Lady Tigers Top Northridge In Overtime
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
But defense and rebounding can compensate for a cold offense, and the Warsaw Lady Tigers used those two keys to handle its shooting drought, force overtime, and eventually claim a 37-35 win over the Northridge Lady Raiders Saturday night.
The game started off well enough for the Lady Tigers, as they used balanced scoring from four different players to take a 12-7 lead after the first quarter. The lead grew to 17-7 in the first four minutes of the second period, with Madi Graham sinking a pair of three-pointers and Pam Miller scoring five points in the opening 12 minutes of the game.
The Lady Raiders came back with stingy defense of their own, limiting Warsaw to just three free throws in the remainder of the half. Until Graham hit another trey with about two minutes left in the third, that was it for the Lady Tigers.
Meanwhile, Northridge’s Baleigh Carithers hit a trio of three-pointers to lead the Lady Raiders on an 18-6 run, giving the home team a 25-23 lead at the end of three.
Both teams continued to grind the game out, with the squads combining for just four field goals in the fourth quarter. Dayton Groninger finished a traditional three-point play to give Warsaw a 30-29 lead with 2:31 left, and Northridge’s Taylor Miller hit the second of two free throws on the next trip down the floor to tie the game. The teams each had two possessions in the final two minutes of regulation, but neither could score, forcing overtime.
Graham opened the extra period with her fourth trey of the game, and Vicki Harris hit both ends of a one-and-one to stake Warsaw to a five point lead. Taylor Miller hit another free throw to get Northridge on the board in overtime, but it was the only point the Lady Raiders scored until the 1:19 mark.
Just when it appeared Warsaw was in control, Northridge tied the game when Carithers and Kelsey Brickner converted steals into layups.
The Lady Tigers kept their poise, and with 39 seconds left, Pam Miller hit the second of two free throws to give the lead back to Warsaw. Taylor Miller missed a jumper from the left side on Northridge’s next possession, and Erin Clemens got the rebound and passed to Graham, who was fouled with 7.7 seconds left.
Graham hit the second of two freebies, and when Kelly Taylor’s last shot for Northridge missed as time expired, Warsaw secured the victory.
Warsaw head coach Michelle Harter didn’t have to look too far to figure out why her team’s shooting went into a funk in the first half.
“A big part early on is we were getting reversals, kick-ins, attacks, our feet were set and we were in a rhythm of our offense, the flow of our offense and that’s when our shots fell,” she said. “And then we started rushing a little bit. We didn’t get reversals, we kept it on the same side, one pass, looking to create something. We didn’t continue to be as patient as what we were early on.
“I was very pleased how the girls withstood the run that Northridge went on to end the first half. And then they came out in the second half with that little run. We continued to battle and continued to do some of the little things we needed to do down the stretch.”
Harter also said the Lady Tigers did well with the defensive game plan.
“Defensively we wanted to key on Taylor Miller and not allow her to get easy looks,” she said. “And I thought the girls did a pretty good job with making sure she wasn’t getting easy looks. She was taking some contested shots. She had a couple open, but for the most part we did well on her,” Harter said.
“The other big thing was not allowing Kelly Miller to attack on the base line. That’s what she loves to do; getting in on the base line, getting the offensive rebounds and scoring. If we were going to get beat, we wanted someone other than those two to beat us down the stretch.”
The Lady Tigers outrebounded Northridge 32-21, and the Lady Raiders had only four offensive boards, leading to just three second-chance points.
“(Rebounding) was one thing that as we looked at the season we thought we might struggle with. But the girls have done a great job of really focusing on boxing out, especially at key points in time when we need them to,” Harter said. “We tell them ‘you don’t have to be big to rebound, you just have to get into position.’ And the girls have done a nice job of getting into position.”
Graham’s four three-pointers, plus the fourth-quarter free throw, gave her game-high scoring honors with 13 points. Groninger finished with seven, and Pam Miller six for Warsaw.
Carithers led Northridge with 11 points, while Taylor Miller finished with 10.
Now 9-7 overall and 2-2 in the Northern Lakes Conference, the Lady Tigers travel to Elkhart Memorial for a 7:30 p.m. game Wednesday.
Northridge fell to 13-4 on the season and 2-2 in the NLC.
WARSAW 37, NORTHRIDGE 35 (OT)
W 12 8 3 7 7 – 37
N 7 8 10 5 5 – 35
Warsaw – Mariah Rivera 0-2 2-2 2, Kilee Slone 0-0 0-0 0, Vicki Harris 0-3 4-5 4, Jodie Carlson 0-2 1-2 1, Dayton Groninger 3-6 1-1 7, Pam Miller 1-7 4-5 6, Madi Graham 4-12 1-2 13, Erin Clemons 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 10-35, 13-17 37.
Northridge – Kelly Miller 1-7 4-5 6, Brooke McKinley 0-5 0-0 0, Baleigh Carithers 3-6 2-2 11, Ellie Lengacher 3-5 0-0 6, Marci Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Miller 3-9 3-6 10, Kelsey Brickner 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 11-37 9-13 35.
Three-pointers – Warsaw 4 (Graham 4), Northridge 4 (Carithers 3, T. Miller); Rebounds – Warsaw 32 (P. Miller 10), Northridge 21 (Lengacher 6); Turnovers – Warsaw 17, Northridge 11; Steals – Warsaw 4, Northridge 12; Assists – Warsaw 6, Northridge 6; Fouls – Warsaw 13, Northridge 15; Fouled out – none; Records – Warsaw 9-7 (2-2 NLC), Northridge 13-4 (2-2 NLC)
JV – Northridge 36, Warsaw 32
Warsaw – Maryann Marandet 10, Lauren Shaffner 7, Alyssa Atkins 7, Jessie Kersey 3, Kenzie Welk 3, Maddy Martz 2[[In-content Ad]]
But defense and rebounding can compensate for a cold offense, and the Warsaw Lady Tigers used those two keys to handle its shooting drought, force overtime, and eventually claim a 37-35 win over the Northridge Lady Raiders Saturday night.
The game started off well enough for the Lady Tigers, as they used balanced scoring from four different players to take a 12-7 lead after the first quarter. The lead grew to 17-7 in the first four minutes of the second period, with Madi Graham sinking a pair of three-pointers and Pam Miller scoring five points in the opening 12 minutes of the game.
The Lady Raiders came back with stingy defense of their own, limiting Warsaw to just three free throws in the remainder of the half. Until Graham hit another trey with about two minutes left in the third, that was it for the Lady Tigers.
Meanwhile, Northridge’s Baleigh Carithers hit a trio of three-pointers to lead the Lady Raiders on an 18-6 run, giving the home team a 25-23 lead at the end of three.
Both teams continued to grind the game out, with the squads combining for just four field goals in the fourth quarter. Dayton Groninger finished a traditional three-point play to give Warsaw a 30-29 lead with 2:31 left, and Northridge’s Taylor Miller hit the second of two free throws on the next trip down the floor to tie the game. The teams each had two possessions in the final two minutes of regulation, but neither could score, forcing overtime.
Graham opened the extra period with her fourth trey of the game, and Vicki Harris hit both ends of a one-and-one to stake Warsaw to a five point lead. Taylor Miller hit another free throw to get Northridge on the board in overtime, but it was the only point the Lady Raiders scored until the 1:19 mark.
Just when it appeared Warsaw was in control, Northridge tied the game when Carithers and Kelsey Brickner converted steals into layups.
The Lady Tigers kept their poise, and with 39 seconds left, Pam Miller hit the second of two free throws to give the lead back to Warsaw. Taylor Miller missed a jumper from the left side on Northridge’s next possession, and Erin Clemens got the rebound and passed to Graham, who was fouled with 7.7 seconds left.
Graham hit the second of two freebies, and when Kelly Taylor’s last shot for Northridge missed as time expired, Warsaw secured the victory.
Warsaw head coach Michelle Harter didn’t have to look too far to figure out why her team’s shooting went into a funk in the first half.
“A big part early on is we were getting reversals, kick-ins, attacks, our feet were set and we were in a rhythm of our offense, the flow of our offense and that’s when our shots fell,” she said. “And then we started rushing a little bit. We didn’t get reversals, we kept it on the same side, one pass, looking to create something. We didn’t continue to be as patient as what we were early on.
“I was very pleased how the girls withstood the run that Northridge went on to end the first half. And then they came out in the second half with that little run. We continued to battle and continued to do some of the little things we needed to do down the stretch.”
Harter also said the Lady Tigers did well with the defensive game plan.
“Defensively we wanted to key on Taylor Miller and not allow her to get easy looks,” she said. “And I thought the girls did a pretty good job with making sure she wasn’t getting easy looks. She was taking some contested shots. She had a couple open, but for the most part we did well on her,” Harter said.
“The other big thing was not allowing Kelly Miller to attack on the base line. That’s what she loves to do; getting in on the base line, getting the offensive rebounds and scoring. If we were going to get beat, we wanted someone other than those two to beat us down the stretch.”
The Lady Tigers outrebounded Northridge 32-21, and the Lady Raiders had only four offensive boards, leading to just three second-chance points.
“(Rebounding) was one thing that as we looked at the season we thought we might struggle with. But the girls have done a great job of really focusing on boxing out, especially at key points in time when we need them to,” Harter said. “We tell them ‘you don’t have to be big to rebound, you just have to get into position.’ And the girls have done a nice job of getting into position.”
Graham’s four three-pointers, plus the fourth-quarter free throw, gave her game-high scoring honors with 13 points. Groninger finished with seven, and Pam Miller six for Warsaw.
Carithers led Northridge with 11 points, while Taylor Miller finished with 10.
Now 9-7 overall and 2-2 in the Northern Lakes Conference, the Lady Tigers travel to Elkhart Memorial for a 7:30 p.m. game Wednesday.
Northridge fell to 13-4 on the season and 2-2 in the NLC.
WARSAW 37, NORTHRIDGE 35 (OT)
W 12 8 3 7 7 – 37
N 7 8 10 5 5 – 35
Warsaw – Mariah Rivera 0-2 2-2 2, Kilee Slone 0-0 0-0 0, Vicki Harris 0-3 4-5 4, Jodie Carlson 0-2 1-2 1, Dayton Groninger 3-6 1-1 7, Pam Miller 1-7 4-5 6, Madi Graham 4-12 1-2 13, Erin Clemons 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 10-35, 13-17 37.
Northridge – Kelly Miller 1-7 4-5 6, Brooke McKinley 0-5 0-0 0, Baleigh Carithers 3-6 2-2 11, Ellie Lengacher 3-5 0-0 6, Marci Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Miller 3-9 3-6 10, Kelsey Brickner 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 11-37 9-13 35.
Three-pointers – Warsaw 4 (Graham 4), Northridge 4 (Carithers 3, T. Miller); Rebounds – Warsaw 32 (P. Miller 10), Northridge 21 (Lengacher 6); Turnovers – Warsaw 17, Northridge 11; Steals – Warsaw 4, Northridge 12; Assists – Warsaw 6, Northridge 6; Fouls – Warsaw 13, Northridge 15; Fouled out – none; Records – Warsaw 9-7 (2-2 NLC), Northridge 13-4 (2-2 NLC)
JV – Northridge 36, Warsaw 32
Warsaw – Maryann Marandet 10, Lauren Shaffner 7, Alyssa Atkins 7, Jessie Kersey 3, Kenzie Welk 3, Maddy Martz 2[[In-content Ad]]
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