Lady Tigers Fall To Rival Plymouth
Offensive woes continue for Warsaw in 32-26 loss
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Averaging 41 points per game, the Warsaw Lady Tigers (2-6, 0-1 NLC) had to hit two field goals in the final 21 seconds of its NLC opener to avoid tying a program-worst 23 points in a 32-26 loss to the Plymouth Lady Pilgrims (7-2, 1-0 NLC).
Despite the lack of scoring, which included just one point between the 4:47 mark of the second quarter and the 3:33 mark of the third, Warsaw coach Michelle Harter wasn’t all doom and gloom.
“Scoring’s been an issue for us all season long,” she said. “Like I told the girls in the locker room after the game, I felt more positive about how we played in this game than any game we’ve played so far. We played as a team the entire game. We shared the basketball, and maybe sometimes we shared a little too much and gave up a shot we should have taken. Those are things you can make corrections on, but I was much more pleased with our offensive movement and looking to attack. Now, we just have to put the ball in the hole.”
Playing as a team, the Lady Tigers were without two seniors, as star center Nikki Grose and Brooklyn Harrison were both relegated to the bench for violating team rules.
Harter said Harrison’s suspension may be reduced from two games to one, depending on variables, while Grose may be out three, but could cut it to two.
Playing short-handed, Warsaw came out of the gates pretty well, scoring on three-straight possessions to lead 6-5 and built a 14-7 lead following a bucket by freshman Page Desenberg with 4:47 remaining in the half.
However, that Desenberg field goal was Warsaw’s last until junior Vicki Harris hit a bucket with 3:33 left in the third quarter.
During that stretch, Plymouth took advantage, beginning with a 9-0 run, sparked by a three-pointer by junior Haley Harrell.
“She can hit the open 3, so we had to make sure we knew where she was at,” Harter said of Harrell, who scored a game-high 10 points, making 7 of 10 free-throw attempts.
After hitting the trey, Harrell cut Warsaw’s lead to 14-13 by making three free throws following a foul on a three-point attempt and junior teammate Kaydon Fosler then gave Plymouth a lead it wouldn’t relinquish by hitting a three-pointer with 1:10 left in the first half.
“Early, we came out and tried to extend our defense a little bit,” Plymouth coach Dave Duncan said. “We found out their high-low game was pretty good, so we started pinching at the elbow more. At that point, I felt we took their elbow away and it helped us on defense. We tightened our defense up.”
By changing up his defensive scheme, Duncan’s squad held Warsaw to five points in over 16 minutes of action, as the Lady Tigers managed to score nine points in the final 4:11 of the game.
A big reason for Plymouth’s success was its ability to muscle up against Warsaw’s frontline, even though junior Pam Miller and Desenberg did each score seven points down low.
“I thought we matched Warsaw’s physicality inside, and that was a concern of mine coming into the season,” Duncan said. “I’m really proud of my kids for getting a little more physical inside.
“Our objective was to try to take their inside game away, because they do run a very good high-low game,” he added. “They’re a little bit like us. They struggle on the perimeter at times. Once you hit a couple of those, that loosens things up inside.”
Each team was 2 of 11 behind the three-point arc, but according to Harter, Plymouth’s two made three-pointers swayed the momentum and the game.
“The difference between them and us was, they hit their open shots and we didn’t,” she said. “Those are things the girls know they need to do, so there’s no use in me harping on it. We just need to continue to get our defense better, keeping getting the looks and the shots are going to eventually fall for us.”
The Lady Tigers will look to snap a three-game losing streak Saturday at 1-6 Wawasee.
“It’s going to be real important for us to come out and perform Saturday at Wawasee and to step up and get a win,” Harter said about the NLC matchup. “They’re going to play their 1-2-2 (defense), so we’re going to get some shots on the outside. We just have to have the confidence to know we can hit those open shots when we have the opportunity.”
PLYMOUTH 32, WARSAW 26
W 10 4 3 9 – 26
P 5 11 6 10 – 32
Plymouth – Hunter Stevens 3-7 0-0 6, Kaydon Fosler 1-4 0-0 3, Haley Harrell 1-5 7-10 10, Allie Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Nicole Horvath 2-4 3-3 7, Bailey Brown 0-3 0-0 0, Shannon Stephenson 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 10-28 10-13 32.
Warsaw – Kilee Slone 1-5 0-0 3, Jodie Carlson 0-1 0-0 0, Eryn Leek 1-9 0-0 3, Pam Miller 3-4 1-3 7, Erin Clemens 1-3 0-0 2, Page Desenberg 3-6 1-2 7, Courtney Farling 0-0 0-0 0, Vicki Harris 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 11-32 2-5 26.
Three-pointer – Plymouth 2-11 (Harrell, Fosler), Warsaw 2-11 (Slone, Leek); Team Fouls – Plymouth 11, Warsaw 14; Turnovers – Plymouth 14, Warsaw 21; Rebounds – Plymouth 21 (Horvath 7), Warsaw 24 (Desenberg 5, Miller 5); Assists – Plymouth 6 (Wright 2, Stephenson 2), Warsaw 9 (Leek 3); Steals – Plymouth 8 (Harrell 4), Warsaw 7 (Carlson 3); Blocks – Plymouth 2 (Horvath 2), Warsaw 1.
Records: Plymouth 7-2 (1-0 NLC), Warsaw 2-6 (0-1 NLC)
JV – Plymouth 27, Warsaw 24 (OT)
Warsaw – Dayton Groninger 7, Madi Graham 6, Tahya Bruce 5, Alexis Devenney 4, Mikaela Till 2[[In-content Ad]]
Averaging 41 points per game, the Warsaw Lady Tigers (2-6, 0-1 NLC) had to hit two field goals in the final 21 seconds of its NLC opener to avoid tying a program-worst 23 points in a 32-26 loss to the Plymouth Lady Pilgrims (7-2, 1-0 NLC).
Despite the lack of scoring, which included just one point between the 4:47 mark of the second quarter and the 3:33 mark of the third, Warsaw coach Michelle Harter wasn’t all doom and gloom.
“Scoring’s been an issue for us all season long,” she said. “Like I told the girls in the locker room after the game, I felt more positive about how we played in this game than any game we’ve played so far. We played as a team the entire game. We shared the basketball, and maybe sometimes we shared a little too much and gave up a shot we should have taken. Those are things you can make corrections on, but I was much more pleased with our offensive movement and looking to attack. Now, we just have to put the ball in the hole.”
Playing as a team, the Lady Tigers were without two seniors, as star center Nikki Grose and Brooklyn Harrison were both relegated to the bench for violating team rules.
Harter said Harrison’s suspension may be reduced from two games to one, depending on variables, while Grose may be out three, but could cut it to two.
Playing short-handed, Warsaw came out of the gates pretty well, scoring on three-straight possessions to lead 6-5 and built a 14-7 lead following a bucket by freshman Page Desenberg with 4:47 remaining in the half.
However, that Desenberg field goal was Warsaw’s last until junior Vicki Harris hit a bucket with 3:33 left in the third quarter.
During that stretch, Plymouth took advantage, beginning with a 9-0 run, sparked by a three-pointer by junior Haley Harrell.
“She can hit the open 3, so we had to make sure we knew where she was at,” Harter said of Harrell, who scored a game-high 10 points, making 7 of 10 free-throw attempts.
After hitting the trey, Harrell cut Warsaw’s lead to 14-13 by making three free throws following a foul on a three-point attempt and junior teammate Kaydon Fosler then gave Plymouth a lead it wouldn’t relinquish by hitting a three-pointer with 1:10 left in the first half.
“Early, we came out and tried to extend our defense a little bit,” Plymouth coach Dave Duncan said. “We found out their high-low game was pretty good, so we started pinching at the elbow more. At that point, I felt we took their elbow away and it helped us on defense. We tightened our defense up.”
By changing up his defensive scheme, Duncan’s squad held Warsaw to five points in over 16 minutes of action, as the Lady Tigers managed to score nine points in the final 4:11 of the game.
A big reason for Plymouth’s success was its ability to muscle up against Warsaw’s frontline, even though junior Pam Miller and Desenberg did each score seven points down low.
“I thought we matched Warsaw’s physicality inside, and that was a concern of mine coming into the season,” Duncan said. “I’m really proud of my kids for getting a little more physical inside.
“Our objective was to try to take their inside game away, because they do run a very good high-low game,” he added. “They’re a little bit like us. They struggle on the perimeter at times. Once you hit a couple of those, that loosens things up inside.”
Each team was 2 of 11 behind the three-point arc, but according to Harter, Plymouth’s two made three-pointers swayed the momentum and the game.
“The difference between them and us was, they hit their open shots and we didn’t,” she said. “Those are things the girls know they need to do, so there’s no use in me harping on it. We just need to continue to get our defense better, keeping getting the looks and the shots are going to eventually fall for us.”
The Lady Tigers will look to snap a three-game losing streak Saturday at 1-6 Wawasee.
“It’s going to be real important for us to come out and perform Saturday at Wawasee and to step up and get a win,” Harter said about the NLC matchup. “They’re going to play their 1-2-2 (defense), so we’re going to get some shots on the outside. We just have to have the confidence to know we can hit those open shots when we have the opportunity.”
PLYMOUTH 32, WARSAW 26
W 10 4 3 9 – 26
P 5 11 6 10 – 32
Plymouth – Hunter Stevens 3-7 0-0 6, Kaydon Fosler 1-4 0-0 3, Haley Harrell 1-5 7-10 10, Allie Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Nicole Horvath 2-4 3-3 7, Bailey Brown 0-3 0-0 0, Shannon Stephenson 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 10-28 10-13 32.
Warsaw – Kilee Slone 1-5 0-0 3, Jodie Carlson 0-1 0-0 0, Eryn Leek 1-9 0-0 3, Pam Miller 3-4 1-3 7, Erin Clemens 1-3 0-0 2, Page Desenberg 3-6 1-2 7, Courtney Farling 0-0 0-0 0, Vicki Harris 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 11-32 2-5 26.
Three-pointer – Plymouth 2-11 (Harrell, Fosler), Warsaw 2-11 (Slone, Leek); Team Fouls – Plymouth 11, Warsaw 14; Turnovers – Plymouth 14, Warsaw 21; Rebounds – Plymouth 21 (Horvath 7), Warsaw 24 (Desenberg 5, Miller 5); Assists – Plymouth 6 (Wright 2, Stephenson 2), Warsaw 9 (Leek 3); Steals – Plymouth 8 (Harrell 4), Warsaw 7 (Carlson 3); Blocks – Plymouth 2 (Horvath 2), Warsaw 1.
Records: Plymouth 7-2 (1-0 NLC), Warsaw 2-6 (0-1 NLC)
JV – Plymouth 27, Warsaw 24 (OT)
Warsaw – Dayton Groninger 7, Madi Graham 6, Tahya Bruce 5, Alexis Devenney 4, Mikaela Till 2[[In-content Ad]]
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