Seiss, Second Half Play Lift Warsaw Girls
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE - A game in which Warsaw junior Julie Seiss briefly sat out with a turned ankle, it was host NorthWood that got tripped up Tuesday evening in the opening round of the fifth and final Northern Lakes Conference Tournament.
Behind a school-record performance from Seiss and solid play from sophomore Danielle DeGeeter, junior Jennifer Scherer and senior Rebekah Reichard, the Tigers overcame a 12-point halftime deficit and cruised to a 60-45 win over NorthWood.
"We had a scouting report and we knew what NorthWood liked to do, and they did exactly that," said first-year Warsaw coach John Snyder. "I told the girls at halftime the rest was on them, to go out and execute. I told them they have to believe they're going to win this game, if not, to stay in the locker room."
The Tigers came out of the locker room, and they came out and played with passion.
An 11-10 run to start the the second half cut NorthWood's advantage to one, 29-28, when DeGeeter converted the first of two free throws with 3:21 remaining.
After NorthWood's Mandy Yoder converted a three-point play, Seiss drilled a field goal and then DeGeeter made a steal and assisted Seiss, who converted a three-point play with 2:03 left in the third to give Warsaw its first lead since a 9-7 advantage in the first quarter.
All totaled, Warsaw outscored the Panthers 21-5 in the third quarter, taking a 38-34 lead, and 22-11 in the fourth quarter.
Eighteen of Warsaw's third-quarter points came from the 5-foot-9 Seiss, who broke 2004 Miss Basketball Jaclyn Leininger's record for points in a quarter by one.
Seiss also tied Amie Poling's school record for three-pointers made in a game, finishing the contest 6 of 7 from the arc.
After Warsaw's 16-point win over rival Wawasee, Snyder said he felt like Seiss was due for a breakout game.
That game came in the form of a 34-point performance against Perry Meridian, a contest in which Seiss converted two free throws in the waning seconds for the win.
Tuesday against NorthWood, Seiss was still in the zone, finishing 9 of 14 from the field, 6 of 7 from three-point range and 5 of 7 from the free throw line for 29 points.
"The thing of it is, we're not doing anything different," said Snyder. "Those points have come in the rhythym of our offense. She's taking what the game is giving her."
While Seiss provided the scoring punch the Tigers needed, DeGeeter, Scherer and Reichard played pivotal roles in the 15-point win.
DeGeeter finished with 10 points and six assists, Reichard had eight points and nine rebounds and Scherer six points and eight rebounds.
"Danielle played a great floor game," said Snyder. "Jennifer Scherer came up with eight big rebounds and Rebekah had some big rebounds. We controlled the boards against a much bigger team."
Warsaw out-rebounded NorthWood, a team with three 6-footers, 31-24, made good on 8 of 12 three-pointers and turned the ball over just 11 times.
In their first six games, the Tigers posted a 2-4 record and were off to program's worst start in history.
Since then the Tigers have won four straight and seemed to find an identity.
"I knew they were things we could fix," said Snyder of what is different with his team now. "It was a growth process from me as a coach and for the players. We're starting to understand each other. Confidence breeds confidence, and that's what they're playing with right now."
The 15-point win improved the Tigers to 6-4 on the season and earned Warsaw a spot in tonight's semifinal round against rival Wawasee, which the Tigers beat by 16 a week ago.
Tonight's game will be played at Northridge High School and will begin at 7:30 p.m. Plymouth (10-1) and Concord (5-5) square off in the first winners-bracket game at 6 p.m.
The winners of tonight's winners-bracket games will square off tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the championship contest at Goshen High School.
With Tuesday's loss, NorthWood fell to 8-3 on the season.
Lauren Zeltwanger led the Panthers with 13 points, while Yoder added 12 and Audrey Duncan and Carrie Egging six each.
WARSAW 60, NORTHWOOD 45
Warsaw 9 8 21 22 - 60
NWood 16 13 5 11 - 45
Warsaw - DeGeeter 3-8 3-4 10, Abbitt 0-2 2-2 2, Braddock 0-1 0-0 0, Seiss 9-14 5-7 29, Scherer 2-6 2-3 6, Clay 2-4 0-0 5, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Reichard 3-8 2-3 8, Hepler 0-0 0-0 0, Heiman 0 0-0 0. Totals 19-43 14-19 60.
NorthWood - Egging 2-7 1-4 6, Bechtel 0-1 2-2 2, Zeltwanger 5-14 0-0 13, Lechlitner 1-3 2-4 4, Yoder 4-7 1-1 12, Duncan 2-4 2-2 6, Schiefer 0-1 0-0 0, Kurtz 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 15-39 8-13 45.
Three-point goals - Warsaw 8 (Seiss 6, DeGeeter 1, Clay 1), NorthWood 7 (Zeltwanger 3, Yoder 3, Egging 1). Rebounds - Warsaw 31 (Reichard 9, Scherer 8), NorthWood 24. Turnovers - Warsaw 11, NorthWood 16. Fouls - Warsaw 13, NorthWood 19. Fouled out - none. [[In-content Ad]]
NAPPANEE - A game in which Warsaw junior Julie Seiss briefly sat out with a turned ankle, it was host NorthWood that got tripped up Tuesday evening in the opening round of the fifth and final Northern Lakes Conference Tournament.
Behind a school-record performance from Seiss and solid play from sophomore Danielle DeGeeter, junior Jennifer Scherer and senior Rebekah Reichard, the Tigers overcame a 12-point halftime deficit and cruised to a 60-45 win over NorthWood.
"We had a scouting report and we knew what NorthWood liked to do, and they did exactly that," said first-year Warsaw coach John Snyder. "I told the girls at halftime the rest was on them, to go out and execute. I told them they have to believe they're going to win this game, if not, to stay in the locker room."
The Tigers came out of the locker room, and they came out and played with passion.
An 11-10 run to start the the second half cut NorthWood's advantage to one, 29-28, when DeGeeter converted the first of two free throws with 3:21 remaining.
After NorthWood's Mandy Yoder converted a three-point play, Seiss drilled a field goal and then DeGeeter made a steal and assisted Seiss, who converted a three-point play with 2:03 left in the third to give Warsaw its first lead since a 9-7 advantage in the first quarter.
All totaled, Warsaw outscored the Panthers 21-5 in the third quarter, taking a 38-34 lead, and 22-11 in the fourth quarter.
Eighteen of Warsaw's third-quarter points came from the 5-foot-9 Seiss, who broke 2004 Miss Basketball Jaclyn Leininger's record for points in a quarter by one.
Seiss also tied Amie Poling's school record for three-pointers made in a game, finishing the contest 6 of 7 from the arc.
After Warsaw's 16-point win over rival Wawasee, Snyder said he felt like Seiss was due for a breakout game.
That game came in the form of a 34-point performance against Perry Meridian, a contest in which Seiss converted two free throws in the waning seconds for the win.
Tuesday against NorthWood, Seiss was still in the zone, finishing 9 of 14 from the field, 6 of 7 from three-point range and 5 of 7 from the free throw line for 29 points.
"The thing of it is, we're not doing anything different," said Snyder. "Those points have come in the rhythym of our offense. She's taking what the game is giving her."
While Seiss provided the scoring punch the Tigers needed, DeGeeter, Scherer and Reichard played pivotal roles in the 15-point win.
DeGeeter finished with 10 points and six assists, Reichard had eight points and nine rebounds and Scherer six points and eight rebounds.
"Danielle played a great floor game," said Snyder. "Jennifer Scherer came up with eight big rebounds and Rebekah had some big rebounds. We controlled the boards against a much bigger team."
Warsaw out-rebounded NorthWood, a team with three 6-footers, 31-24, made good on 8 of 12 three-pointers and turned the ball over just 11 times.
In their first six games, the Tigers posted a 2-4 record and were off to program's worst start in history.
Since then the Tigers have won four straight and seemed to find an identity.
"I knew they were things we could fix," said Snyder of what is different with his team now. "It was a growth process from me as a coach and for the players. We're starting to understand each other. Confidence breeds confidence, and that's what they're playing with right now."
The 15-point win improved the Tigers to 6-4 on the season and earned Warsaw a spot in tonight's semifinal round against rival Wawasee, which the Tigers beat by 16 a week ago.
Tonight's game will be played at Northridge High School and will begin at 7:30 p.m. Plymouth (10-1) and Concord (5-5) square off in the first winners-bracket game at 6 p.m.
The winners of tonight's winners-bracket games will square off tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the championship contest at Goshen High School.
With Tuesday's loss, NorthWood fell to 8-3 on the season.
Lauren Zeltwanger led the Panthers with 13 points, while Yoder added 12 and Audrey Duncan and Carrie Egging six each.
WARSAW 60, NORTHWOOD 45
Warsaw 9 8 21 22 - 60
NWood 16 13 5 11 - 45
Warsaw - DeGeeter 3-8 3-4 10, Abbitt 0-2 2-2 2, Braddock 0-1 0-0 0, Seiss 9-14 5-7 29, Scherer 2-6 2-3 6, Clay 2-4 0-0 5, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Reichard 3-8 2-3 8, Hepler 0-0 0-0 0, Heiman 0 0-0 0. Totals 19-43 14-19 60.
NorthWood - Egging 2-7 1-4 6, Bechtel 0-1 2-2 2, Zeltwanger 5-14 0-0 13, Lechlitner 1-3 2-4 4, Yoder 4-7 1-1 12, Duncan 2-4 2-2 6, Schiefer 0-1 0-0 0, Kurtz 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 15-39 8-13 45.
Three-point goals - Warsaw 8 (Seiss 6, DeGeeter 1, Clay 1), NorthWood 7 (Zeltwanger 3, Yoder 3, Egging 1). Rebounds - Warsaw 31 (Reichard 9, Scherer 8), NorthWood 24. Turnovers - Warsaw 11, NorthWood 16. Fouls - Warsaw 13, NorthWood 19. Fouled out - none. [[In-content Ad]]