St. Joe Tops Cold-Shooting Tigers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Warsaw was up to the challenge of playing a South Bend St. Joseph's girls basketball team with two D-1 recruits in Tennessee-bound Sydney Smallbone and Notre Dame commitment Melissa Lechlitner.
But in the championship game of the 28th annual Lady Tiger Tourney, the Tigers couldn't muster any offense against the Indians, as they fell 56-45 after going 17 of 59 (29 percent) from the field.
After trailing by as many as 21 points, the Tigers cut the lead to nine late in the fourth quarter and had the ball but could never get any closer.
Warsaw struggled mightily from the field, especially in the first half. The Tigers shot just 7 of 30 in the first half with many of those misses coming in the form of layups and wide-open 15-footers.
Warsaw went an entire eight-minute stretch without a point as St. Joseph's went from being down a point to leading by 12.
The Tigers' Tasia Smith finally stopped the bleeding as she hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with 4:05 left in the first half to draw Warsaw to within 10 at 17-7.
Warsaw's Julie Seiss, who committed to play basketball at Butler, then scored eight straight points to keep the Tigers within striking distance.
Seiss finished the game with 22 points on 8-of-24 shooting. While Seiss struggled from the field, she did wreak havoc on the defensive end racking up six steals.
Seiss and Co. made its fourth quarter comeback by jumping into Indian passing lanes and creating easy baskets.
While Warsaw continued to struggle from the field, the Tigers forced St. Joseph's into some poor shots and 21 turnovers.
Despite the Tigers' defensive prowess, Warsaw continued put its offense and defense together at the same time for more than a five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter.
"If we put it all together, what type of team could we be?" said second-year Warsaw head coach John Snyder. "But you put this (game) on balance. We went toe-to-toe in a lot of ways with what may be the best team in the state."
Warsaw held the Indians to 20 points below their season average of 76.0. The Tigers also played St. Joseph's closer than anyone has all year.
The Indians defeated South Bend Adams 70-58 earlier in the year.
Lechlitner led the way for St. Joseph's with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting while pulling down four rebounds. Smallbone finished with 13. Erin Newsome and Kristin Dockery each scored eight for the Indians.
St. Joseph's played its starting five the entire game.
Fatigue may have played a factor as the Indians tired under relentless pressure from Warsaw.
In the end however, it came down to hitting shots and the Tigers couldn't hit enough.
"We did not take advantage of opportunities we had," said Snyder. "We had opportunities to score but just couldn't do it."
Warsaw finished just 3 of 16 from three-point range after hitting six shots in the morning session.
Smith finished with eight points for the Tigers while Jen Scherer had seven. Kate Denlinger, Caryle Snider, Amy Abbitt and Danielle DeGeeter each had two points for Warsaw.
In the first game of the day, Warsaw defeated Perry Meridian 57-33. The Tigers led 13-4 after the first quarter and never looked back.
Warsaw was up 25-6 with two minutes left in the first half and held Perry Meridian to just seven points in the first 16 minutes. Seiss led the way for the Tigers with 22 points.
Seiss was named to the all-tournament team with teammate DeGeeter. Smallbone, Perry Meridian's Chelsea Holliday and Snider's Cheneta Morrison rounded out the team. Lechlitner was named MVP of the tournament.
St. Joseph's defeated Fort Wayne Snider 83-47 earlier in the day.
In the consolation game, Perry Meridian defeated Snider 61-41.
The Tigers dropped their record to 8-4 on the season and are off until Jan. 7 when they host Northridge for a 7:45 p.m. tipoff.
ST. JOE 56, WARSAW 45
St. Joe 11 14 15 16 - 56
Warsaw 5 11 9 20 - 45
St. Joe's FG FT R S Pts.
*Smallbone 4-9 3-4 8 3 13
*Lechlitner 9-17 6-7 4 1 25
*Werntz 1-1 0-0 3 0 2
*Newsome 3-7 2-2 10 1 8
*Dockery 2-5 4-4 9 0 8
Totals 19-39 15-17 34 5 56
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
*DeGeeter 1-8 0-0 4 1 2
*Abbitt 1-9 0-0 1 1 2
*Seiss 8-24 4-4 3 6 22
*Scherer 2-5 2-2 6 2 7
*Smith 3-6 2-4 4 3 8
Clay 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Denlinger 1-4 0-0 3 0 2
Wood 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Snider 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Totals 17-59 8-10 21 13 45
Three-point goals - St. Joseph's 3-8 (Smallbone 2-5, Lechlitner 1-3), Warsaw 3-16 (Seiss 2- 9, Scherer 1-2). Turnovers - St. Joseph's 21, Warsaw 11. Fouls - St. Joseph's 13, Warsaw 14. Fouled out - None. [[In-content Ad]]
Warsaw was up to the challenge of playing a South Bend St. Joseph's girls basketball team with two D-1 recruits in Tennessee-bound Sydney Smallbone and Notre Dame commitment Melissa Lechlitner.
But in the championship game of the 28th annual Lady Tiger Tourney, the Tigers couldn't muster any offense against the Indians, as they fell 56-45 after going 17 of 59 (29 percent) from the field.
After trailing by as many as 21 points, the Tigers cut the lead to nine late in the fourth quarter and had the ball but could never get any closer.
Warsaw struggled mightily from the field, especially in the first half. The Tigers shot just 7 of 30 in the first half with many of those misses coming in the form of layups and wide-open 15-footers.
Warsaw went an entire eight-minute stretch without a point as St. Joseph's went from being down a point to leading by 12.
The Tigers' Tasia Smith finally stopped the bleeding as she hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with 4:05 left in the first half to draw Warsaw to within 10 at 17-7.
Warsaw's Julie Seiss, who committed to play basketball at Butler, then scored eight straight points to keep the Tigers within striking distance.
Seiss finished the game with 22 points on 8-of-24 shooting. While Seiss struggled from the field, she did wreak havoc on the defensive end racking up six steals.
Seiss and Co. made its fourth quarter comeback by jumping into Indian passing lanes and creating easy baskets.
While Warsaw continued to struggle from the field, the Tigers forced St. Joseph's into some poor shots and 21 turnovers.
Despite the Tigers' defensive prowess, Warsaw continued put its offense and defense together at the same time for more than a five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter.
"If we put it all together, what type of team could we be?" said second-year Warsaw head coach John Snyder. "But you put this (game) on balance. We went toe-to-toe in a lot of ways with what may be the best team in the state."
Warsaw held the Indians to 20 points below their season average of 76.0. The Tigers also played St. Joseph's closer than anyone has all year.
The Indians defeated South Bend Adams 70-58 earlier in the year.
Lechlitner led the way for St. Joseph's with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting while pulling down four rebounds. Smallbone finished with 13. Erin Newsome and Kristin Dockery each scored eight for the Indians.
St. Joseph's played its starting five the entire game.
Fatigue may have played a factor as the Indians tired under relentless pressure from Warsaw.
In the end however, it came down to hitting shots and the Tigers couldn't hit enough.
"We did not take advantage of opportunities we had," said Snyder. "We had opportunities to score but just couldn't do it."
Warsaw finished just 3 of 16 from three-point range after hitting six shots in the morning session.
Smith finished with eight points for the Tigers while Jen Scherer had seven. Kate Denlinger, Caryle Snider, Amy Abbitt and Danielle DeGeeter each had two points for Warsaw.
In the first game of the day, Warsaw defeated Perry Meridian 57-33. The Tigers led 13-4 after the first quarter and never looked back.
Warsaw was up 25-6 with two minutes left in the first half and held Perry Meridian to just seven points in the first 16 minutes. Seiss led the way for the Tigers with 22 points.
Seiss was named to the all-tournament team with teammate DeGeeter. Smallbone, Perry Meridian's Chelsea Holliday and Snider's Cheneta Morrison rounded out the team. Lechlitner was named MVP of the tournament.
St. Joseph's defeated Fort Wayne Snider 83-47 earlier in the day.
In the consolation game, Perry Meridian defeated Snider 61-41.
The Tigers dropped their record to 8-4 on the season and are off until Jan. 7 when they host Northridge for a 7:45 p.m. tipoff.
ST. JOE 56, WARSAW 45
St. Joe 11 14 15 16 - 56
Warsaw 5 11 9 20 - 45
St. Joe's FG FT R S Pts.
*Smallbone 4-9 3-4 8 3 13
*Lechlitner 9-17 6-7 4 1 25
*Werntz 1-1 0-0 3 0 2
*Newsome 3-7 2-2 10 1 8
*Dockery 2-5 4-4 9 0 8
Totals 19-39 15-17 34 5 56
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
*DeGeeter 1-8 0-0 4 1 2
*Abbitt 1-9 0-0 1 1 2
*Seiss 8-24 4-4 3 6 22
*Scherer 2-5 2-2 6 2 7
*Smith 3-6 2-4 4 3 8
Clay 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Denlinger 1-4 0-0 3 0 2
Wood 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Snider 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Totals 17-59 8-10 21 13 45
Three-point goals - St. Joseph's 3-8 (Smallbone 2-5, Lechlitner 1-3), Warsaw 3-16 (Seiss 2- 9, Scherer 1-2). Turnovers - St. Joseph's 21, Warsaw 11. Fouls - St. Joseph's 13, Warsaw 14. Fouled out - None. [[In-content Ad]]