Denlinger Sets Record In Warsaw Loss

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By Anthony [email protected]

On the same night a 26-year-old record fell, the Warsaw girls basketball team's 2007-08 record also took a hit Saturday at the Tiger Den.

Kate Denlinger's 23 rebounds in a 42-38 loss to the NorthWood Panthers eclipsed Cindy Horn's 22 boards back in 1982. Even though the effort didn't result in a Warsaw win, the work of the senior wasn't ignored.[[In-content Ad]]"It's all work," NorthWood coach Steve Neff said of the 5-foot-11 Denlinger. "She is a hustler. She hurt us early, but I thought we did a good job early of getting her off offensively. But when you do that, she just hustles more to the boards. We're not the greatest rebounders. She could jump, and we don't jump too well. She's a great player and I'm glad she's a senior."

Denlinger's averaged a double-double this season with 12 points and 10 boards a game, and hustle's been a big reason for that. Against NorthWood, she once again posted a double-double with 10 points to go with the 23 rebounds.

"There's not many girls we play against, whether it be a guard or a post player, that works any harder than Kate," Warsaw coach John Snyder said. "I knew she had a lot (of rebounds), but I didn't know she had that many until I saw the stat sheet."

In the early stages against NorthWood, it looked as if rebounds would be the only stat the Tigers would record. However, down 10-0 with 3:18 remaining in the opening quarter, Warsaw bounced back with a 9-0 spurt to close the quarter only down a point.

"It was 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, and I thought we outplayed them," Neff said.

Neff's squad may have been outplaying Warsaw for a majority of the quarter, but with the Tigers scoring nine points in the final 1:26 of the quarter, almost all the Panthers work was erased.

"We didn't panic," Snyder said. "I felt like the baskets they were getting were baskets we could make adjustments on. We were getting a couple of good shots, here and there, on offense, but just weren't knocking them down."

To Neff's confusion, his Panthers waited 6:48 to score their 11th point of the game. Following a Lindsey Steffen free throw with 4:30 remaining in the half, the Panthers scored four more unanswered points, going in front 15-9 with three minutes remaining in the half. That six-point lead would be as big as it would get the rest of the way, as the two Northern Lakes Conference teams fought back-and-forth until the end.

"NorthWood played well defensively, and I thought, for the most part, we played well defensively," Snyder said. "We were able to overcome a 10-0 run, and from that point on, it felt like it was a back-and-forth game."

The fourth quarter featured eight lead changes. Warsaw's final lead came on a Denlinger bucket with 1:24 remaining in the game, but NorthWood overcame that deficit by hitting five free throws down the stretch, resulting in the 42-38 final score.

"Like I told the girls, 'There's things that we could have done better, and we will do better, but your effort was outstanding.'," Snyder said. "So I was proud of the girls from that aspect."

The loss leaves Warsaw with an 11-8 mark, while NorthWood improves to 14-5 after an 8-5 start to the season.

"We've been focusing a little more, getting up-and-down the court a little better and it's just timing," Neff said of his team's six-game winning streak. "I rely on a couple sophomores for scoring, so it took a while. I'm really not where I want to be yet offensively, but defensively, we're coming around."

A NorthWood sophomore did lead the game with 15 points coming from Steffen, who also nabbed nine boards. Warsaw junior Alex Glenn led her team with 13 points and four blocks.

Warsaw will host NLC-leading Elkhart Memorial on senior night Thursday, with the junior varsity game tipping off at 6:15 p.m.

N'WOOD 42, WARSAW 38

N 10 7 11 14 - 42

W 9 6 14 9 - 38

N'Wood - Lehman 2-8 4-6 9, Lechlitner 2-6 5-9 9, Yoder 0-2 2-2 2, Simpson 2-8 1-4 5, Steffen 5-10 5-7 15, Bontrager 1-3 0-0 2, Frantz 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 12-42 17-28 42.

Warsaw - Freds 2-8 0-2 Denlinger 3-10 4-6 10, Tat 2-8 1-2 5, Co. Ogle 2-3 0-2 4, Glenn 4-8 5-5 13, Reichard 0-3 0-0 0, Snider 0-2 0-0 0, Ce. Ogle 1-3 0-1 2, Stout 0-4 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-49 10-18 38.

3-point goals - NW 1-9 (Lehman), Warsaw 0-12. Team Fouls - NW 16, Warsaw 20. Turnovers - NW 9, Warsaw 12. Rebounds - NW 28 (Steffen 9, Simpson 8), Warsaw 37 (Denlinger 23). Steals - NW 8 (Simpson 3, Steffen 2), Warsaw 1. Blocks - NW 4, Warsaw 4 (Glenn 4). Assists - NW 3 (Lechlitner 3), Warsaw 5 (Freds 3, Denlinger 2). Records - NW 14-5 (3-3 NLC), Warsaw 11-8 (3-3 NLC).

JV - Warsaw 31, N'Wood 28

Warsaw - Shilling 14, Reichard 7, Tat 4, A. Plummer 3, Long 2, B. Plummer 1

JV Records - NW 13-6 (4-2 NLC), Warsaw 16-3 (5-1 NLC)

On the same night a 26-year-old record fell, the Warsaw girls basketball team's 2007-08 record also took a hit Saturday at the Tiger Den.

Kate Denlinger's 23 rebounds in a 42-38 loss to the NorthWood Panthers eclipsed Cindy Horn's 22 boards back in 1982. Even though the effort didn't result in a Warsaw win, the work of the senior wasn't ignored.[[In-content Ad]]"It's all work," NorthWood coach Steve Neff said of the 5-foot-11 Denlinger. "She is a hustler. She hurt us early, but I thought we did a good job early of getting her off offensively. But when you do that, she just hustles more to the boards. We're not the greatest rebounders. She could jump, and we don't jump too well. She's a great player and I'm glad she's a senior."

Denlinger's averaged a double-double this season with 12 points and 10 boards a game, and hustle's been a big reason for that. Against NorthWood, she once again posted a double-double with 10 points to go with the 23 rebounds.

"There's not many girls we play against, whether it be a guard or a post player, that works any harder than Kate," Warsaw coach John Snyder said. "I knew she had a lot (of rebounds), but I didn't know she had that many until I saw the stat sheet."

In the early stages against NorthWood, it looked as if rebounds would be the only stat the Tigers would record. However, down 10-0 with 3:18 remaining in the opening quarter, Warsaw bounced back with a 9-0 spurt to close the quarter only down a point.

"It was 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, and I thought we outplayed them," Neff said.

Neff's squad may have been outplaying Warsaw for a majority of the quarter, but with the Tigers scoring nine points in the final 1:26 of the quarter, almost all the Panthers work was erased.

"We didn't panic," Snyder said. "I felt like the baskets they were getting were baskets we could make adjustments on. We were getting a couple of good shots, here and there, on offense, but just weren't knocking them down."

To Neff's confusion, his Panthers waited 6:48 to score their 11th point of the game. Following a Lindsey Steffen free throw with 4:30 remaining in the half, the Panthers scored four more unanswered points, going in front 15-9 with three minutes remaining in the half. That six-point lead would be as big as it would get the rest of the way, as the two Northern Lakes Conference teams fought back-and-forth until the end.

"NorthWood played well defensively, and I thought, for the most part, we played well defensively," Snyder said. "We were able to overcome a 10-0 run, and from that point on, it felt like it was a back-and-forth game."

The fourth quarter featured eight lead changes. Warsaw's final lead came on a Denlinger bucket with 1:24 remaining in the game, but NorthWood overcame that deficit by hitting five free throws down the stretch, resulting in the 42-38 final score.

"Like I told the girls, 'There's things that we could have done better, and we will do better, but your effort was outstanding.'," Snyder said. "So I was proud of the girls from that aspect."

The loss leaves Warsaw with an 11-8 mark, while NorthWood improves to 14-5 after an 8-5 start to the season.

"We've been focusing a little more, getting up-and-down the court a little better and it's just timing," Neff said of his team's six-game winning streak. "I rely on a couple sophomores for scoring, so it took a while. I'm really not where I want to be yet offensively, but defensively, we're coming around."

A NorthWood sophomore did lead the game with 15 points coming from Steffen, who also nabbed nine boards. Warsaw junior Alex Glenn led her team with 13 points and four blocks.

Warsaw will host NLC-leading Elkhart Memorial on senior night Thursday, with the junior varsity game tipping off at 6:15 p.m.

N'WOOD 42, WARSAW 38

N 10 7 11 14 - 42

W 9 6 14 9 - 38

N'Wood - Lehman 2-8 4-6 9, Lechlitner 2-6 5-9 9, Yoder 0-2 2-2 2, Simpson 2-8 1-4 5, Steffen 5-10 5-7 15, Bontrager 1-3 0-0 2, Frantz 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 12-42 17-28 42.

Warsaw - Freds 2-8 0-2 Denlinger 3-10 4-6 10, Tat 2-8 1-2 5, Co. Ogle 2-3 0-2 4, Glenn 4-8 5-5 13, Reichard 0-3 0-0 0, Snider 0-2 0-0 0, Ce. Ogle 1-3 0-1 2, Stout 0-4 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-49 10-18 38.

3-point goals - NW 1-9 (Lehman), Warsaw 0-12. Team Fouls - NW 16, Warsaw 20. Turnovers - NW 9, Warsaw 12. Rebounds - NW 28 (Steffen 9, Simpson 8), Warsaw 37 (Denlinger 23). Steals - NW 8 (Simpson 3, Steffen 2), Warsaw 1. Blocks - NW 4, Warsaw 4 (Glenn 4). Assists - NW 3 (Lechlitner 3), Warsaw 5 (Freds 3, Denlinger 2). Records - NW 14-5 (3-3 NLC), Warsaw 11-8 (3-3 NLC).

JV - Warsaw 31, N'Wood 28

Warsaw - Shilling 14, Reichard 7, Tat 4, A. Plummer 3, Long 2, B. Plummer 1

JV Records - NW 13-6 (4-2 NLC), Warsaw 16-3 (5-1 NLC)
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