Lady Tigers Suffer First Loss
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
After defeating the Class 2A No. 10 Hagerstown Lady Tigers 59-39 in the day's first game, Class 4A No. 9 Warsaw fell 59-49 to the Perry Meridian Lady Falcons in the championship at the Tiger Den
The loss to Meridian (5-6) was Warsaw's (9-1) first setback of the season, and showed what may be a weak spot in the Tigers attack.[[In-content Ad]]"They play some really tough teams down there in the Indianapolis area," Warsaw coach Michelle Harter said about Meridian. "They are used to that physical-type of play, and we just let them push us around there at the beginning. We didn't step up and be strong.
"Perry Meridian showed, if they put a little pressure on us, sometimes we don't play as intense and we don't play as confident," she added. "We need to use this as a learning experience."
Despite coming in with a sub-.500 record, Meridian dominated Warsaw by hitting 45-percent of its shots and outrebounding the home team 32-23.
"It gets us another step closer to .500," Meridian coach Mike Armstrong said. "I'm really pleased with our effort and the way we played tonight."
Meridian is playing without junior all-star, and team MVP, Lindsay Spears, who suffered a knee injury during the volleyball season.
"Our kids have been adjusting to playing without her," Armstrong said about Spears, who will be playing volleyball at Western Kentucky University next year. "We felt like our schedule had prepared us to play in this game, regardless of what our record was. We looked at this as a sectional tonight. We knew we were going to have to come out and battle, being physical. Warsaw's got a really good team. We just made shots tonight that we haven't been making."
They may not have had Spears, but Meridian did have a Butler University commit in junior Amanda Raker, who grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Senior Rachel Tackett led all scorers with 16 points, followed by 15 from sophomore teammate Alli Gentry.
"I didn't expect them to shoot as well as they did from outside," Harter said of the Falcons, who hit 6 of 10 three-pointers. "Part of that was because we were slow rotating defensively, and didn't contend the shot."
While Meridian was hitting shots, Warsaw was just 1 for 9 from three-point land and connected on 16 of 27 free throws.
"We had some looks that didn't fall for us," Harter said.
Warsaw's biggest drought came to start the second half, as Meridian outscored the home team 13-1 to take a 44-26 lead, all but putting the game away as Warsaw hit just one field goal in the third quarter.
"That allowed them to build a big lead, and we just didn't recover from that point on," Harter said.
Warsaw was led in scoring by seniors Kelci Freds and Kaelee Sands, who both scored 10 points, while classmate Beth Plummer chipped in nine and had a team-high six boards.
The win gave Meridian its second-straight Lady Tiger Classic championship, and may explain why Armstrong loves making the trip from Indianapolis each year.
"We've been coming since '95-'96, and we like to come," he said. "It gets us out of Indianapolis. It gets our teams together in a hotel room, because we even bring our JV now. It's kind of a winter break getaway for our kids. We love the tournament."
On the flipside, Warsaw hasn't won its own tournament since Indiana Miss Basketball Jaclyn Leininger led them to a championship win in the 2003-04 season.
"They wanted to come out and play well in this game, and bring the trophy back home, because it has been a while," Harter said.
PERRY MERIDIAN 59, WARSAW 49
PM 16 15 13 15 - 59
W 11 14 5 19 - 49
PM - Rachel Tackett 3-8 9-10 16, Stephanie Lindsey 1-3 0-0 2, Krista Schott 4-5 1-6 9, Abby Long 2-9 0-0 6, Amanda Raker 3-5 2-2 8, Alli Gentry 4-6 5-6 15, Carli Skaggs 1-4 0-0 3, Rachel Rollison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-40 17-24 59.
Warsaw - Kelci Freds 3-8 3-4 10, Kaelee Sands 5-9 0-0 10, Cendall Ogle 1-2 1-2 3, Kayla Stout 1-2 2-4 4, Sarah Shilling 0-2 4-8 4, Creigh Ogle 0-0 0-1 0, Beth Plummer 3-4 3-4 9, Lindsay Baker 2-6 1-2 5, Ryesha Jackson 1-5 2-2 4. Totals 16-38 16-27 49.
Three-point goals - PM 6-10 (Gentry 2, Long 2, Tackett, Skaggs), Warsaw 1-9 (Freds); Team Fouls (fouled out) - PM 18 (Lindsey), Warsaw 18; Turnovers - PM 15, Warsaw 12; Rebounds - PM 32 (Raker 13), Warsaw 23 (Plummer 6); Assists - PM 2, Warsaw 10 (Freds 2, Ce. Ogle 2, Shilling 2); Steals - PM 6 (Tackett 3), Warsaw 8; Blocks - PM 1, Warsaw 0; Records: PM 5-6, Warsaw 9-1
All-Tourney Team - Kelci Freds (Warsaw), Sarah Shilling (Warsaw), Katelyn Lakes (Hagerstown), Rachel Tackett (Perry Meridian), Alli Gentry (Perry Meridian), Amanda Raker (Perry Meridian)
Game 1 - Warsaw 59, Hagerstown 39
The opening game of the tournament showed there was quite a difference between the No. 10 team in Class 2A and the No. 9 team in Class 4A girls basketball.
Beginning the TCU Lady Tiger Classic against the Hagerstown Lady Tigers, Warsaw didn't have much trouble advancing to the championship game with a 59-39 victory.
Hagerstown entered the game allowing just 29 points a game, but Warsaw didn't respect that too much, matching that point total by the end of the first half.
"One thing we talked about was how much pride they take in their defense," Harter said. "The big key for us was being patient, setting good screens, reading what the defense gave us. I thought early on, our girls did a good job of attacking the basket. If they didn't step up and help out, we took the ball strong to the basket. If they did step up, we found the open girl in the gap."
Warsaw's top scorer in the victory was senior Sarah Shilling, who scored 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field, while also going 2 for 2 at the free-throw line, but she wasn't alone.
Senior Kaelee Sands netted 11 points in the win, followed by 10 from senior Kelci Freds, nine from freshman Lindsay Baker and another eight out of junior Kayla Stout.
"We have girls that can score," Harter said. "On any one night, it could be any of them stepping up and hitting the big shots. It's not always one person."
Freds has led Warsaw with 17 points per game, but was also looking for teammates in the win, finishing with five assists.
"Teams are going to focus on Kelci, because she's been our leading scorer," Harter said. "What's nice about Kelci is, if she has her shot, she'll take it. If not, and they step up, she looks and finds the open girl."
WARSAW 59, HAGERSTOWN 39
H 8 9 8 14 - 39
W 17 12 18 12 - 59
Warsaw - Kelci Freds 3-9 2-2 10, Kaelee Sands 5-9 0-0 11, Cendall Ogle 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Stout 3-6 2-2 8, Sarah Shilling 5-5 2-2 12, Creigh Ogle 0-0 0-0 0, Beth Plummer 2-2 3-4 7, Lindsay Baker 2-3 4-4 9, Ryesha Jackson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-36 13-14 59.
Hagerstown - Nyla Rueter 2-16 0-0 5, Kasey Reneau 2-2 1-2 5, Hannah Markley 1-2 0-0 2, Katelyn Lakes 6-14 2-4 17, Alesia Melton 2-4 0-0 6, Erin Gray 0-2 0-0 0, Ashley Klettke 2-2 0-0 4, Connor Bartlett 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Ritter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-42 3-6 39.
Three-point goals - Warsaw 4-11 (Freds 2, Sands, Baker), Hagerstown 6-19 (Lakes 3, Melton 2, Ruetter); Team Fouls - Warsaw 12, Hagerstown 11; Turnovers - Warsaw 18, Hagerstown 20; Rebounds - Warsaw 23 (Freds 5), Hagerstown 21 (Reneau 7); Assists - Warsaw 7 (Freds 5), Hagerstown 1; Steals - Warsaw 7 (Freds 3, Sands 3), Hagerstown 7 (Markley 2, Lakes 2, Melton 2); Blocks - Warsaw 1, Hagerstown 1; Records: Warsaw 9-0, Hagerstown 8-2
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After defeating the Class 2A No. 10 Hagerstown Lady Tigers 59-39 in the day's first game, Class 4A No. 9 Warsaw fell 59-49 to the Perry Meridian Lady Falcons in the championship at the Tiger Den
The loss to Meridian (5-6) was Warsaw's (9-1) first setback of the season, and showed what may be a weak spot in the Tigers attack.[[In-content Ad]]"They play some really tough teams down there in the Indianapolis area," Warsaw coach Michelle Harter said about Meridian. "They are used to that physical-type of play, and we just let them push us around there at the beginning. We didn't step up and be strong.
"Perry Meridian showed, if they put a little pressure on us, sometimes we don't play as intense and we don't play as confident," she added. "We need to use this as a learning experience."
Despite coming in with a sub-.500 record, Meridian dominated Warsaw by hitting 45-percent of its shots and outrebounding the home team 32-23.
"It gets us another step closer to .500," Meridian coach Mike Armstrong said. "I'm really pleased with our effort and the way we played tonight."
Meridian is playing without junior all-star, and team MVP, Lindsay Spears, who suffered a knee injury during the volleyball season.
"Our kids have been adjusting to playing without her," Armstrong said about Spears, who will be playing volleyball at Western Kentucky University next year. "We felt like our schedule had prepared us to play in this game, regardless of what our record was. We looked at this as a sectional tonight. We knew we were going to have to come out and battle, being physical. Warsaw's got a really good team. We just made shots tonight that we haven't been making."
They may not have had Spears, but Meridian did have a Butler University commit in junior Amanda Raker, who grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Senior Rachel Tackett led all scorers with 16 points, followed by 15 from sophomore teammate Alli Gentry.
"I didn't expect them to shoot as well as they did from outside," Harter said of the Falcons, who hit 6 of 10 three-pointers. "Part of that was because we were slow rotating defensively, and didn't contend the shot."
While Meridian was hitting shots, Warsaw was just 1 for 9 from three-point land and connected on 16 of 27 free throws.
"We had some looks that didn't fall for us," Harter said.
Warsaw's biggest drought came to start the second half, as Meridian outscored the home team 13-1 to take a 44-26 lead, all but putting the game away as Warsaw hit just one field goal in the third quarter.
"That allowed them to build a big lead, and we just didn't recover from that point on," Harter said.
Warsaw was led in scoring by seniors Kelci Freds and Kaelee Sands, who both scored 10 points, while classmate Beth Plummer chipped in nine and had a team-high six boards.
The win gave Meridian its second-straight Lady Tiger Classic championship, and may explain why Armstrong loves making the trip from Indianapolis each year.
"We've been coming since '95-'96, and we like to come," he said. "It gets us out of Indianapolis. It gets our teams together in a hotel room, because we even bring our JV now. It's kind of a winter break getaway for our kids. We love the tournament."
On the flipside, Warsaw hasn't won its own tournament since Indiana Miss Basketball Jaclyn Leininger led them to a championship win in the 2003-04 season.
"They wanted to come out and play well in this game, and bring the trophy back home, because it has been a while," Harter said.
PERRY MERIDIAN 59, WARSAW 49
PM 16 15 13 15 - 59
W 11 14 5 19 - 49
PM - Rachel Tackett 3-8 9-10 16, Stephanie Lindsey 1-3 0-0 2, Krista Schott 4-5 1-6 9, Abby Long 2-9 0-0 6, Amanda Raker 3-5 2-2 8, Alli Gentry 4-6 5-6 15, Carli Skaggs 1-4 0-0 3, Rachel Rollison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-40 17-24 59.
Warsaw - Kelci Freds 3-8 3-4 10, Kaelee Sands 5-9 0-0 10, Cendall Ogle 1-2 1-2 3, Kayla Stout 1-2 2-4 4, Sarah Shilling 0-2 4-8 4, Creigh Ogle 0-0 0-1 0, Beth Plummer 3-4 3-4 9, Lindsay Baker 2-6 1-2 5, Ryesha Jackson 1-5 2-2 4. Totals 16-38 16-27 49.
Three-point goals - PM 6-10 (Gentry 2, Long 2, Tackett, Skaggs), Warsaw 1-9 (Freds); Team Fouls (fouled out) - PM 18 (Lindsey), Warsaw 18; Turnovers - PM 15, Warsaw 12; Rebounds - PM 32 (Raker 13), Warsaw 23 (Plummer 6); Assists - PM 2, Warsaw 10 (Freds 2, Ce. Ogle 2, Shilling 2); Steals - PM 6 (Tackett 3), Warsaw 8; Blocks - PM 1, Warsaw 0; Records: PM 5-6, Warsaw 9-1
All-Tourney Team - Kelci Freds (Warsaw), Sarah Shilling (Warsaw), Katelyn Lakes (Hagerstown), Rachel Tackett (Perry Meridian), Alli Gentry (Perry Meridian), Amanda Raker (Perry Meridian)
Game 1 - Warsaw 59, Hagerstown 39
The opening game of the tournament showed there was quite a difference between the No. 10 team in Class 2A and the No. 9 team in Class 4A girls basketball.
Beginning the TCU Lady Tiger Classic against the Hagerstown Lady Tigers, Warsaw didn't have much trouble advancing to the championship game with a 59-39 victory.
Hagerstown entered the game allowing just 29 points a game, but Warsaw didn't respect that too much, matching that point total by the end of the first half.
"One thing we talked about was how much pride they take in their defense," Harter said. "The big key for us was being patient, setting good screens, reading what the defense gave us. I thought early on, our girls did a good job of attacking the basket. If they didn't step up and help out, we took the ball strong to the basket. If they did step up, we found the open girl in the gap."
Warsaw's top scorer in the victory was senior Sarah Shilling, who scored 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field, while also going 2 for 2 at the free-throw line, but she wasn't alone.
Senior Kaelee Sands netted 11 points in the win, followed by 10 from senior Kelci Freds, nine from freshman Lindsay Baker and another eight out of junior Kayla Stout.
"We have girls that can score," Harter said. "On any one night, it could be any of them stepping up and hitting the big shots. It's not always one person."
Freds has led Warsaw with 17 points per game, but was also looking for teammates in the win, finishing with five assists.
"Teams are going to focus on Kelci, because she's been our leading scorer," Harter said. "What's nice about Kelci is, if she has her shot, she'll take it. If not, and they step up, she looks and finds the open girl."
WARSAW 59, HAGERSTOWN 39
H 8 9 8 14 - 39
W 17 12 18 12 - 59
Warsaw - Kelci Freds 3-9 2-2 10, Kaelee Sands 5-9 0-0 11, Cendall Ogle 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Stout 3-6 2-2 8, Sarah Shilling 5-5 2-2 12, Creigh Ogle 0-0 0-0 0, Beth Plummer 2-2 3-4 7, Lindsay Baker 2-3 4-4 9, Ryesha Jackson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-36 13-14 59.
Hagerstown - Nyla Rueter 2-16 0-0 5, Kasey Reneau 2-2 1-2 5, Hannah Markley 1-2 0-0 2, Katelyn Lakes 6-14 2-4 17, Alesia Melton 2-4 0-0 6, Erin Gray 0-2 0-0 0, Ashley Klettke 2-2 0-0 4, Connor Bartlett 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Ritter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-42 3-6 39.
Three-point goals - Warsaw 4-11 (Freds 2, Sands, Baker), Hagerstown 6-19 (Lakes 3, Melton 2, Ruetter); Team Fouls - Warsaw 12, Hagerstown 11; Turnovers - Warsaw 18, Hagerstown 20; Rebounds - Warsaw 23 (Freds 5), Hagerstown 21 (Reneau 7); Assists - Warsaw 7 (Freds 5), Hagerstown 1; Steals - Warsaw 7 (Freds 3, Sands 3), Hagerstown 7 (Markley 2, Lakes 2, Melton 2); Blocks - Warsaw 1, Hagerstown 1; Records: Warsaw 9-0, Hagerstown 8-2
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