Tiger Girls Fall In OT Thriller
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Its silver anniversary, the championship game of Saturday's 25th Annual Lady Tiger Tournament was nothing short of golden.
A battle of girls basketball heavyweights, No. 4 Perry Meridian outlasted No. 8 Warsaw 57-56 in overtime, dodging what could have been the knockout punch to pick up the title trophy over the host Tigers for the second straight year.
Leading 45-40 with 53 seconds left in regulation, Warsaw, a team shooting 70-plus percent from the free throw line, missed two charity tosses. With 39 seconds remaining, the Tigers again missed two freebies, leaving the door open for the Falcons.
She who put Meridian on her back in the fourth quarter, Falcon junior Christina Cunningham scored Meridian's final seven points of the final frame, including a pair of cluth free throws with no time on the clock to send the game into the extra session.
While Meridian was clutch down the stretch from the free throw line - namely Cunninham who was 5 of 5 in the fourth quarter - the Tigers finished the game 25 of 40 at the charity stripe, hitting just 2 of 8 in the final minute.
"We had our opportunities," veteran Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said. "Both these teams are great basketball teams. I hate to say it, but nobody should have lost this basketball game. It was a great basketball game, and I'm so proud of these kids. We took them out of their game, and they took us out of our game. They're the best athletes we'll see all year."
Just as Cunninham shouldered the load for Meridian in the fourth, scoring 13 of the Falcons' 17 points, 6-foot-2 senior post player Laura Gaybrick took over in the overtime session.
Of the 10 Falcon points scored in the four-minute overtime frame, six came from Gaybrick, including the winning bucket with 3.1 seconds remaining.
Cunningham finished the game with 21 points, hitting 8 of 11 field goal attempts and shooting 5 of 6 from the line, and nine rebounds. Gaybrick tallied a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Perry Meridian advanced to Saturday evening's championship game by blasting South Bend St. Joe, then improved to 12-1 on the season with the narrow win over Warsaw. The eighth-ranked Tigers downed an always-tough Valparaiso squad 50-40 in the morning semfinal and now sit at 9-1 after the heart-breaking loss to the Falcons.
In Meridian's thrashing of St. Joe in the semifinal, the Falcons showed their team speed, executing fast break after break.
In Saturday's championship game, the Tigers did the right thing in slowing the run-and-gun Falcons.
Warsaw led 9-8 after the first quarter, then the teams were tied at 21 at halftime, at 30 after three quarters of play, and at 47 at the end of regulation.
"We played great defense, held them well under their average," Wienhorst said. "We were up seven, then we were up five late, we just didn't protect the ball as well as we should have."
To go with its 25-of-40 performance from the line, Warsaw was just 15 of 44 from the field, a 34-percent shooting clip. Meridian, on the other hand, shot 24 of 53 (45.3 percent) from the field.
Despite some shooting woes, Warsaw, a team with just one senior on the roster, was very much in the game with the talented Falcons, a team with five seniors and five juniors on the team.
"We're a young team, this was a pressure game for us," Wienhorst said. "When you win a bunch of games in a row you sometimes forget the things you did to get there. We had some break downs. When we had a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter (45-38) our team defense broke down."
Warsaw was led in the scoring column by junior Jaclyn Leininger, who scored 21 points in the title tilt. Leininger scored 15 in the morning semifinal game and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Sophomore Rebekah Reichard finished the day with 26 points and 15 rebounds and was also named to the All-Tournament Team for Warsaw. Freshman point guard Julie Seiss added nine in the championship game for the Tigers, while junior Michelle DeGeeter scored eight.
Also making the All-Tournament Team was Cunningham and Gaybrick for Meridian, as well as 6-3 Valpo sophomore Cassie Kerns and 6-3 St. Joe senior Allison Lindborg.
Warsaw is in action again Saturday, hosting Northern Lakes Conference rival Wawasee.
NO. 4 PERRY MERIDIAN 57, NO. 8 WARSAW 56 OT (Championship)
P. Meridian (12-1) 8 13 9 17 10 - 57
Warsaw (9-1) 9 12 9 17 9 - 56
Perry Meridian FG FT R S Pts.
* Duerson 0-5 0-0 0 0 0
* Burleson 1-2 0-0 3 1 2
* Moore 1-2 0-0 3 0 2
* Cunningham 8-11 5-6 9 4 21
* Gaybrick 8-15 3-5 10 0 19
Ferguson 0-3 0-0 1 0 0
Moline 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Pflum 1-1 0-1 2 0 2
Bose 0-0 0-0 3 1 0
Gurganus 4-11 1-2 1 2 9
Whitman 1-2 0-0 2 0 2
Totals 24-53 9-14 34 8 57
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Seiss 2-12 5-6 4 0 9
* Reichard 5-7 4-7 7 1 14
* Hepler 1-3 1-4 3 2 4
* Leininger 4-15 13-19 8 3 21
* DeGeeter 3-5 2-4 5 0 8
Mayer 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Durcholz 0-1 0-0 5 0 0
Franklin 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sand 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 15-44 25-40 33 6 56
Three-point goals - Perry Meridian 0-18 (Duerson 0-5, Gurganus 0-5, Ferguson 0-3, Gaybrick 0-2, Cunningham 0-2, Moline 0-1), Warsaw 1-4 (Hepler 1-2, Seiss 0-1, Leininger 0-1). Turnovers - Perry Meridian 17, Warsaw 16. Team rebounds - Perry Meridian 2, Warsaw 2. Fouls - Perry Meridian 34, Warsaw 16. Fouled out - Burleson, Cunningham, Gurganus, DeGeeter.
All-Tournament Team - Rebekah Reichard (Warsaw), Christina Cunningham (P. Meridian), Laura Gaybrick (P. Merdian), Cassie Kerns (Valparaiso), Allison Lindborg (St. Joe)
MVP - Jaclyn Leininger (Warsaw) [[In-content Ad]]
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Its silver anniversary, the championship game of Saturday's 25th Annual Lady Tiger Tournament was nothing short of golden.
A battle of girls basketball heavyweights, No. 4 Perry Meridian outlasted No. 8 Warsaw 57-56 in overtime, dodging what could have been the knockout punch to pick up the title trophy over the host Tigers for the second straight year.
Leading 45-40 with 53 seconds left in regulation, Warsaw, a team shooting 70-plus percent from the free throw line, missed two charity tosses. With 39 seconds remaining, the Tigers again missed two freebies, leaving the door open for the Falcons.
She who put Meridian on her back in the fourth quarter, Falcon junior Christina Cunningham scored Meridian's final seven points of the final frame, including a pair of cluth free throws with no time on the clock to send the game into the extra session.
While Meridian was clutch down the stretch from the free throw line - namely Cunninham who was 5 of 5 in the fourth quarter - the Tigers finished the game 25 of 40 at the charity stripe, hitting just 2 of 8 in the final minute.
"We had our opportunities," veteran Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said. "Both these teams are great basketball teams. I hate to say it, but nobody should have lost this basketball game. It was a great basketball game, and I'm so proud of these kids. We took them out of their game, and they took us out of our game. They're the best athletes we'll see all year."
Just as Cunninham shouldered the load for Meridian in the fourth, scoring 13 of the Falcons' 17 points, 6-foot-2 senior post player Laura Gaybrick took over in the overtime session.
Of the 10 Falcon points scored in the four-minute overtime frame, six came from Gaybrick, including the winning bucket with 3.1 seconds remaining.
Cunningham finished the game with 21 points, hitting 8 of 11 field goal attempts and shooting 5 of 6 from the line, and nine rebounds. Gaybrick tallied a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Perry Meridian advanced to Saturday evening's championship game by blasting South Bend St. Joe, then improved to 12-1 on the season with the narrow win over Warsaw. The eighth-ranked Tigers downed an always-tough Valparaiso squad 50-40 in the morning semfinal and now sit at 9-1 after the heart-breaking loss to the Falcons.
In Meridian's thrashing of St. Joe in the semifinal, the Falcons showed their team speed, executing fast break after break.
In Saturday's championship game, the Tigers did the right thing in slowing the run-and-gun Falcons.
Warsaw led 9-8 after the first quarter, then the teams were tied at 21 at halftime, at 30 after three quarters of play, and at 47 at the end of regulation.
"We played great defense, held them well under their average," Wienhorst said. "We were up seven, then we were up five late, we just didn't protect the ball as well as we should have."
To go with its 25-of-40 performance from the line, Warsaw was just 15 of 44 from the field, a 34-percent shooting clip. Meridian, on the other hand, shot 24 of 53 (45.3 percent) from the field.
Despite some shooting woes, Warsaw, a team with just one senior on the roster, was very much in the game with the talented Falcons, a team with five seniors and five juniors on the team.
"We're a young team, this was a pressure game for us," Wienhorst said. "When you win a bunch of games in a row you sometimes forget the things you did to get there. We had some break downs. When we had a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter (45-38) our team defense broke down."
Warsaw was led in the scoring column by junior Jaclyn Leininger, who scored 21 points in the title tilt. Leininger scored 15 in the morning semifinal game and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Sophomore Rebekah Reichard finished the day with 26 points and 15 rebounds and was also named to the All-Tournament Team for Warsaw. Freshman point guard Julie Seiss added nine in the championship game for the Tigers, while junior Michelle DeGeeter scored eight.
Also making the All-Tournament Team was Cunningham and Gaybrick for Meridian, as well as 6-3 Valpo sophomore Cassie Kerns and 6-3 St. Joe senior Allison Lindborg.
Warsaw is in action again Saturday, hosting Northern Lakes Conference rival Wawasee.
NO. 4 PERRY MERIDIAN 57, NO. 8 WARSAW 56 OT (Championship)
P. Meridian (12-1) 8 13 9 17 10 - 57
Warsaw (9-1) 9 12 9 17 9 - 56
Perry Meridian FG FT R S Pts.
* Duerson 0-5 0-0 0 0 0
* Burleson 1-2 0-0 3 1 2
* Moore 1-2 0-0 3 0 2
* Cunningham 8-11 5-6 9 4 21
* Gaybrick 8-15 3-5 10 0 19
Ferguson 0-3 0-0 1 0 0
Moline 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Pflum 1-1 0-1 2 0 2
Bose 0-0 0-0 3 1 0
Gurganus 4-11 1-2 1 2 9
Whitman 1-2 0-0 2 0 2
Totals 24-53 9-14 34 8 57
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Seiss 2-12 5-6 4 0 9
* Reichard 5-7 4-7 7 1 14
* Hepler 1-3 1-4 3 2 4
* Leininger 4-15 13-19 8 3 21
* DeGeeter 3-5 2-4 5 0 8
Mayer 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Durcholz 0-1 0-0 5 0 0
Franklin 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sand 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 15-44 25-40 33 6 56
Three-point goals - Perry Meridian 0-18 (Duerson 0-5, Gurganus 0-5, Ferguson 0-3, Gaybrick 0-2, Cunningham 0-2, Moline 0-1), Warsaw 1-4 (Hepler 1-2, Seiss 0-1, Leininger 0-1). Turnovers - Perry Meridian 17, Warsaw 16. Team rebounds - Perry Meridian 2, Warsaw 2. Fouls - Perry Meridian 34, Warsaw 16. Fouled out - Burleson, Cunningham, Gurganus, DeGeeter.
All-Tournament Team - Rebekah Reichard (Warsaw), Christina Cunningham (P. Meridian), Laura Gaybrick (P. Merdian), Cassie Kerns (Valparaiso), Allison Lindborg (St. Joe)
MVP - Jaclyn Leininger (Warsaw) [[In-content Ad]]