SYRACUSE - NorthWood girls basketball coach Steve Neff said he wasn't kidding anybody. He admitted he and his team were looking toward a possible rematch with No. 2 Wawasee Saturday in the championship game of the Wawasee 3A Sectional.

With a 50-41 win over West Noble Friday night, the fifth-ranked Panthers will get that rematch with the undefeated Warriors. Wawasee (22-0) topped 9-12 Northridge 77-57 in Friday's second game.

The Panthers, who improve to 19-3 with the nine-point win, jumped out to a healthy 17-4 lead when Natalie Nunemaker made good on a field goal attempt with 4:36 remaining in the second stanza. And then it was as if the Panthers were sure they were going to run away with the victory, and that wasn't the case at all.

West Noble's girls basketball team was like a Rubbermaid trash can being backed into by a garbage truck, it bent in all sorts of ways, only to bounce right back.

Trailing 17-4, the Chargers went on an 11-6 run to cut the deficit to eight at halftime, 23-15.

"I'm not sure we were ready tonight," Neff said. "We didn't put the fear of God in anyone. Wawasee's not shaking in their boots."

Sophomore Cristina Grimm cut the lead to five, 29-24, with a basket at the 2:31 mark of the third quarter. Six seconds later NorthWood starting guard Cort Sandy went to the bench with her fourth foul. Six-foot-2 junior center Carol Duncan had been whistled for three fouls at that point.

Though the Panthers were getting themselves in foul trouble, 5-7 senior forward Kasey Chamberlin was there to bail them out. Chamberlin hit a basket with 1:42 remaining in the third to up NorthWood's lead to 31-24, and then another basket with 29 seconds left in the quarter made it 36-24.

"Kasey played pretty steady, but I didn't think anybody had a great game, including the coach," Neff said.

Chamberlin finished the game with a team-high 18 points, while Duncan added 15 and Nunemaker 10.

An Allison Kavanaugh basket with 5:11 remaining in the final frame brought West Noble within five, 44-39. NorthWood then turned the ball over, but the Chargers gave it right back, and Chamberlin was there for the Panthers once again. Chamberlin added a steal and bucket with 1:23 remaining in regulation to put NorthWood up 49-41. Sandy scored the last point of the game, connecting on 1 of 2 free throws with 34 seconds left.

Five-foot-6 junior guard Jessica Ramey scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to spark the West Noble comeback. She finished the evening with a game-high 26 points and was 7 of 8 at the free throw line.

"She's an excellent player," Neff said of Ramey. "We held them to four points in the first quarter, and then she decided to take over. Anyone that scores 1,200 points in three years can get the job done."

NorthWood, which has lost to Wawasee in the last three meetings, will play the Warriors tonight at 7:30 p.m. for the sectional championship.

No. 5 NORTHWOOD 50

WEST NOBLE 41

West Noble (8-15) 4 11 9 17 - 41

NorthWood (19-3) 11 12 15 12 - 50

West Noble FG FT R S Pts.

Ramey (G) 8-21 7-8 3 3 26

Gangwer (F) 3-13 0-0 4 2 7

Kavanaugh (F) 1-3 0-1 5 0 2

McFarren (C) 1-6 0-0 8 0 2

Howard (F) 0-3 0-0 5 0 0

Grimm 1-2 0-0 1 0 2

Vance 1-1 0-0 0 0 2

Parkison 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Totals 15-49 7-9 27 5 41

NorthWood FG FT R S Pts.

Ks. Chamberlin (F) 9-22 0-0 6 4 18

Duncan (C) 6-8 3-5 10 0 15

Kt. Chamberlin (G) 2-4 1-2 6 2 5

Sandy (G) 0-5 1-2 3 0 1

Newcomer (F) 0-1 1-2 2 1 1

Nunemaker 4-7 2-2 4 1 10

Bowers 0-0 0-0 2 0 0

Totals 21-47 8-13 33 8 50

Three-point goals - West Noble 4-12 (Ramey 3-6, Gangwer 1-6), NorthWood 0-7 (Ks. Chamberlin 0-4, Sandy 0-2, Kt. Chamberlin 0-1). Turnovers - West Noble 10, NorthWood 14. Fouls - West Noble 8, NorthWood 13. Fouled out - none. [[In-content Ad]]