 2 0 6
Rooney (F) 2-7 1-2 1 1 4 5
Overton (F) 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 4
Taylor 3-4 2-2 0 2 11 8
Parker 2-4 3-5 0 0 6 7
Colt 1-7 0-0 5 0 2 2
Poling 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Team - - - - - -
Totals 20-45 20-27 14 7 36 63
Three-point goals - Wawasee 5-13 (Zolman 5-10, D. Krull 0-3), Warsaw 3-12 (O'Connell 2-5, Kesler 1-2, Colt 0-4, Rooney 0-1). Turnovers -ÊWarsaw 16, Wawasee 16. Total fouls -ÊWarsaw 19, Wawasee 25. Fouled out - None.
JV - WARSAW 41, WAWASEE 26
Warsaw -ÊAshley Wyatt 12, Holly McGriff 9, Kayla Burner 7, Stephanie DeRenzo 5, Leah Kiphart 5, Keriann Conley 2, Holly Stackhouse 1.
Wawasee - Kelsey Bender 7, Stephanie Sorenson 4, Annette Lamb 4, Jocelyn Higginbotham 4, Shanna Krull 2, Jessica Henderson 2, Carie Lundy 2, Sara Weisser 1. [[In-content Ad]]