Lady Tigers Rely On Experience In Win Over Wawasee
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Trailing 31-30 with 3:24 remaining in the Northern Lakes Conference contest at the Tiger Den, the Lady Tigers (8-0, 2-0 NLC) used an 11-2 run down the stretch to claim the 43-33 victory over Wawasee (6-3, 0-2 NLC).
“I think our experience did kick in there in the fourth quarter, as far as taking care of the basketball,” Warsaw coach Michelle Harter said. “In some timeouts, we talked about making some adjustments defensively – being a little more aggressive. The girls responded.”
Committing just one turnover in the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers forced five against a young Lady Warriors team, three of which came in the backcourt in the final three minutes.
“We quit moving the ball at that point,” Wawasee coach Kem Zolman said.
The Lady Warriors, who start two freshmen, scored as many points as they had turnovers in the final quarter, but Zolman knew that may happen this season.
“We put those kids in a position to play for a varsity team at Wawasee High School,” he said. “When we do that, we have to expect certain things. What they're doing is gaining valuable experience right now. It will pay off in the end. Right now, it's tough.”
The loss is Wawasee's third-in-a-row after a 6-0 start, but again with that youth, Zolman isn't worried.
“When you're that young, I don't think you realize what that's all about, so you don't even know what to be scared about,” he said. “We're going to emphasize the point that we're making strides.”
On the other bench, Harter is playing with a lot of experience, which has resulted in an undefeated season to this point.
In its latest win, her team used its size to outrebound a Wawasee team that didn't play a girl over 5-foot-8 by a wide 25-12 margin.
Warsaw's 6-foot-1 senior Jennifer Walker-Crawford finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, while 6-foot junior Nikki Grose had six points and seven rebounds.
Senior Lindsay Baker began the game sluggish, making just 1 of 5 field goals in the opening half, but came up with a big steal and layup in the fourth which gave Warsaw a 33-31 lead, then went 4 of 4 at the free throw line down the stretch.
“At halftime, I challenged Lindsay to step up and be our leader out there on the floor and not just worrying about shooting threes,” Harter said. “In the second half, she picked up her defensive intensity. She got the steal, attacked the basket and finished strong. Then, she was attacking the basket and drawing fouls to go to the free-throw line and sank those.”
In fact, most of the Lady Tigers were sinking their free throws, going 16 of 18 at the charity stripe, 13 of 14 in the final quarter.
“The girls have shot a lot of free throws,” Harter said. “I think repetition is a big key. Last year, we had some good attacks at times and we got to the line, but we didn't convert. This year, we're converting when we get to the line.”
For Wawasee, senior KiLee Knafel started hot, posting 11 points and five rebounds in the first half, but slowed in the second, finishing with 16 points, 12 below her average, to go with five rebounds.
“I was very pleased with our effort on her,” Harter said. “Especially down the stretch. Making sure we found her and didn't let her get them back in the game.”
Warsaw is back in action Tuesday, making a rare trip to Bourbon to take on the Class 1A No. 10 Triton Lady Trojans.
“They're going to play their 1-3-1 (defense), so we're going to need to be patient, get ball reversals and look to attack and not settle for outside shots,” Harter said.
Wawasee is off until Dec. 29, when it travels to the Norwell Shootout, where it will face Brebeuf Jesuit at 11:30 a.m. then Class 3A No. 2 Norwell at 7:30 p.m.
WARSAW 43, WAWASEE 33
Waw 8 12 8 5 – 33
War 8 11 7 17 – 43
Warsaw – Melanie Holladay 1-2 0-0 2, Eryn Leek 0-3 0-0 0, Jennifer Walker-Crawford 5-13 6-6 16, Lindsay Baker 3-10 4-4 11, Nikki Grose 1-3 4-6 6, Sarah Ray 0-2 2-2 2, Brooklyn Harrison 3-6 0-0 6, Pam Miller 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-41 16-18 43.
Wawasee – Elizabeth Jackson 1-3 1-2 3, Cassie Martinez 4-4 0-0 10, KiLee Knafel 5-13 4-4 16, Kylee Rostochak 1-5 2-2 4, Erin Wiktorowski 0-3 0-0 0, Lexy Blunk 0-1 0-0 0, Ashylnn Fisher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-29 7-8 33.9 (
Three-point goals – Warsaw 1-12 (Baker), Wawasee 4-11 (Knafel 2, Martinez 2); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Warsaw 11, Wawasee 16 (Martinez); Turnovers – Warsaw 7, Wawasee 14; Rebounds – Warsaw 25 (Walker-Crawford 11), Wawasee 12 (Knafel 5); Assists – Warsaw 3, Wawasee 6 (Rostochak 3); Steals – Warsaw 9 (Walker-Crawford 4), Wawasee 1; Blocks – Warsaw 1, Wawasee 2; Records: Warsaw 8-0 (2-0 NLC), Wawasee 6-3 (0-2 NLC)
JV – Warsaw 30, Wawsee 10[[In-content Ad]]
Trailing 31-30 with 3:24 remaining in the Northern Lakes Conference contest at the Tiger Den, the Lady Tigers (8-0, 2-0 NLC) used an 11-2 run down the stretch to claim the 43-33 victory over Wawasee (6-3, 0-2 NLC).
“I think our experience did kick in there in the fourth quarter, as far as taking care of the basketball,” Warsaw coach Michelle Harter said. “In some timeouts, we talked about making some adjustments defensively – being a little more aggressive. The girls responded.”
Committing just one turnover in the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers forced five against a young Lady Warriors team, three of which came in the backcourt in the final three minutes.
“We quit moving the ball at that point,” Wawasee coach Kem Zolman said.
The Lady Warriors, who start two freshmen, scored as many points as they had turnovers in the final quarter, but Zolman knew that may happen this season.
“We put those kids in a position to play for a varsity team at Wawasee High School,” he said. “When we do that, we have to expect certain things. What they're doing is gaining valuable experience right now. It will pay off in the end. Right now, it's tough.”
The loss is Wawasee's third-in-a-row after a 6-0 start, but again with that youth, Zolman isn't worried.
“When you're that young, I don't think you realize what that's all about, so you don't even know what to be scared about,” he said. “We're going to emphasize the point that we're making strides.”
On the other bench, Harter is playing with a lot of experience, which has resulted in an undefeated season to this point.
In its latest win, her team used its size to outrebound a Wawasee team that didn't play a girl over 5-foot-8 by a wide 25-12 margin.
Warsaw's 6-foot-1 senior Jennifer Walker-Crawford finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, while 6-foot junior Nikki Grose had six points and seven rebounds.
Senior Lindsay Baker began the game sluggish, making just 1 of 5 field goals in the opening half, but came up with a big steal and layup in the fourth which gave Warsaw a 33-31 lead, then went 4 of 4 at the free throw line down the stretch.
“At halftime, I challenged Lindsay to step up and be our leader out there on the floor and not just worrying about shooting threes,” Harter said. “In the second half, she picked up her defensive intensity. She got the steal, attacked the basket and finished strong. Then, she was attacking the basket and drawing fouls to go to the free-throw line and sank those.”
In fact, most of the Lady Tigers were sinking their free throws, going 16 of 18 at the charity stripe, 13 of 14 in the final quarter.
“The girls have shot a lot of free throws,” Harter said. “I think repetition is a big key. Last year, we had some good attacks at times and we got to the line, but we didn't convert. This year, we're converting when we get to the line.”
For Wawasee, senior KiLee Knafel started hot, posting 11 points and five rebounds in the first half, but slowed in the second, finishing with 16 points, 12 below her average, to go with five rebounds.
“I was very pleased with our effort on her,” Harter said. “Especially down the stretch. Making sure we found her and didn't let her get them back in the game.”
Warsaw is back in action Tuesday, making a rare trip to Bourbon to take on the Class 1A No. 10 Triton Lady Trojans.
“They're going to play their 1-3-1 (defense), so we're going to need to be patient, get ball reversals and look to attack and not settle for outside shots,” Harter said.
Wawasee is off until Dec. 29, when it travels to the Norwell Shootout, where it will face Brebeuf Jesuit at 11:30 a.m. then Class 3A No. 2 Norwell at 7:30 p.m.
WARSAW 43, WAWASEE 33
Waw 8 12 8 5 – 33
War 8 11 7 17 – 43
Warsaw – Melanie Holladay 1-2 0-0 2, Eryn Leek 0-3 0-0 0, Jennifer Walker-Crawford 5-13 6-6 16, Lindsay Baker 3-10 4-4 11, Nikki Grose 1-3 4-6 6, Sarah Ray 0-2 2-2 2, Brooklyn Harrison 3-6 0-0 6, Pam Miller 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-41 16-18 43.
Wawasee – Elizabeth Jackson 1-3 1-2 3, Cassie Martinez 4-4 0-0 10, KiLee Knafel 5-13 4-4 16, Kylee Rostochak 1-5 2-2 4, Erin Wiktorowski 0-3 0-0 0, Lexy Blunk 0-1 0-0 0, Ashylnn Fisher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-29 7-8 33.9 (
Three-point goals – Warsaw 1-12 (Baker), Wawasee 4-11 (Knafel 2, Martinez 2); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Warsaw 11, Wawasee 16 (Martinez); Turnovers – Warsaw 7, Wawasee 14; Rebounds – Warsaw 25 (Walker-Crawford 11), Wawasee 12 (Knafel 5); Assists – Warsaw 3, Wawasee 6 (Rostochak 3); Steals – Warsaw 9 (Walker-Crawford 4), Wawasee 1; Blocks – Warsaw 1, Wawasee 2; Records: Warsaw 8-0 (2-0 NLC), Wawasee 6-3 (0-2 NLC)
JV – Warsaw 30, Wawsee 10[[In-content Ad]]
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