COLUMBIA CITY -ÊAlthough the Warsaw Tigers girls basketball team scored 30 points in the final quarter of play in Tuesday's game against Class 3A No. 9 Columbia City, the Eagles came out on top 74-66.

Columbia City struck first in the game when Brooksie King netted the first basket of the night to put the Eagles up 2-0, but Warsaw returned the favor 10 seconds later. Jenna Rooney drove to the basket hit a layup and was fouled on the play. After her free throw swished through the net, Warsaw went up 3-2.

That would be one of only two times the Tigers would take the lead. The other time came with 5:45 left in the first quarter when Hilary O'Connell netted a basket to put Warsaw up 5-4.

Then Columbia City started to pull ahead and went up 11-7 with 3:00 left in the first stanza. The Tigers battled back to tie the score at 13 at the end of the first period of play.

However, the story changed in the second quarter. Columbia City held Warsaw scoreless for the first minutes of the second stanza and went on a 9-0 run. At one point in the quarter, Columbia City held a 10-point lead, and by the end of the half, the Eagles were on top 33-24.

"It went from a two-point game to a nine-point game at halftime," said Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst. "Columbia City was getting up and down the floor, and our girls were not getting where they need to go."

Columbia City held a nine- to 12-point lead for much of the third period as the Tigers and Eagles traded baskets. But with 1:59 left in the third quarter the Eagles went on an 8-1 run to built a 52-36 advantage they took into the fourth quarter.

"We would miss shots and then jog back down the court," said Wienhorst. "They would beat us up the court and score before we got down there. We needed to go out there and work hard."

With 5:47 left in the game, Columbia City had increased its lead to 19 points, 59-40. Warsaw was down, but not out.

Over the next five minutes, the Tigers mounted a strong comeback. Warsaw went on a 25-12 run fueled by four Christy Colt three-pointers to reduce Columbia City's lead to seven, 71-64.

"We finally got a team in that worked hard, and all of a sudden we were just seven down," said Wienhorst.

However, seven points was as close as the Tigers would come, and the Eagles finished the evening with a 74-66 victory.

"Columbia City is a very physical team," said Wienhorst. "They were more aggressive than us, but we scored 30 points in the last quarter. That last quarter is the most aggressive quarter of basketball we have played all year.

"We are trying to find our place, and we are finding it more and more. We are going to be a very good basketball team."

Warsaw, now 4-3 on the season, will host Plymouth Saturday at 12:30 p.m. [[In-content Ad]]