Late Warsaw Run Buries Tippecanoe Valley
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Warsaw's girls basketball game with Valley Friday night was the first of the season for the Tigers. Besides an earlier scrimmage, this was the first time the Tigers had seen any competition other than themselves.
The Vikings had already picked up their first win of the season, a 55-48 victory over Bremen.
But it looked like Valley still had some first-game jitters as they turned the ball over 23 times, 15 in the second half, and the Tigers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 68-47 win.
Warsaw took possession of the opening tip, and Jenna Rooney hit a three-pointer to take an early advantage. The Tigers never looked back, and they never trailed, though the game was close at times. Warsaw clung to a 16-13 lead after one quarter of play.
What eventually got the best of the Vikings wasn't that the Tigers physically overpowered them, but that the Vikings were in foul trouble from the get-go.
"We were kind of in a no-win situation," said Valley coach Gary Teel. "We were in foul trouble early. Brooke Fisher was on the bench early with fouls, Jenn Studebaker was on the bench early with fouls, and Katie Elliott became a force inside for Warsaw."
Elliott scored 15 for the Tigers, nine coming in the first half. The rest of the Warsaw offense was balanced as 11 of the 13 cagers on the varsity roster broke into the scoring column.
For Valley, the largest portion of the offensive output came from freshman Tabitha Pratt's 22 points, but only five other Vikings broke into the scoring column.
"We had a good shooting night," said Teel. "All in all I'm pleased with our effort. But we had some lapses and made some poor decisions. When we made those decisions, it hurt us."
The first chunk of visible lapses came in the second frame as the Vikings turned the ball over six times and commited fouls at very costly times. Warsaw took advantage of trips to the charity stripe, hitting 22 of 32 free throws for the game.
"We had our sixth, seventh, and eigth players in there," said Teel. "We didn't want Pratt and Fisher to commit their third fouls before the half."
The Tigers took a 35-22 lead into the locker room, but the opening minutes of the third quarter was a different story. Pratt took charge in the third frame, scoring Valley's first seven points and finishing with 12 in the quarter. Warsaw only held on to a 50-40 lead after a valiant effort by Pratt, only playing in her second career varsity game.
"They'll have a fun year," said Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst. "I was impressed. I can't remember a freshman scoring 22 on us. She took the ball to the basket hard."
In the fourth quarter the Tigers took control of the game again, changing up the defense, and beating Valley on the boards. Warsaw out rebounded the Vikings nearly three to one.
"We have some good rebounders on this team," said Wienhorst. "I have to tell some of the girls to back out because they all like to crash the boards. I'm really pleased with this team tonight. We had more fast break layups tonight than we had half of the season last year."
Teel was also pleased with the effort his team displayed.
"We made a run," said Teel. "They did a great job coming back. I can't doubt their efforts. I'm proud of the JV team as well, if a couple more shots would've went they could have won. One game doesn't make the season, and we have our home opener against Culver (today). We came in here and gave it our all, and that's life. We have to pick ourselves up and move on."
Warsaw (1-0) will travel to Bremen tonight and Valley (1-1) will host Culver. Both games tip off at 6:15 p.m.
Warsaw 68, Valley 47
Valley 13 9 18 7 -Ê47
Warsaw 16 19 15 18 - 68
Valley FG FT S R Pts.
Tabitha Pratt (F) 8-12 2-2 0 2 22
Rhonda Doud (G) 4-11 0-0 1 1 8
Jenny Sanders (G) 3-10 0-0 0 0 6
Brooke Fisher (F) 2-4 2-2 0 3 6
Jennifer Studebaker (C) 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Mary Martin 1-3 2-2 0 2 4
Carrie Whetstone 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Brenda Rose 0-1 1-5 0 2 1
Jennifer Baker 0-0 0-3 0 0 0
Erica Pontious 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 18-40 7-14 2 11 47
Warsaw FG FT S R Pts.
Katie Elliott (C) 4-9 7-8 1 6 15
Sara Parker (F) 3-5 2-3 0 7 8
Jenna Rooney (F) 3-7 1-2 1 0 8
Kara Kesler (G) 1-4 1-2 0 2 3
Jessica Zaugg (G) 1-4 0-0 0 4 3
Christy Colt 4-5 1-3 1 0 10
Nerecia Taylor 2-7 6-6 2 6 10
Laura Overton 3-7 1-2 3 3 7
Hilary O'Connell 1-3 2-2 2 4 4
Rachael Conley 1-2 0-0 0 2 2
Janelle Kessler 0-0 1-4 1 2 1
Kyla Stanley 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Ashley Cavert 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 24-53 22-32 11 37 68
Three-point goals - Valley 4-14 (Pratt 4-6, Doud 0-4, Sanders 0-3, Rose 0-1), Warsaw 3-5 (Zaugg 1-1, Rooney 1-1, Colt 1-1, Kesler 0-1, O'Connell 0-1).
Turnovers - Valley 23, Warsaw 15. Fouled out - Studebaker. Total fouls - Valley 21, Warsaw 12
Referees - John Sorg, Dan VanTreese.
JV: Warsaw 40, Valley 36
Warsaw (1-0) scoring - Amie Poling 11, Stephanie DeRenzo 10, Janna Knisely 6, Ashley Wyatt 6, Natalie Jones 3, Shara Becker 2
Valley (0-2) scoring- Jamie Doud 12, Jayme McCalla 6, Rachel Parker 5, Melissa Baker 4, Erica Pontious 4, Sarah Kindig 4 [[In-content Ad]]
Warsaw's girls basketball game with Valley Friday night was the first of the season for the Tigers. Besides an earlier scrimmage, this was the first time the Tigers had seen any competition other than themselves.
The Vikings had already picked up their first win of the season, a 55-48 victory over Bremen.
But it looked like Valley still had some first-game jitters as they turned the ball over 23 times, 15 in the second half, and the Tigers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 68-47 win.
Warsaw took possession of the opening tip, and Jenna Rooney hit a three-pointer to take an early advantage. The Tigers never looked back, and they never trailed, though the game was close at times. Warsaw clung to a 16-13 lead after one quarter of play.
What eventually got the best of the Vikings wasn't that the Tigers physically overpowered them, but that the Vikings were in foul trouble from the get-go.
"We were kind of in a no-win situation," said Valley coach Gary Teel. "We were in foul trouble early. Brooke Fisher was on the bench early with fouls, Jenn Studebaker was on the bench early with fouls, and Katie Elliott became a force inside for Warsaw."
Elliott scored 15 for the Tigers, nine coming in the first half. The rest of the Warsaw offense was balanced as 11 of the 13 cagers on the varsity roster broke into the scoring column.
For Valley, the largest portion of the offensive output came from freshman Tabitha Pratt's 22 points, but only five other Vikings broke into the scoring column.
"We had a good shooting night," said Teel. "All in all I'm pleased with our effort. But we had some lapses and made some poor decisions. When we made those decisions, it hurt us."
The first chunk of visible lapses came in the second frame as the Vikings turned the ball over six times and commited fouls at very costly times. Warsaw took advantage of trips to the charity stripe, hitting 22 of 32 free throws for the game.
"We had our sixth, seventh, and eigth players in there," said Teel. "We didn't want Pratt and Fisher to commit their third fouls before the half."
The Tigers took a 35-22 lead into the locker room, but the opening minutes of the third quarter was a different story. Pratt took charge in the third frame, scoring Valley's first seven points and finishing with 12 in the quarter. Warsaw only held on to a 50-40 lead after a valiant effort by Pratt, only playing in her second career varsity game.
"They'll have a fun year," said Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst. "I was impressed. I can't remember a freshman scoring 22 on us. She took the ball to the basket hard."
In the fourth quarter the Tigers took control of the game again, changing up the defense, and beating Valley on the boards. Warsaw out rebounded the Vikings nearly three to one.
"We have some good rebounders on this team," said Wienhorst. "I have to tell some of the girls to back out because they all like to crash the boards. I'm really pleased with this team tonight. We had more fast break layups tonight than we had half of the season last year."
Teel was also pleased with the effort his team displayed.
"We made a run," said Teel. "They did a great job coming back. I can't doubt their efforts. I'm proud of the JV team as well, if a couple more shots would've went they could have won. One game doesn't make the season, and we have our home opener against Culver (today). We came in here and gave it our all, and that's life. We have to pick ourselves up and move on."
Warsaw (1-0) will travel to Bremen tonight and Valley (1-1) will host Culver. Both games tip off at 6:15 p.m.
Warsaw 68, Valley 47
Valley 13 9 18 7 -Ê47
Warsaw 16 19 15 18 - 68
Valley FG FT S R Pts.
Tabitha Pratt (F) 8-12 2-2 0 2 22
Rhonda Doud (G) 4-11 0-0 1 1 8
Jenny Sanders (G) 3-10 0-0 0 0 6
Brooke Fisher (F) 2-4 2-2 0 3 6
Jennifer Studebaker (C) 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Mary Martin 1-3 2-2 0 2 4
Carrie Whetstone 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Brenda Rose 0-1 1-5 0 2 1
Jennifer Baker 0-0 0-3 0 0 0
Erica Pontious 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 18-40 7-14 2 11 47
Warsaw FG FT S R Pts.
Katie Elliott (C) 4-9 7-8 1 6 15
Sara Parker (F) 3-5 2-3 0 7 8
Jenna Rooney (F) 3-7 1-2 1 0 8
Kara Kesler (G) 1-4 1-2 0 2 3
Jessica Zaugg (G) 1-4 0-0 0 4 3
Christy Colt 4-5 1-3 1 0 10
Nerecia Taylor 2-7 6-6 2 6 10
Laura Overton 3-7 1-2 3 3 7
Hilary O'Connell 1-3 2-2 2 4 4
Rachael Conley 1-2 0-0 0 2 2
Janelle Kessler 0-0 1-4 1 2 1
Kyla Stanley 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Ashley Cavert 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 24-53 22-32 11 37 68
Three-point goals - Valley 4-14 (Pratt 4-6, Doud 0-4, Sanders 0-3, Rose 0-1), Warsaw 3-5 (Zaugg 1-1, Rooney 1-1, Colt 1-1, Kesler 0-1, O'Connell 0-1).
Turnovers - Valley 23, Warsaw 15. Fouled out - Studebaker. Total fouls - Valley 21, Warsaw 12
Referees - John Sorg, Dan VanTreese.
JV: Warsaw 40, Valley 36
Warsaw (1-0) scoring - Amie Poling 11, Stephanie DeRenzo 10, Janna Knisely 6, Ashley Wyatt 6, Natalie Jones 3, Shara Becker 2
Valley (0-2) scoring- Jamie Doud 12, Jayme McCalla 6, Rachel Parker 5, Melissa Baker 4, Erica Pontious 4, Sarah Kindig 4 [[In-content Ad]]