At a time when the Warsaw girls basketball team probably needs rest more than anything, the Tigers are getting just the opposite.

After playing the No. 1 team in Class 3A on Tuesday, Warsaw had to lace up the sneakers again for another top-ranked team Saturday for the No. 5 (4A) Kokomo Wildkats.

And just like their matchup with NorthWood, the Wildkats showed why they are one of the best teams in the state with a 63-38 win Saturday night at the Tiger Den.

The Tigers trailed the Wildkats just 38-30 midway through the third quarter. Warsaw had several chances to cut even further into the lead, but couldn't quite cash in. Kokomo wasn't exactly taking control of the game at that point either.

But after Warsaw's missed chances, Kokomo got hot and went on a 13-0 run into the fourth quarter to put the game away. The Tigers, in fact, scored only eight points the remainder of the game.

"We used a ton of energy before halftime to get back into it," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said. "We told the girls that we wanted to be within eight or so in the fourth."

Possibly slowed by the emotion of Senior Night, the Tigers fell behind quickly to the talented Wildkats and trailed 12-0 early. The deficit became 19-5 entering the second quarter when Warsaw turned things up a notch.

By getting the ball inside, the Tigers began to get more scoring opportunity and more importantly, get Kokomo in foul trouble. The Wildkats led 24-10 when Warsaw put together a 7-0 run to cut the lead to seven. In that run, Kokomo's Tia Davis, who had 10 points in the first quarter, picked up her third foul and went to the bench.

Kokomo settled for a 32-24 lead at halftime.

With baskets by Tiffany Ross, Alyssa Raphael and Katie Elliott, Warsaw cut the lead to 38-30 with four minutes left in the third.

"We had people open, and we just started missing some shots in the third quarter," Wienhorst said. "We were going to live and die by our post game. I think we could have played better offensively in the second half, but I don't think we could have beaten Kokomo tonight."

Davis and Heather Cusick both led Kokomo with 18 points. The Wildkats shot a respectable 18 of 43 from the field, but blistered the nets from behind the three-point arc with 10 of 20. Davis and Cusick did most of that damage by combining to hit 8 of 11.

"They start hitting a few, and the next thing you know, they are in a flow," Wienhorst said. "Davis is one fine athlete. It is hard to stop her one on one."

The Tigers (12-7), who have Tiffany and Sherri Ross and Jessica Zaugg still battling injuries, finish up the regular season Thursday at another North Central Conference team in Marion.

"We need to get healthy," Wienhorst said. "We are not approaching the Marion game as a practice game. We would like to win 13 games this year and get momentum. We are also not going to get to the point where we win the game, and we don't have our players for Tuesday."

Kokomo improves to 18-2. [[In-content Ad]]