Lady Tigers Win NLC Opener
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
After the Class 3A No. 6 Pilgrims (5-3, 0-1 Northern Lakes Conference) defeated Warsaw 66-31 last season, the Tigers (6-0, 1-0 NLC) returned the favor Saturday afternoon in Plymouth's auxiliary gym, winning 52-38.[[In-content Ad]]"It feels really good, especially here on their home floor," Warsaw coach Michelle Harter said. "(The loss) was one thing the girls remembered, and they had in the back of their minds. They weren't going to let that happen again."
The Tigers let that be known quickly, answering a three-pointer by Plymouth junior Erin Kinney with an 11-0 run over the next 7:24 of the game, forcing turnovers on nine of 10 Plymouth possessions.
"Our whole goal was to come out and be intense from the very beginning and continue that through the entire game," Harter said of her girls, who forced 23 turnovers. "Our girls did a good job of coming out and being intense defensively, causing some turnovers."
Leading 24-19 at the half, Warsaw started the second half much like the first, using a 14-2 run to push the lead to 38-21 with 3:00 to play in the third quarter.
From there, Warsaw was able to let its defense finish the game off, as Plymouth ended the contest hitting just 30 percent of its shots.
The Plymouth win came right after the Tigers knocked off the Class 2A No. 1 Fort Wayne Bishop Luers four days earlier in Fort Wayne (58-57), making people around the state begin to take notice.
"The girls are just gaining more and more confidence as they go," Harter said. "They're continuing to come out and work hard in practice. They're not looking too far ahead. Their goal is to focus on the next game. "
One of the reasons for Warsaw's success has been the play of senior Kelci Freds, who ran the offense well against Plymouth with a game-high six assists and four steals to go with 10 points.
"That's what you're looking at when you're looking at a senior leader out there on the floor," Harter said. "She had her head up, she controlled the offense and helped out with the press. That's what you want your senior leader to do. She didn't look to force her shot, she just let the game come to her. That's a great step for Kelci."
While Freds was handling things on the perimeter, senior Sarah Shilling was taking care of the action in the post, scoring a game-high 13 points, drawing three "And-1s" in the process, converting two of them.
"The first couple times she was just turning and trying to shoot over the other girl," Harter said. "When we pulled out and told her, 'Shot-fake her and go up.' Then, when she started getting the ball inside, she shot-faked, got her up in the air and went up strong. Sarah's capable of doing that. She can jump, she's got good hands, she can catch the basketball, she just needs to realize when she catches it, to slow down."
Warsaw now sits at 1-0 in the conference and will look to get to 2-0 Saturday at Wawasee, but before that, the Tigers travel to Columbia City for a non-conference game Tuesday.
"This is step No. 1 to winning that conference championship, which is one of our goals," Harter said. "Now, we focus on Columbia City and step No. 2 is getting past Wawasee."
WARSAW 52, PLYMOUTH 38
W 11 13 16 12 - 52
P 5 14 4 15 - 38
Warsaw - Kelci Freds 4-11 0-1 10, Kaelee Sands 3-8 2-3 8, Cendall Ogle 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Stout 5-9 1-2 11, Sarah Shilling 4-5 5-7 13, Creigh Ogle 0-1 0-0 0, Kaitlin Reichard 0-1 2-2 2, Danielle Tat 0-0 0-0 0, Beth Plummer 0-1 1-3 1, Lindsay Baker 1-2 0-0 2, Ryesha Jackson 1-2 1-1 3, Amber Plummer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-41 12-19 52.
Plymouth - Nicole Sheetz 0-1 2-2 2, Haley Smart 1-2 0-2 2, Meagan Barron 0-7 6-8 6, Erin Kinney 1-3 0-0 2, Marisa Green 3-8 4-4 10, Lauren Tanner 0-3 0-0 0, Andria Shook 2-2 2-3 6, Chelsea Thoden 0-0 1-2 1, Maggie Tanner 0-2 0-0 0, Amber Redinger 2-4 0-0 4, Ariel Rensberger 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 10-33 17-23 38.
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-7 (Freds 2), Plymouth 1-7 (Kinney); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Warsaw 18, Plymouth (Kinney); Turnovers - Warsaw 16, Plymouth 23; Rebounds - Warsaw 26 (Sands 6, Stout 6), Plymouth 27 (Green 5); Assists - Warsaw 7 (Freds 6), Plymouth 0; Steals - Warsaw 9 (Freds 4), Plymouth 3 (Barron 2); Blocks - Warsaw 3 (Stout 2), Plymouth 1; Records - Warsaw 6-0, Plymouth 5-3
JV - Warsaw 39, Plymouth 30 (OT)
Warsaw JV Scoring - Sarah Heagy 11, Brooke Kline 7, Madison Davis 6, Tiffany Tat 6, Jennifer Walker-Crawford 5, Lauren Burish 4
After the Class 3A No. 6 Pilgrims (5-3, 0-1 Northern Lakes Conference) defeated Warsaw 66-31 last season, the Tigers (6-0, 1-0 NLC) returned the favor Saturday afternoon in Plymouth's auxiliary gym, winning 52-38.[[In-content Ad]]"It feels really good, especially here on their home floor," Warsaw coach Michelle Harter said. "(The loss) was one thing the girls remembered, and they had in the back of their minds. They weren't going to let that happen again."
The Tigers let that be known quickly, answering a three-pointer by Plymouth junior Erin Kinney with an 11-0 run over the next 7:24 of the game, forcing turnovers on nine of 10 Plymouth possessions.
"Our whole goal was to come out and be intense from the very beginning and continue that through the entire game," Harter said of her girls, who forced 23 turnovers. "Our girls did a good job of coming out and being intense defensively, causing some turnovers."
Leading 24-19 at the half, Warsaw started the second half much like the first, using a 14-2 run to push the lead to 38-21 with 3:00 to play in the third quarter.
From there, Warsaw was able to let its defense finish the game off, as Plymouth ended the contest hitting just 30 percent of its shots.
The Plymouth win came right after the Tigers knocked off the Class 2A No. 1 Fort Wayne Bishop Luers four days earlier in Fort Wayne (58-57), making people around the state begin to take notice.
"The girls are just gaining more and more confidence as they go," Harter said. "They're continuing to come out and work hard in practice. They're not looking too far ahead. Their goal is to focus on the next game. "
One of the reasons for Warsaw's success has been the play of senior Kelci Freds, who ran the offense well against Plymouth with a game-high six assists and four steals to go with 10 points.
"That's what you're looking at when you're looking at a senior leader out there on the floor," Harter said. "She had her head up, she controlled the offense and helped out with the press. That's what you want your senior leader to do. She didn't look to force her shot, she just let the game come to her. That's a great step for Kelci."
While Freds was handling things on the perimeter, senior Sarah Shilling was taking care of the action in the post, scoring a game-high 13 points, drawing three "And-1s" in the process, converting two of them.
"The first couple times she was just turning and trying to shoot over the other girl," Harter said. "When we pulled out and told her, 'Shot-fake her and go up.' Then, when she started getting the ball inside, she shot-faked, got her up in the air and went up strong. Sarah's capable of doing that. She can jump, she's got good hands, she can catch the basketball, she just needs to realize when she catches it, to slow down."
Warsaw now sits at 1-0 in the conference and will look to get to 2-0 Saturday at Wawasee, but before that, the Tigers travel to Columbia City for a non-conference game Tuesday.
"This is step No. 1 to winning that conference championship, which is one of our goals," Harter said. "Now, we focus on Columbia City and step No. 2 is getting past Wawasee."
WARSAW 52, PLYMOUTH 38
W 11 13 16 12 - 52
P 5 14 4 15 - 38
Warsaw - Kelci Freds 4-11 0-1 10, Kaelee Sands 3-8 2-3 8, Cendall Ogle 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Stout 5-9 1-2 11, Sarah Shilling 4-5 5-7 13, Creigh Ogle 0-1 0-0 0, Kaitlin Reichard 0-1 2-2 2, Danielle Tat 0-0 0-0 0, Beth Plummer 0-1 1-3 1, Lindsay Baker 1-2 0-0 2, Ryesha Jackson 1-2 1-1 3, Amber Plummer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-41 12-19 52.
Plymouth - Nicole Sheetz 0-1 2-2 2, Haley Smart 1-2 0-2 2, Meagan Barron 0-7 6-8 6, Erin Kinney 1-3 0-0 2, Marisa Green 3-8 4-4 10, Lauren Tanner 0-3 0-0 0, Andria Shook 2-2 2-3 6, Chelsea Thoden 0-0 1-2 1, Maggie Tanner 0-2 0-0 0, Amber Redinger 2-4 0-0 4, Ariel Rensberger 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 10-33 17-23 38.
Three-point goals - Warsaw 2-7 (Freds 2), Plymouth 1-7 (Kinney); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Warsaw 18, Plymouth (Kinney); Turnovers - Warsaw 16, Plymouth 23; Rebounds - Warsaw 26 (Sands 6, Stout 6), Plymouth 27 (Green 5); Assists - Warsaw 7 (Freds 6), Plymouth 0; Steals - Warsaw 9 (Freds 4), Plymouth 3 (Barron 2); Blocks - Warsaw 3 (Stout 2), Plymouth 1; Records - Warsaw 6-0, Plymouth 5-3
JV - Warsaw 39, Plymouth 30 (OT)
Warsaw JV Scoring - Sarah Heagy 11, Brooke Kline 7, Madison Davis 6, Tiffany Tat 6, Jennifer Walker-Crawford 5, Lauren Burish 4
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