Lady Tigers Draw Defending Sectional Champs
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
The draw for the 40th annual state tournament only confirmed that, as Warsaw will meet the Lady Raiders in Tuesday’s opener at 6 p.m.
“It’s one of those things, I knew we’d have to go through Northridge to win the sectional,” said Harter. “They’re the defending sectional champion, and somebody is going to have to beat them. It figures we’d get them the first night.”
In what is basically a Northern Lakes Conference tournament, Elkhart Memorial will play Concord in Tuesday’s second game.
Elkhart Central, the only non-NLC member in the six-team field, will play the Northridge/Warsaw winner in Friday’s first semifinal game, followed by the host Lady Redskins and either Memorial or Concord.
The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, with the winner advancing to the LaPorte Regional.
“We have to come out every night ready to play to win the sectional,” said Harter, whose Lady Tigers take a 12-10 record into the tournament, a record that includes a 4-0 mark against fellow Sectional 4 teams.
“The sectional is wide open. It’s going to come down to which ever team shows up ready to play each night, that’s who’s going to walk away with the championship.”
The Lady Tigers won the sectional title in 2013 and lost a heartbreaker to Fort Wayne South in the semistate.
Northridge won its first sectional championship last year and then fell to Gary West in a regional semifinal.
Warsaw and Northridge are the only two teams in the Goshen Sectional that enter tournament play this week with a winning record.
“Warsaw and Northridge always come down to the end,” said Harter. “We’re looking forward to playing them. Unfortunately, we have to play them the first game, but that’s part of the draw.”
The Lady Tigers beat Northridge by two points in the regular season a year ago, and then fell 42-41 in a thrilling sectional semifinal matchup.
Warsaw beat the Lady Raiders 37-35 in overtime during the regular season this year.
Harter hopes her team can complete the season sweep this time around, posting a win that would be a big step toward the program’s 17th sectional title.
“We were building a lead when we played Northridge earlier this season,” said Harter. “Then we started turning the ball over. The last few games, we’ve had too many turnovers. If we give Northridge easy opportunities, they will capitalize. Offensively, we need to be more efficient and put the ball in the basket. Rebounding will also be a big key.”
Sophomore Dayton Groninger leads the Lady Tigers in scoring at 11 points per game, and also averages just under five rebounds per contest.
Sophomore Madi Graham averages seven points and nearly four boards per game, while seniors Vicki Harris and Pam Miller average six points each.[[In-content Ad]]
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The draw for the 40th annual state tournament only confirmed that, as Warsaw will meet the Lady Raiders in Tuesday’s opener at 6 p.m.
“It’s one of those things, I knew we’d have to go through Northridge to win the sectional,” said Harter. “They’re the defending sectional champion, and somebody is going to have to beat them. It figures we’d get them the first night.”
In what is basically a Northern Lakes Conference tournament, Elkhart Memorial will play Concord in Tuesday’s second game.
Elkhart Central, the only non-NLC member in the six-team field, will play the Northridge/Warsaw winner in Friday’s first semifinal game, followed by the host Lady Redskins and either Memorial or Concord.
The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, with the winner advancing to the LaPorte Regional.
“We have to come out every night ready to play to win the sectional,” said Harter, whose Lady Tigers take a 12-10 record into the tournament, a record that includes a 4-0 mark against fellow Sectional 4 teams.
“The sectional is wide open. It’s going to come down to which ever team shows up ready to play each night, that’s who’s going to walk away with the championship.”
The Lady Tigers won the sectional title in 2013 and lost a heartbreaker to Fort Wayne South in the semistate.
Northridge won its first sectional championship last year and then fell to Gary West in a regional semifinal.
Warsaw and Northridge are the only two teams in the Goshen Sectional that enter tournament play this week with a winning record.
“Warsaw and Northridge always come down to the end,” said Harter. “We’re looking forward to playing them. Unfortunately, we have to play them the first game, but that’s part of the draw.”
The Lady Tigers beat Northridge by two points in the regular season a year ago, and then fell 42-41 in a thrilling sectional semifinal matchup.
Warsaw beat the Lady Raiders 37-35 in overtime during the regular season this year.
Harter hopes her team can complete the season sweep this time around, posting a win that would be a big step toward the program’s 17th sectional title.
“We were building a lead when we played Northridge earlier this season,” said Harter. “Then we started turning the ball over. The last few games, we’ve had too many turnovers. If we give Northridge easy opportunities, they will capitalize. Offensively, we need to be more efficient and put the ball in the basket. Rebounding will also be a big key.”
Sophomore Dayton Groninger leads the Lady Tigers in scoring at 11 points per game, and also averages just under five rebounds per contest.
Sophomore Madi Graham averages seven points and nearly four boards per game, while seniors Vicki Harris and Pam Miller average six points each.[[In-content Ad]]
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