NorthWood Wins Another NLC Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE - NorthWood proved why it is the best team in the Northern Lakes Conference and the No. 1 team in Class 3A with a convincing 62-44 win over Warsaw Tuesday at the Panther Pit.
Both teams entered the game with perfect 5-0 marks in the NLC, but the Panthers showed the muscle that has earned them five straight conference titles and a 25-game winning streak in the NLC.
"They can't play any better than they did tonight," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said of NorthWood. "When they can kick the ball out and hit those little 15-footers, I don't know of anybody that can beat them. They are a tremendous team."
Those little '15-footers' and a few even closer to the basket resulted in NorthWood connecting on 26 of 45 from the field (58 percent). It does seem that when they are on, the Panthers (16-1) are tough to beat.
"When we shoot the ball well, we can be a pretty decent team," an understated NorthWood coach Steve Neff said.
NorthWood, who now sports a 65-game winning streak at home, stepped up as Neff would have liked in a game of this magnitude - arguably the biggest game of the year thus far.
"I was looking for a look in their eyes, and it was there tonight," Neff said. "They elevated their level of play. They weren't scared. They were loose in the locker room."
And they didn't let the threat of losing the streaks make them apprehensive.
"I was a little nervous tonight," Neff said. "I didn't even say anything to the girls, but I am sure they knew it. It was nice to get that little pressure off."
The Panthers got their usual strong games from their big three - Natalie Will (17 points), LoriDawn Klotz (13 points) and Amy Zercher (eight points), but what made them successful were the solid contributions from the likes of unsung heroes Jamie Gill and Tiffany Glingle, who combined to score 16 points.
"We all know the three players (Will, Klotz, Zercher) that come to play, and it is difficult to stop them," Wienhorst said. "But when you have a Gill and Glingle each scoring eight points, it will be very difficult for anybody to stop this NorthWood team when that happens."
In addition to her 17 points, Will led the Panthers in assists with nine and tied Zercher for the team lead in rebounding with five.
"Natalie decided to come out and shoot the ball tonight," Neff said. "I wish she would have shot it a couple of more times. Even Will (Wienhorst) said that when we shoot that well, it is tough to defend us. I guess it was tonight.
"The team is unselfish," he said. "I want the team to shoot more, but they still pass it more than they shoot. We will take it. That is what makes a good team."
NorthWood led 26-20 at halftime, and then broke out in a big way in the second half. The Panthers adjusted its defense after the break and pretty much shut down the most potent part of the Warsaw offense - going inside.
"We went to more of our zone defenses," Neff said. "We were just more aware of where they were. I thought our defense adjusted well. They didn't get a lot of easy bunnies."
As it was doing the job on defense, the offense was starting to warm up for NorthWood as it shot 6 of 12 from the field in the third to open up a 40-29 lead heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth, it would get even better for NorthWood. The Panthers hit on their first six shots from the field en route to a sizzling 9 of 15 performance to put the game more than out of reach.
"We got rattled," Wienhorst said of the third quarter. "It was the only time in the game, and it cost us. We tried to do some things that we are not capable of doing. We can't match them basket for basket. All of the sudden, we are down 11, and it is difficult to come back against a team like that.
"I am not disappointed," he said. "We played good basketball. NorthWood just flat-out beat us tonight playing great basketball."
NorthWood outscored Warsaw 36-24 in the second half.
Sam Wideman tried to keep the Tigers in the game with 17 points, including three three-pointers. But with leading scorer Tiffany Ross hampered by a sore shoulder and a stomach virus and scoring only four points, it was tough to do alone for Wideman.
"Normally, we have a one-two punch," Wienhorst said.
NorthWood also did the job on the boards against the taller Tigers, outrebounding them 20-14.
"Warsaw has some big girls," Neff said. "That was a focus point tonight. We wanted to screen out and have five people hit the boards and get all the loose balls."
Warsaw (12-6, 5-1) hosts Kokomo Saturday at 6:15 p.m., while NorthWood (16-1, 6-0) plays Crown Point Saturday at the Penn Classic at 11 a.m. [[In-content Ad]]
NAPPANEE - NorthWood proved why it is the best team in the Northern Lakes Conference and the No. 1 team in Class 3A with a convincing 62-44 win over Warsaw Tuesday at the Panther Pit.
Both teams entered the game with perfect 5-0 marks in the NLC, but the Panthers showed the muscle that has earned them five straight conference titles and a 25-game winning streak in the NLC.
"They can't play any better than they did tonight," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said of NorthWood. "When they can kick the ball out and hit those little 15-footers, I don't know of anybody that can beat them. They are a tremendous team."
Those little '15-footers' and a few even closer to the basket resulted in NorthWood connecting on 26 of 45 from the field (58 percent). It does seem that when they are on, the Panthers (16-1) are tough to beat.
"When we shoot the ball well, we can be a pretty decent team," an understated NorthWood coach Steve Neff said.
NorthWood, who now sports a 65-game winning streak at home, stepped up as Neff would have liked in a game of this magnitude - arguably the biggest game of the year thus far.
"I was looking for a look in their eyes, and it was there tonight," Neff said. "They elevated their level of play. They weren't scared. They were loose in the locker room."
And they didn't let the threat of losing the streaks make them apprehensive.
"I was a little nervous tonight," Neff said. "I didn't even say anything to the girls, but I am sure they knew it. It was nice to get that little pressure off."
The Panthers got their usual strong games from their big three - Natalie Will (17 points), LoriDawn Klotz (13 points) and Amy Zercher (eight points), but what made them successful were the solid contributions from the likes of unsung heroes Jamie Gill and Tiffany Glingle, who combined to score 16 points.
"We all know the three players (Will, Klotz, Zercher) that come to play, and it is difficult to stop them," Wienhorst said. "But when you have a Gill and Glingle each scoring eight points, it will be very difficult for anybody to stop this NorthWood team when that happens."
In addition to her 17 points, Will led the Panthers in assists with nine and tied Zercher for the team lead in rebounding with five.
"Natalie decided to come out and shoot the ball tonight," Neff said. "I wish she would have shot it a couple of more times. Even Will (Wienhorst) said that when we shoot that well, it is tough to defend us. I guess it was tonight.
"The team is unselfish," he said. "I want the team to shoot more, but they still pass it more than they shoot. We will take it. That is what makes a good team."
NorthWood led 26-20 at halftime, and then broke out in a big way in the second half. The Panthers adjusted its defense after the break and pretty much shut down the most potent part of the Warsaw offense - going inside.
"We went to more of our zone defenses," Neff said. "We were just more aware of where they were. I thought our defense adjusted well. They didn't get a lot of easy bunnies."
As it was doing the job on defense, the offense was starting to warm up for NorthWood as it shot 6 of 12 from the field in the third to open up a 40-29 lead heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth, it would get even better for NorthWood. The Panthers hit on their first six shots from the field en route to a sizzling 9 of 15 performance to put the game more than out of reach.
"We got rattled," Wienhorst said of the third quarter. "It was the only time in the game, and it cost us. We tried to do some things that we are not capable of doing. We can't match them basket for basket. All of the sudden, we are down 11, and it is difficult to come back against a team like that.
"I am not disappointed," he said. "We played good basketball. NorthWood just flat-out beat us tonight playing great basketball."
NorthWood outscored Warsaw 36-24 in the second half.
Sam Wideman tried to keep the Tigers in the game with 17 points, including three three-pointers. But with leading scorer Tiffany Ross hampered by a sore shoulder and a stomach virus and scoring only four points, it was tough to do alone for Wideman.
"Normally, we have a one-two punch," Wienhorst said.
NorthWood also did the job on the boards against the taller Tigers, outrebounding them 20-14.
"Warsaw has some big girls," Neff said. "That was a focus point tonight. We wanted to screen out and have five people hit the boards and get all the loose balls."
Warsaw (12-6, 5-1) hosts Kokomo Saturday at 6:15 p.m., while NorthWood (16-1, 6-0) plays Crown Point Saturday at the Penn Classic at 11 a.m. [[In-content Ad]]