Tiger Boys Escape With NLC Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
MIDDLEBURY - The schools were the same, as were the players, coaches and mascots, only this time something was different.
Two weeks after Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team hosted and drilled Northridge by 21 in the opening round of the Northern Lakes Conference Holiday Tournament, it was the visiting Tigers who had to scratch and claw in a two-point win over the Raiders Friday night.
In a gymnasium where victories have been hard to come by in recent history for Warsaw, the Tigers escaped with a 44-42 win, their first in Middlebury since 1996.
"It has been tough," veteran Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said of playing at Northridge. "Coach Austin does a great job with his team. It's a disappointing loss for them but I think he got what he wanted, his team played through the ugly stuff."
Northridge made things interesting, but with the loss fall to 0-2 in the NLC and 4-5 overall, having won just once in the last five games. Warsaw, on the other hand, improves to 2-0 in conference action and 10-1 overall with its 10th straight win.
The Tigers led 40-33 with 6:34 remaining in the final frame, but a three-pointer by freshman starter Nick Crawford and a field goal from senior reserve Mike Whitten cut Warsaw's lead to two.
Warsaw took a four-point lead, 44-40, but a field goal by 6-foot-7 sophomore center Ryan Eaton brought Northridge within two again with just under two minutes to play.
After a key Warsaw turnover, the Raiders had a chance to tie the score at 44 or go ahead with a trey, but a missed field goal was rebounded by the Tigers. Eaton fouled William Knepper with 8.6 seconds left, fouling out and putting the 6-3, 270-pound Warsaw junior at the free throw line with a chance to ice the game.
The missed charity toss was rebounded by Northridge, which called a timeout with 5.2 seconds left to set up the winning play.
The Raiders had to call another timeout with 3.7 seconds left when one of their players fell on the inbounds play.
Northridge put up a desperation three but the ball clanked off the rim and backboard, leaving Warsaw with its fourth straight win over the Raiders.
"This must make us about 5-0 in the conference now, being that we had to win it like four times," Rhodes joked after the game. "What a battle."
Behind the strong play of seniors Jared Shaw and Greg Clay, Warsaw led 15-12 after one quarter and 29-21 at the half.
Shaw scored 12 points in the first half, 10 in the first quarter, while Clay had 10 in the first 16 minutes, scoring five in each of the first two quarters.
"I thought it was important that we started quickly on offense," Rhodes said. "Greg and Jared got us off to a great start."
Shaw was there in the end for the Tigers as well, scoring six of their eight points in the fourth quarter, twice giving them a four-point lead with under 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
"William Knepper and Jared Shaw made a lot of good plays in the fourth quarter," Rhodes said. "Jared's really been on a roll lately, and William continued to come in and rebound well."
Shaw finished with a game-high 18 points on an 8-of-11 performance from the field. Greg Clay added 11, while Knepper chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds. Senior point guard Brad Seiss scored four points, while starters Chris Clay and Ryan DeGeeter scored two each.
Junior Matt Crawford paced Northridge with 13 points, while freshman Nick Crawford added 11. Eaton scored six before fouling out.
Warsaw will be in action again Tuesday when it hosts Valparaiso.
WARSAW 44, NORTHRIDGE 42
Warsaw (10-1, 2-0) 15 14 7 8 - 44
Northridge (4-5, 0-2) 12 9 10 11 - 42
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
Seiss (G) 1-3 2-3 2 4 4
G. Clay (G) 4-10 1-2 3 3 11
C. Clay (F) 1-2 0-2 0 0 2
Shaw (F) 8-11 1-1 2 0 18
DeGeeter (C) 1-2 0-1 1 2 2
Knepper 2-2 3-5 7 0 7
Scott 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
Walmer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Datta 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Fussle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-32 7-14 16 9 44
Northridge FG FT R S Pts.
Ingraffia (G) 1-2 0-0 2 0 3
Mast (G) 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
M. Crawford (F) 4-13 5-6 4 1 13
Eaton (C) 3-3 0-0 2 1 6
N. Crawford 4-5 0-0 1 0 11
Kropf 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Whitten 2-3 0-0 2 0 4
Gingerich 2-3 0-0 4 0 5
Totals 16-30 5-6 16 2 42
Three-point goals - Warsaw 3-8 (G. Clay 2-6, Shaw 1-1, Scott 0-1), Northridge 5-8 (N. Crawford 3-3, Ingraffia 1-1, Gingerich 1-2, M. Crawford 0-1, Kropf 0-1). Fouls - Warsaw 12, Northridge 15. Fouled out - Eaton.
JV - Warsaw 43, Northridge 30
Warsaw scoring - Todd Braddock 16, Adam Griggs 13, Michael Moore 9, Michael Wienhorst 3, Greg Allison 2
Zolman Lights Up NorthWood For 53 Points
By Mike Madison, Times-Union Spors Correspondent
NAPPANEE -ÊIt was just ten days ago that the Wawasee and Northwood girls basketball teams met in the first round of the NLC tourney.
In that game Northwood never seemed to find its game and Wawasee gave the Panthers one of the worst losses their program has had in the past few years, soundly defeating them 64-30.
Since that last game the Northwood girls spanked Northridge 38-22, while the Warriors finished as runners-up in the Hall of Fame tourney in New Castle, defeating Frankfort and losing to Jennings County in the tournament final.
The Warriors entered Friday night's game wanting to come back strong from that defeat. Northwood wanted the opportunity to show it was a much better team than the last game against Wawasee indicated.
The Warriors reached their goals, pounding the Panthers 75-57 as senior standout Shanna Zolman drilled NorthWood 53 points.
It didn't take long for the Warriors to show the Panthers they were going to have their hands full again.
Zolman lit NorthWood up for one of the the finest offensive halves ever played by a Hoosier girl, perhaps any Hoosier basketball player. Shanna lit the nets for 35 points. That's 35 first-half points on nearly-flawless shooting. Zolman did not miss her first shot until just under a minute was left in the first half.
And that was the only shot she missed. She finished 7 of 8 from two-point range and a perfect 5 of 5 beyond the three-point arc in the half. Add to that a 6-of-6 performance from the charity stripe, and Zolman was well on her way to breaking Wawasee's single-game scoring record.
Shanna's father and coach, Kem Zolman said, "The downfall of being a father is that I can't sit back and just appreciate a performance like that. I was watching our other players and how they were reacting... Were they standing around watching or were they crashing the boards?"
Zolman cooled down in the second half, if you call 18 points cooling down. Shanna finished the night with 53 points, her career high. It leaves her just 94 points shy of putting her name on top of the Indiana all-time career scoring list for girls.
Northwood's Carol Duncan, who will play at Purdue next season, finished with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 6 of 7 free throws.
Coach Zolman was anxious to see how his team would react in this game after suffering its first regular season loss since the 99-00 season.
"We knew we had to start playing with some pride," he said. "I thought we played much better tonight as a team and with more of a purpose than we did at the Hall of Fame."
For Shanna, it was the last time she took the court against Northwood, a fact not lost on the Panther coaching staff. Northwood assistant Brad Newcomer said, "We talked in our locker room following the game, that it was the last time we would see Shanna. We told them they should feel good that we saw such a fine offensive player. She put on a clinic tonight, but I have seen her, in spells, do that before, but she plays a little extra hard against us I think and I take that as a compliment to our program. She is a fine player and just a joy to watch."
The win improves Wawasee's record to 15-1 overall and 3-0 in NLC play. NorthWood's loss was just its third this year, with two of those losses coming against the Warriors and the other to Penn.The Panthers are 2-1 in the NLC.
Wawasee travels to Columbia City Tuesday.
Viking Girls Pick Up TRC Win
Times-Union Staff Report
AKRON -ÊThe Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team improved to 3-1 in the Three Rivers Conference with a 55-38 win over Northfield Friday night.
The Vikings jumped out to an 11-7 lead after the first quarter, and by the end of the second frame, they held a 31-15 advantage.
"This was a big TRC win," said Valley coach Gary Teel. "In the second quarter, the score was tied 11-11 and we went on a 20-2 run to lead 31-13 before halftime. The Lady Viking defensive intensity rose to the occasion while the offense stepped up to score 20 in the quarter."
Rebekah Parker led all scorers with 23 points, hitting 10 field goals and two free throws. She also led the team in assists with five.
Tabitha Pratt, Kathy Prater and Sherise Denny added eight points each for the Vikings.
Valley is 12-2 overall, while Northfield falls to 10-3 and 2-2 in TRC play.
"This was a great defensive effort as we held Northfield to 29 percent shooting," said Teel. "This was a total team effort."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 55, NORTHFIELD 38
Northfield 7 8 9 14 - 38
Valley 11 20 7 17 - 55
Valley scoring -ÊPratt 3 2-2 8, Rosenstiel 2 0-0 4, Prater 3 2-4 8, Clauson 0 0-0 0, Denny 3 0-0 8, Green 0 2-2 2, Zehr 0 0-0 0, Parker 10 2-3 23, Shafer 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 8-11 55.
Three-point goals -ÊValley 3 (Denny 2, Parker 1), Northfield 2 (Mast, Wilson). Rebounds -ÊValley 28 (Pratt 7), Northfield 18. Assists -ÊValley 12 (Parker 5), Northfield N/A. Steals - Valley 12 (Prater 3), Northfield N/A. Fouls - Valley 11, Northfield 10. Fouled out -ÊPrater.
JV -ÊTIPPECANOE VALLEY 38, NORTHFIELD 32
Valley scoring leaders -ÊRathbun 13, Kramer 11, Patterson 5, Moore 5, Anglin 2, Jackson 2
Valley rebound leader -ÊPatterson 8
Valley assist leader -ÊAnglin 8
Valley steal leader -ÊKramer 4
Whitko Girls Fall To TRC Foe Rochester
Times-Union Staff Report
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊAfter allowing Rochester to score 21 points in the first quarter, the Whitko girls basketball team fell 63-52 to the Zebras.
The Rochester squad outscored Whitko 21-11 in the first frame. But the Wildcats fought back in the second quarter to outscore the Zebras 18-12, making the halftime tally 33-29 in Rochester's favor.
The Zebras outscored the Wildcats 30-23 in the second half to pick up the win.
Angela Trump led the Whitko squad with 18 points, while teammate Teri Walter added 10.
Dana Sellers pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Wildcats.
The loss drops Whitko to 0-4 in TRC play and 4-10 overall. Rochester improves to 4-0 in the TRC and 12-3 overall.
The Whitko girls have a week to prepare for their next Three Rivers Conference matchup. The Wildcats face off against Southwood Jan. 12.
ROCHESTER 63, WHITKO 52
Rochester 21 12 13 17 - 63
Whitko 11 18 11 12 - 52
Whitko scoring -ÊWalter 4-20 2-2 10, Wilkinson 0-0 0-0 0, Sellers 1-8 1-4 3, Badskey 1-3 4-4 7, Wendel 2-7 3-6 8, Trump 7-18 4-5 18, Rowland 3-7 0-0 6. Totals - 18-65 14-21 52.
Rochester scoring not available. [[In-content Ad]]
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MIDDLEBURY - The schools were the same, as were the players, coaches and mascots, only this time something was different.
Two weeks after Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team hosted and drilled Northridge by 21 in the opening round of the Northern Lakes Conference Holiday Tournament, it was the visiting Tigers who had to scratch and claw in a two-point win over the Raiders Friday night.
In a gymnasium where victories have been hard to come by in recent history for Warsaw, the Tigers escaped with a 44-42 win, their first in Middlebury since 1996.
"It has been tough," veteran Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said of playing at Northridge. "Coach Austin does a great job with his team. It's a disappointing loss for them but I think he got what he wanted, his team played through the ugly stuff."
Northridge made things interesting, but with the loss fall to 0-2 in the NLC and 4-5 overall, having won just once in the last five games. Warsaw, on the other hand, improves to 2-0 in conference action and 10-1 overall with its 10th straight win.
The Tigers led 40-33 with 6:34 remaining in the final frame, but a three-pointer by freshman starter Nick Crawford and a field goal from senior reserve Mike Whitten cut Warsaw's lead to two.
Warsaw took a four-point lead, 44-40, but a field goal by 6-foot-7 sophomore center Ryan Eaton brought Northridge within two again with just under two minutes to play.
After a key Warsaw turnover, the Raiders had a chance to tie the score at 44 or go ahead with a trey, but a missed field goal was rebounded by the Tigers. Eaton fouled William Knepper with 8.6 seconds left, fouling out and putting the 6-3, 270-pound Warsaw junior at the free throw line with a chance to ice the game.
The missed charity toss was rebounded by Northridge, which called a timeout with 5.2 seconds left to set up the winning play.
The Raiders had to call another timeout with 3.7 seconds left when one of their players fell on the inbounds play.
Northridge put up a desperation three but the ball clanked off the rim and backboard, leaving Warsaw with its fourth straight win over the Raiders.
"This must make us about 5-0 in the conference now, being that we had to win it like four times," Rhodes joked after the game. "What a battle."
Behind the strong play of seniors Jared Shaw and Greg Clay, Warsaw led 15-12 after one quarter and 29-21 at the half.
Shaw scored 12 points in the first half, 10 in the first quarter, while Clay had 10 in the first 16 minutes, scoring five in each of the first two quarters.
"I thought it was important that we started quickly on offense," Rhodes said. "Greg and Jared got us off to a great start."
Shaw was there in the end for the Tigers as well, scoring six of their eight points in the fourth quarter, twice giving them a four-point lead with under 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
"William Knepper and Jared Shaw made a lot of good plays in the fourth quarter," Rhodes said. "Jared's really been on a roll lately, and William continued to come in and rebound well."
Shaw finished with a game-high 18 points on an 8-of-11 performance from the field. Greg Clay added 11, while Knepper chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds. Senior point guard Brad Seiss scored four points, while starters Chris Clay and Ryan DeGeeter scored two each.
Junior Matt Crawford paced Northridge with 13 points, while freshman Nick Crawford added 11. Eaton scored six before fouling out.
Warsaw will be in action again Tuesday when it hosts Valparaiso.
WARSAW 44, NORTHRIDGE 42
Warsaw (10-1, 2-0) 15 14 7 8 - 44
Northridge (4-5, 0-2) 12 9 10 11 - 42
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
Seiss (G) 1-3 2-3 2 4 4
G. Clay (G) 4-10 1-2 3 3 11
C. Clay (F) 1-2 0-2 0 0 2
Shaw (F) 8-11 1-1 2 0 18
DeGeeter (C) 1-2 0-1 1 2 2
Knepper 2-2 3-5 7 0 7
Scott 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
Walmer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Datta 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Fussle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 17-32 7-14 16 9 44
Northridge FG FT R S Pts.
Ingraffia (G) 1-2 0-0 2 0 3
Mast (G) 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
M. Crawford (F) 4-13 5-6 4 1 13
Eaton (C) 3-3 0-0 2 1 6
N. Crawford 4-5 0-0 1 0 11
Kropf 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Whitten 2-3 0-0 2 0 4
Gingerich 2-3 0-0 4 0 5
Totals 16-30 5-6 16 2 42
Three-point goals - Warsaw 3-8 (G. Clay 2-6, Shaw 1-1, Scott 0-1), Northridge 5-8 (N. Crawford 3-3, Ingraffia 1-1, Gingerich 1-2, M. Crawford 0-1, Kropf 0-1). Fouls - Warsaw 12, Northridge 15. Fouled out - Eaton.
JV - Warsaw 43, Northridge 30
Warsaw scoring - Todd Braddock 16, Adam Griggs 13, Michael Moore 9, Michael Wienhorst 3, Greg Allison 2
Zolman Lights Up NorthWood For 53 Points
By Mike Madison, Times-Union Spors Correspondent
NAPPANEE -ÊIt was just ten days ago that the Wawasee and Northwood girls basketball teams met in the first round of the NLC tourney.
In that game Northwood never seemed to find its game and Wawasee gave the Panthers one of the worst losses their program has had in the past few years, soundly defeating them 64-30.
Since that last game the Northwood girls spanked Northridge 38-22, while the Warriors finished as runners-up in the Hall of Fame tourney in New Castle, defeating Frankfort and losing to Jennings County in the tournament final.
The Warriors entered Friday night's game wanting to come back strong from that defeat. Northwood wanted the opportunity to show it was a much better team than the last game against Wawasee indicated.
The Warriors reached their goals, pounding the Panthers 75-57 as senior standout Shanna Zolman drilled NorthWood 53 points.
It didn't take long for the Warriors to show the Panthers they were going to have their hands full again.
Zolman lit NorthWood up for one of the the finest offensive halves ever played by a Hoosier girl, perhaps any Hoosier basketball player. Shanna lit the nets for 35 points. That's 35 first-half points on nearly-flawless shooting. Zolman did not miss her first shot until just under a minute was left in the first half.
And that was the only shot she missed. She finished 7 of 8 from two-point range and a perfect 5 of 5 beyond the three-point arc in the half. Add to that a 6-of-6 performance from the charity stripe, and Zolman was well on her way to breaking Wawasee's single-game scoring record.
Shanna's father and coach, Kem Zolman said, "The downfall of being a father is that I can't sit back and just appreciate a performance like that. I was watching our other players and how they were reacting... Were they standing around watching or were they crashing the boards?"
Zolman cooled down in the second half, if you call 18 points cooling down. Shanna finished the night with 53 points, her career high. It leaves her just 94 points shy of putting her name on top of the Indiana all-time career scoring list for girls.
Northwood's Carol Duncan, who will play at Purdue next season, finished with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 6 of 7 free throws.
Coach Zolman was anxious to see how his team would react in this game after suffering its first regular season loss since the 99-00 season.
"We knew we had to start playing with some pride," he said. "I thought we played much better tonight as a team and with more of a purpose than we did at the Hall of Fame."
For Shanna, it was the last time she took the court against Northwood, a fact not lost on the Panther coaching staff. Northwood assistant Brad Newcomer said, "We talked in our locker room following the game, that it was the last time we would see Shanna. We told them they should feel good that we saw such a fine offensive player. She put on a clinic tonight, but I have seen her, in spells, do that before, but she plays a little extra hard against us I think and I take that as a compliment to our program. She is a fine player and just a joy to watch."
The win improves Wawasee's record to 15-1 overall and 3-0 in NLC play. NorthWood's loss was just its third this year, with two of those losses coming against the Warriors and the other to Penn.The Panthers are 2-1 in the NLC.
Wawasee travels to Columbia City Tuesday.
Viking Girls Pick Up TRC Win
Times-Union Staff Report
AKRON -ÊThe Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team improved to 3-1 in the Three Rivers Conference with a 55-38 win over Northfield Friday night.
The Vikings jumped out to an 11-7 lead after the first quarter, and by the end of the second frame, they held a 31-15 advantage.
"This was a big TRC win," said Valley coach Gary Teel. "In the second quarter, the score was tied 11-11 and we went on a 20-2 run to lead 31-13 before halftime. The Lady Viking defensive intensity rose to the occasion while the offense stepped up to score 20 in the quarter."
Rebekah Parker led all scorers with 23 points, hitting 10 field goals and two free throws. She also led the team in assists with five.
Tabitha Pratt, Kathy Prater and Sherise Denny added eight points each for the Vikings.
Valley is 12-2 overall, while Northfield falls to 10-3 and 2-2 in TRC play.
"This was a great defensive effort as we held Northfield to 29 percent shooting," said Teel. "This was a total team effort."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 55, NORTHFIELD 38
Northfield 7 8 9 14 - 38
Valley 11 20 7 17 - 55
Valley scoring -ÊPratt 3 2-2 8, Rosenstiel 2 0-0 4, Prater 3 2-4 8, Clauson 0 0-0 0, Denny 3 0-0 8, Green 0 2-2 2, Zehr 0 0-0 0, Parker 10 2-3 23, Shafer 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 8-11 55.
Three-point goals -ÊValley 3 (Denny 2, Parker 1), Northfield 2 (Mast, Wilson). Rebounds -ÊValley 28 (Pratt 7), Northfield 18. Assists -ÊValley 12 (Parker 5), Northfield N/A. Steals - Valley 12 (Prater 3), Northfield N/A. Fouls - Valley 11, Northfield 10. Fouled out -ÊPrater.
JV -ÊTIPPECANOE VALLEY 38, NORTHFIELD 32
Valley scoring leaders -ÊRathbun 13, Kramer 11, Patterson 5, Moore 5, Anglin 2, Jackson 2
Valley rebound leader -ÊPatterson 8
Valley assist leader -ÊAnglin 8
Valley steal leader -ÊKramer 4
Whitko Girls Fall To TRC Foe Rochester
Times-Union Staff Report
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊAfter allowing Rochester to score 21 points in the first quarter, the Whitko girls basketball team fell 63-52 to the Zebras.
The Rochester squad outscored Whitko 21-11 in the first frame. But the Wildcats fought back in the second quarter to outscore the Zebras 18-12, making the halftime tally 33-29 in Rochester's favor.
The Zebras outscored the Wildcats 30-23 in the second half to pick up the win.
Angela Trump led the Whitko squad with 18 points, while teammate Teri Walter added 10.
Dana Sellers pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Wildcats.
The loss drops Whitko to 0-4 in TRC play and 4-10 overall. Rochester improves to 4-0 in the TRC and 12-3 overall.
The Whitko girls have a week to prepare for their next Three Rivers Conference matchup. The Wildcats face off against Southwood Jan. 12.
ROCHESTER 63, WHITKO 52
Rochester 21 12 13 17 - 63
Whitko 11 18 11 12 - 52
Whitko scoring -ÊWalter 4-20 2-2 10, Wilkinson 0-0 0-0 0, Sellers 1-8 1-4 3, Badskey 1-3 4-4 7, Wendel 2-7 3-6 8, Trump 7-18 4-5 18, Rowland 3-7 0-0 6. Totals - 18-65 14-21 52.
Rochester scoring not available. [[In-content Ad]]