Lady Tigers Win Big At Whitko
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
Warsaw’s Pam Miller scored the next eight, however, to close out the first quarter, and from there the Lady Tigers never looked back in a 54-30 thrashing of the host Lady Wildcats.
Warsaw coach Michelle Harter was fairly pleased with her team’s ability to score in spite of not hitting any three-point shots. The shots that did fall were either under the basket or within a couple steps of the lane.
“That’s one thing we’ve been talking about in practice; we just have to continue to keep looking for our shots. If they’re not falling from the outside, then look to attack and penetrate and get some shots inside,” she said.
“One thing we’ve been missing is a mid-range game,” added Harter. “It’s either been three-point shots or lay-ups that we were looking to take, and tonight we just took what the defense gave us and we hit some of those mid-range shots.”
The Lady Tigers’ coach also made the decision to abandon any zone defenses, opting to play man-to-man from start to finish.
“What an excellent, excellent effort defensively we gave. Everybody was on-board, played man-to-man the entire game,” Harter said. “Playing man-to-man is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I think this team is one that really loves to play man-to-man and that helped us get going on the offensive end as well.”
After her first-quarter outburst, Miller continued with the hot hand, finishing with a team-high 15 points for Warsaw. Madi Graham added 13, and Vicki harris, playing more than 30 of the game’s 32 minutes, finished with 10 for the Lady Tigers.
“Pam had been pressuring herself so much, and rushing, and we’ve really been working with her catching, being under control, squaring up and going up strong,” said Harter. “And that’s something we’d talked about; we have to establish that inside game. That’s going to open it up for our shooters and drivers.
“Vicki Harris played tonight the way I knew she was capable of playing. She just came out and relaxed. She was so focused on stopping (Cumberland) defensively that I think it helped her relax on the offensive end and just play.”
While Whitko leader Aly Reiff scored a game-high 16 points, she needed 16 shots to get there. Only three other Lady Wildcats scored, and Harter praised the defensive effort.
“It was a team effort; girls helping off, being where they needed to be, we got them frustrated early on, some travel calls, some charges,” she said. “I just can’t say enough, I was so pleased with the total team effort of all the girls.”
Meanwhile, Whitko coach Brandon Bradley felt that while his team’s effort level was fine, the mental approach his team is taking leaves something to be desired.
“We’re mentally soft right now. We allowed them to push us around, and be physical with us,” Bradley said. “They were the aggressor, we were reactionary. It wasn’t much different than our second half at Huntington (a 70-61 loss to Huntington North on Nov. 21).
Bradley said he and his staff would spend the next few days, leading up to Whitko’s next game with Fort Wayne Northrop, evaluating his team to find the five most productive players. He admitted it won’t be an easy task.
“It’s a long season,” he said. “There needs to be evolution throughout the season and we’re not evolving quick enough. I think they play hard. I think they care. I think they get along very well. But at the end of the day, we need kids that are productive.
“We talked the other day; there’s five characteristics that get you on the floor. There’s talent, skill, basketball I.Q., effort and productivity. Right now I think we have effort, I don’t think we have any productivity out of a lot of people, and we need to be a lot more productive.”
Now 2-3, Warsaw will travel to Ossian to take on Norwell Tuesday. With the loss, Whitko falls to 2-3 on the season.
The Lady Tigers have won their last seven meetings with Whitko and lead the overall series 30-3.
WARSAW 54, WHITKO 30
War 8 14 11 21 – 54
Whi 3 6 12 9 – 30
Warsaw – Page Dusenberg 0-1 0-0 0, Mariah Rivera 1-4 0-0 2, Vicki Harris 3-6 4-6 10, Jodie Carlson 0-0 4-4 4, Dayton Groninger 3-7 0-0 6, Pam Miller 7-8 1-2 15, Madi Graham 3-4 7-8 13, Erin Clemens 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 18-33 18-22 54.
Whitko – Reghan Craig 1-4 0-0 2, Haley Yohe 0-1 0-0 0, Brianna Cumberland 1-6 3-4 5, Avaree Freel 0-2 0-0 0, Emily Day 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Yohe 0-6 0-3 0, Anna Ousley 0-0 0-0 0, Aly Reiff 6-16 1-4 16, Michelle Kelsey 0-1 0-0 0, Aly Nicodemus 0-1 0-0 0, Maddie Gawthrop 1-3 5-6 7. Totals 9-40 9-17 30.
Three-pointers – Warsaw 0, Whitko 3 (Reiff 3); Rebounds – Warsaw 29 (Carlson 8, Graham 8), Whitko 22 (Reiff 9); Turnovers – Warsaw 19, Whitko 19; Steals – Warsaw 7, Whitko 7; Fouls – Warsaw 19, Whitko 20; Fouled out – Groninger, Reiff; Records – Warsaw 2-3, Whitko 2-3
JV – Warsaw 36, Whitko 26
Warsaw – Jessie Kersey 2, Kenzie Welk 12, Abby Glass 4, Maddy Martz 3, Morgan Bruner 4, Maryann Marandet 4, Lauren Shaffner 7
Whitko – Haley Yohe 4, Avaree Freel 0, Emily Day 4, Hannah Yohe 4, Anna Ousley 4, Riley Insley 6, Claire Reiff 4, Brooke Christoffel 0[[In-content Ad]]
Warsaw’s Pam Miller scored the next eight, however, to close out the first quarter, and from there the Lady Tigers never looked back in a 54-30 thrashing of the host Lady Wildcats.
Warsaw coach Michelle Harter was fairly pleased with her team’s ability to score in spite of not hitting any three-point shots. The shots that did fall were either under the basket or within a couple steps of the lane.
“That’s one thing we’ve been talking about in practice; we just have to continue to keep looking for our shots. If they’re not falling from the outside, then look to attack and penetrate and get some shots inside,” she said.
“One thing we’ve been missing is a mid-range game,” added Harter. “It’s either been three-point shots or lay-ups that we were looking to take, and tonight we just took what the defense gave us and we hit some of those mid-range shots.”
The Lady Tigers’ coach also made the decision to abandon any zone defenses, opting to play man-to-man from start to finish.
“What an excellent, excellent effort defensively we gave. Everybody was on-board, played man-to-man the entire game,” Harter said. “Playing man-to-man is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I think this team is one that really loves to play man-to-man and that helped us get going on the offensive end as well.”
After her first-quarter outburst, Miller continued with the hot hand, finishing with a team-high 15 points for Warsaw. Madi Graham added 13, and Vicki harris, playing more than 30 of the game’s 32 minutes, finished with 10 for the Lady Tigers.
“Pam had been pressuring herself so much, and rushing, and we’ve really been working with her catching, being under control, squaring up and going up strong,” said Harter. “And that’s something we’d talked about; we have to establish that inside game. That’s going to open it up for our shooters and drivers.
“Vicki Harris played tonight the way I knew she was capable of playing. She just came out and relaxed. She was so focused on stopping (Cumberland) defensively that I think it helped her relax on the offensive end and just play.”
While Whitko leader Aly Reiff scored a game-high 16 points, she needed 16 shots to get there. Only three other Lady Wildcats scored, and Harter praised the defensive effort.
“It was a team effort; girls helping off, being where they needed to be, we got them frustrated early on, some travel calls, some charges,” she said. “I just can’t say enough, I was so pleased with the total team effort of all the girls.”
Meanwhile, Whitko coach Brandon Bradley felt that while his team’s effort level was fine, the mental approach his team is taking leaves something to be desired.
“We’re mentally soft right now. We allowed them to push us around, and be physical with us,” Bradley said. “They were the aggressor, we were reactionary. It wasn’t much different than our second half at Huntington (a 70-61 loss to Huntington North on Nov. 21).
Bradley said he and his staff would spend the next few days, leading up to Whitko’s next game with Fort Wayne Northrop, evaluating his team to find the five most productive players. He admitted it won’t be an easy task.
“It’s a long season,” he said. “There needs to be evolution throughout the season and we’re not evolving quick enough. I think they play hard. I think they care. I think they get along very well. But at the end of the day, we need kids that are productive.
“We talked the other day; there’s five characteristics that get you on the floor. There’s talent, skill, basketball I.Q., effort and productivity. Right now I think we have effort, I don’t think we have any productivity out of a lot of people, and we need to be a lot more productive.”
Now 2-3, Warsaw will travel to Ossian to take on Norwell Tuesday. With the loss, Whitko falls to 2-3 on the season.
The Lady Tigers have won their last seven meetings with Whitko and lead the overall series 30-3.
WARSAW 54, WHITKO 30
War 8 14 11 21 – 54
Whi 3 6 12 9 – 30
Warsaw – Page Dusenberg 0-1 0-0 0, Mariah Rivera 1-4 0-0 2, Vicki Harris 3-6 4-6 10, Jodie Carlson 0-0 4-4 4, Dayton Groninger 3-7 0-0 6, Pam Miller 7-8 1-2 15, Madi Graham 3-4 7-8 13, Erin Clemens 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 18-33 18-22 54.
Whitko – Reghan Craig 1-4 0-0 2, Haley Yohe 0-1 0-0 0, Brianna Cumberland 1-6 3-4 5, Avaree Freel 0-2 0-0 0, Emily Day 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Yohe 0-6 0-3 0, Anna Ousley 0-0 0-0 0, Aly Reiff 6-16 1-4 16, Michelle Kelsey 0-1 0-0 0, Aly Nicodemus 0-1 0-0 0, Maddie Gawthrop 1-3 5-6 7. Totals 9-40 9-17 30.
Three-pointers – Warsaw 0, Whitko 3 (Reiff 3); Rebounds – Warsaw 29 (Carlson 8, Graham 8), Whitko 22 (Reiff 9); Turnovers – Warsaw 19, Whitko 19; Steals – Warsaw 7, Whitko 7; Fouls – Warsaw 19, Whitko 20; Fouled out – Groninger, Reiff; Records – Warsaw 2-3, Whitko 2-3
JV – Warsaw 36, Whitko 26
Warsaw – Jessie Kersey 2, Kenzie Welk 12, Abby Glass 4, Maddy Martz 3, Morgan Bruner 4, Maryann Marandet 4, Lauren Shaffner 7
Whitko – Haley Yohe 4, Avaree Freel 0, Emily Day 4, Hannah Yohe 4, Anna Ousley 4, Riley Insley 6, Claire Reiff 4, Brooke Christoffel 0[[In-content Ad]]
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