Denlinger Powers Tigers Past TV
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
The Tiger senior propelled her team to a 55-42 road win, scoring 20 points while also posting 16 rebounds and three steals, evening Warsaw's season record at 1-1.[[In-content Ad]]"Kate Denlinger just had an amazing game, especially in the last quarter," Valley coach Gary Teel said. "She took the ball at us strong and she got some shots to go. That was the difference in the ball game. We just didn't have answer defensively to stop Kate."
Valley began the fourth quarter down just 36-35, but with Denlinger scoring 13 points in the period, including three and-1 conversions, the 5-11 post player dominated the eight minutes, leading to a 13-point victory.
"When the score's 36-35 in the last quarter, we knew we still had a chance to win it," Teel said. "It's just unfortunate we couldn't get some of the shots to go down and they did."
Most of Warsaw's shots were taken by Denlinger, who went 4 of 5 from the field in the fourth, also converting all five of her free throw attempts.
"Anytime you get 16 rebounds, that's really, really good," Warsaw coach John Snyder said. "To me, that's more impressive than the 20 points. I'd like to get her some help on the rebounding. We're going to wear her out, but she's such a hard worker. I can't say enough about what she does and what she means to our team."
Denlinger may mean a lot to her team, but maybe not as much as Valley senior Hannah Krueger means to hers. On the night, Krueger scored 19 points and recorded nine rebounds to go with two steals, but it wasn't enough to get her squad over the hump.
"Hannah Krueger is a phenomenal player," Snyder said. "(Warsaw sophomore) Kelci (Freds) gets six points tonight, but the thing about it is she did a terrific job on Hannah. This is not something I would have done last year, put her on the other team's best player. I just looked at the matchup, and she really stepped up."
Along with Freds' defensive pressure, Snyder applied a full-court press all night, never allowing Valley to bring the ball upcourt without harassment.
"We trying to find our identity," Snyder said. "Our coaching staff believes that our identity is going to be to press and run and do all that. We didn't get a lot of turnovers, but what we did was keep them off balance offensively."
That defensive pressure allowed Warsaw to take an 18-11 into the second quarter, but then the scoring ended - for both teams. With the Warsaw scoring relegated to a Liz Tat three-pointer in the second, Valley climbed to within 21-19 going into the half.
"Anytime you jump out and play the type of first quarter we did, you'd like to keep that steady," Snyder said.
The third quarter once again saw the scoring pick up, with Valley picking up another point on the Tigers, resulting in the narrow Warsaw margin going into the fourth.
"What I really liked about our girls was that they didn't press the panic button," Snyder said. "(Valley) hit a couple big shots later in the game, where it would have been easy for us to let the wheels fall off. We stayed tough and we played the game at our speed."
That speed was to feed Denlinger early and often in the fourth quarter, allowing her to single-handedly outscore the Vikings 13-7, getting the Tigers into the win column, while Valley was left with an 0-3 record.
"It's always nice to get the first one," Snyder said of the win. "To do it against Tippecanoe Valley, it is just extra nice. They're a county rival and they're going to be a good team before it's all said and done."
The Tiger senior propelled her team to a 55-42 road win, scoring 20 points while also posting 16 rebounds and three steals, evening Warsaw's season record at 1-1.[[In-content Ad]]"Kate Denlinger just had an amazing game, especially in the last quarter," Valley coach Gary Teel said. "She took the ball at us strong and she got some shots to go. That was the difference in the ball game. We just didn't have answer defensively to stop Kate."
Valley began the fourth quarter down just 36-35, but with Denlinger scoring 13 points in the period, including three and-1 conversions, the 5-11 post player dominated the eight minutes, leading to a 13-point victory.
"When the score's 36-35 in the last quarter, we knew we still had a chance to win it," Teel said. "It's just unfortunate we couldn't get some of the shots to go down and they did."
Most of Warsaw's shots were taken by Denlinger, who went 4 of 5 from the field in the fourth, also converting all five of her free throw attempts.
"Anytime you get 16 rebounds, that's really, really good," Warsaw coach John Snyder said. "To me, that's more impressive than the 20 points. I'd like to get her some help on the rebounding. We're going to wear her out, but she's such a hard worker. I can't say enough about what she does and what she means to our team."
Denlinger may mean a lot to her team, but maybe not as much as Valley senior Hannah Krueger means to hers. On the night, Krueger scored 19 points and recorded nine rebounds to go with two steals, but it wasn't enough to get her squad over the hump.
"Hannah Krueger is a phenomenal player," Snyder said. "(Warsaw sophomore) Kelci (Freds) gets six points tonight, but the thing about it is she did a terrific job on Hannah. This is not something I would have done last year, put her on the other team's best player. I just looked at the matchup, and she really stepped up."
Along with Freds' defensive pressure, Snyder applied a full-court press all night, never allowing Valley to bring the ball upcourt without harassment.
"We trying to find our identity," Snyder said. "Our coaching staff believes that our identity is going to be to press and run and do all that. We didn't get a lot of turnovers, but what we did was keep them off balance offensively."
That defensive pressure allowed Warsaw to take an 18-11 into the second quarter, but then the scoring ended - for both teams. With the Warsaw scoring relegated to a Liz Tat three-pointer in the second, Valley climbed to within 21-19 going into the half.
"Anytime you jump out and play the type of first quarter we did, you'd like to keep that steady," Snyder said.
The third quarter once again saw the scoring pick up, with Valley picking up another point on the Tigers, resulting in the narrow Warsaw margin going into the fourth.
"What I really liked about our girls was that they didn't press the panic button," Snyder said. "(Valley) hit a couple big shots later in the game, where it would have been easy for us to let the wheels fall off. We stayed tough and we played the game at our speed."
That speed was to feed Denlinger early and often in the fourth quarter, allowing her to single-handedly outscore the Vikings 13-7, getting the Tigers into the win column, while Valley was left with an 0-3 record.
"It's always nice to get the first one," Snyder said of the win. "To do it against Tippecanoe Valley, it is just extra nice. They're a county rival and they're going to be a good team before it's all said and done."
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