In a race for second in the Northern Lakes Conference, Warsaw's varsity girls basketball team made like a distance runner Saturday - saving its best for last and sprinting to victory.

In a game that was close throughout, the Tigers led No. 9 (3A) NorthWood 44-41 with 6:54 left in the fourth, but a 15-2 run in the final five minutes led Warsaw to a 65-45 win.

"I thought we played pretty well," veteran Tiger coach Will Wienhorst said. "We didn't shoot well in the first half but we did better in the second half. We made three steals there late in the game that led to six points, that made difference. We did a great job on defense."

The 20-point win pushes Warsaw's record to 16-3 overall and 5-1 in the NLC, while NorthWood falls to 14-5 and 4-2. With one game left, the Tigers trail only 4A No. 7 Wawasee (6-0) for the conference championship.

In a game that featured two programs with three state championships and a pair of coaches with 800 wins between them, Warsaw outrebounded NorthWood 35-22 and put up 30 points off Panther turnovers. The Tigers committed just seven turnovers, leading to four NorthWood points.

All the while handling the ball and running its offense with minimal turnovers, Warsaw also came up big on the defensive end, holding 6-foot-1 Purdue University recruit Carol Duncan to six points.

While NorthWood's big gun struggled, the Tigers got key performances from several players.

Sophomore Jaclyn Leininger led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. She also added five rebounds for Warsaw.

Somewhat stuck in a shooting rut the past few games, Tiger senior Hilary O'Connell came out of it Saturday with 18 points. To go with it she had seven assists, four rebounds, a steal and only committed two turnovers.

Senior Janna Knisely, who chased and deflected passes all night long, finished with nine ponts, 10 rebounds and four steals.

The Tigers led 27-21 at halftime and 30-21 when Leininger hit a three-pointer to start the third quarter, but a trey from Kelsey Newcomer, field goals from Nikki Frantz and Lauren Zeltwanger, and a pair of free throws from Frantz cut the deficit to two, 32-32, with 3:50 left in the third.

Leading by four, 36-32, Tiger senior Stephanie DeRenzo drilled a three-pointer to push the lead to seven. After freshman Audrey Duncan's field goal for NorthWood, DeRenzo came back with another three-pointer to give Warsaw a 42-36 lead with 45 seconds remaining in the third.

"At one point when we were up four, Stephanie DeRenzo hit a huge three," Wienhorst said. "I thought that was huge."

DeRenzo finished the game 2 of 3 from the field for six points.

Frantz hit a three-pointer to cut Warsaw's lead to 42-41 at the start of the fourth, but a bucket and three-point play from O'Connell made it 50-43. The Tigers then went on a 15-2 run to close out the contest.

"I thought the girls played extremely well," Wienhorst said. "This is a great confidence booster."

Frantz led the Panthers with 12 points, while Zeltwanger added 10, Newcomer nine, Carol Duncan six and Katie Chamberlain five.

Warsaw hosts NLC opponent Elkhart Memorial Thursday for senior night and the final regular season game before hosting the sectional next week.

WARSAW 65

NO. 9 (3A) NORTHWOOD 45

NorthWood 15 6 17 7 - 45

Warsaw 14 13 15 23 - 65

NorthWood FG FT R A S Pts.

Frantz (F) 4-9 2-2 3 1 0 12

Chamberlain (F) 2-3 1-2 5 3 0 5

Zeltwanger (G) 4-8 0-0 1 2 0 10

Newcomer (F) 4-7 0-0 2 2 0 9

C. Duncan (C) 3-5 0-0 7 3 1 6

Focht 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Burns 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Howard 0-2 0-0 1 0 0 0

Egging 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

A. Duncan 1-1 1-2 2 1 1 2

Team 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0

Totals 18-37 4-6 22 12 3 45

Warsaw FG FT R A S Pts.

Wyatt (G) 2-8 1-2 5 4 1 6

O'Connell (G) 8-20 1-1 4 7 1 18

Leininger (F) 8-13 2-2 5 1 1 19

DeGeeter (C) 0-2 3-4 5 0 1 3

Knisely (F) 4-10 0-2 10 1 4 9

DeRenzo 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 6

Franklin 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0

McGriff 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Chabot 2-2 0-0 4 0 0 4

Allen 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Team 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0

Totals 26-59 7-11 35 14 9 65

Three-point goals - NorthWood 5-17 (Frantz 2-7, Zeltwanger 2-6, Newcomer 1-3, Egging 0-1), Warsaw 6-20 (DeRenzo 2-2, O'Connell 1-7, Wyatt 1-4, Knisely 1-4, Leiniger 1-3). Turnovers - NorthWood 18, Warsaw 7. Fouls - NorthWood 14, Warsaw 11. Fouled out - none.

JV - Warsaw 49, NorthWood 38

Warsaw (18-3) - Rebekah Reichard 23, Mallory Hepler 9, Rachel Braddock 7, Holly Durcholz 4, Kara Mayer 2, Kristina Harmon 2, Jessica Davis 1, Angelika Fussle 1

Valley Girls Capture TRC Crown Against Manchestser

By Dan Riordan, Times-Union Sports Correspondent

NORTH MANCHESTER- Valley's girls basketball team went into Saturday night's game against Manchester looking to capture its first conference title under coach Gary Teel.

The Manchester Squires were looking to play the role of spoiler. The Vikings overcame first half foul trouble with three starters to outlast Manchester 52-43.

Like a championship prizefight both teams spent the first quarter feeling each other out and looking to dictate the game. Valley is a team that likes to run and put points on the board. Manchester's style of play demands a slower tempo.

The Vikings were hurt early as starters Tabitha Pratt and Kathy Prater each picked up their second personal fouls in the first quarter. Manchester could only keep pace despite Valley being shorthanded and found themselves down 10-8 after one.

The second quarter saw Valley's Rebekah Parker pick up her third foul. Coach Teel needed a spark off his bench and he got it. "We had three starters on the bench with fouls. Holly Green, Letitia Clauson and Billie Jo Rosientiel came off the bench and gave us some valuable minutes. They kept us in the game especially when you play a team as solid as Manchester."

With the exception of Green, the trio's contribution cannot be seen in the box score. They did, however, help keep Manchester from building a lead despite Squire Heather Terflinger. The senior exploded in the second-quarter for seven points. She was aided by Megan Keffaber who added five second quarter points of her own. Keffaber had nine points going into the break. Six of those came off her own offensive rebounds. The Squires controlled the rebounding edge all night. They finished the evening with 32 compared to Valley's 18.

Another category they led in was turnovers. Manchester had 12 first-half turnovers. Manchester hung onto a 23-22 lead despite its inability to keep a handle on the ball.

The second half saw a dormant Valley offense awaken. The Vikings moved the ball around effectively and found open players. After sitting out most of the first half due to foul trouble, a well-rested Prater scored seven points. Manchester could not get into an offensive flow in the third quarter. As a team the Squires shot 2 for 8 from the field. They did however continue to turn the ball over. Five third-quarter turnovers led to easy Valley baskets. The Vikings closed out the third quarter with a 9-1 run to give them a 38-28 lead.

Manchester would not roll over and die. Terflinger was a much-needed spark for the Squires. With 2:25 left to play Keffaber intercepted and errant pass and threw the outlet to Terflinger, trimming the Valley lead to 45-40. Valley was unable to extend its lead on the ensuing possession. On the other end Manchester committed its 22nd turnover of the night.

For Valley it came down to hitting its foul shots. They obliged hitting 7 of 8 freebies inside the final minute of play. Junior Sherise Denny bore most of the free throw burden going 6 for 6. Denny finished the night with a game-high 19 points.

For Manchester Terflinger was the leading scorer with 18 points. Keffaber finished with 13 boards. The loss drew the curtain on Manchester's regular season. The Squire's finish the season at 13-7 (5-2). They now wait to see whom they'll play in the tournament. For Valley (16-3, 6-1) the regular season closes out when it travels to Mississinewa Friday. For Coach Teel and his team they go into that game as conference champs.

" It means a lot to the players and our program. It's nice to see the fruits of your labor come to pass. It's also great for the community, the school and our program to put a conference championship number on the wall," said Teel.

Valley hadn't won a conference championship since '95. The Vikings will also wait to see their draw for the Plymouth sectional at noon today.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 52 MANCHESTER 43

Valley 10 12 16 14 - 52

Manchester 8 15 5 15 - 43

Valley FG FT A S R Pts.

*Denny 5-16 6-7 1 3 2 19

*Shafer 3-6 0-0 3 1 1 9

*Pratt 3-9 1-2 2 2 7 8

*Prater 3-6 2-3 0 0 2 8

*Parker 3-5 0-0 6 4 4 6

Green 0-2 2-4 3 4 1 2

Clauson 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0

Rosenstiel 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0

Totals 17-45 11-16 15 15 18 52

Manchester FG FT A S R Pt

*Terflinger 6-11 6-7 3 0 5 18

*Keffaber 6-9 1-2 1 2 10 13

*Rager 3-12 2-2 1 0 8 9

*Harms 1-7 1-2 1 0 6 3

*Fox 0-0 0-0 0 1 3 0

Roser 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

Totals 16-40 10-13 6 3 32 43

Three-point goals -ÊValley 5-16 (Denny 3-9, Pratt 1-6, Shafer 1-1), Manchester 1-5 (Rager 1-4, Harms 0-1). Fouls - Valley 14, Manchester 15. Turnovers -ÊValley 8, Manchester 23. Fouled out - none.

JV -ÊVALLEY 23, MANCHESTER 21

Valley leaders - Kramer 8, Anglin 8, Leckrone 3

Manchester leaders -ÊFarmer 13, Arnett 4, Coble 4

Five TIgers Win Sectional Titles

By Jim Brenneman, Times-Union Sports Correspondent

In the Warsaw wrestling sectional the Tigers grabbed five individual champions but Plymouth took home the team championship and a berth in the regional team competition this Wednesday at Jimtown.

All champions and runners-up advance to the individual regional tournament at Goshen next Saturday. Plymouth had 11 wrestlers reach the finals and five of them were champions. Warsaw's five champions were among eight who reached the finals.

WARSAW

Anthony Boley (119 pounds) started the Tigers off on the right foot when he worked over Brandon Shanks of Plymouth, finally pinning him in 4:37. Tanner Connealy (125) scored a couple of takedowns and a nearfall to tally a 7-1 victory over Lance Bailey of Valley. Kyle Boley (135) actually pinned his Plymouth opponent twice in the same match. The referee first slapped the mat at 55 seconds but then rescinded the call when he recognized he had started the wrestlers in the wrong position. The wrestlers returned to the mat and just 10 seconds into the second period Boley had Plymouth's Alex Uceny on his back and the official whistled the fall at 2:10.

Tyler Miller (189) tossed around Joe Quintana for three periods, scoring four takedowns and an escape for a 9-2 win. Jacob Boots (215) followed and came through with a pin, nailing Johnson Black, also of Plymouth, in 3:39.

Three other Warsaw wrestlers will make the trip to the individual regional on the strength of runner-up finishes. Matt Palladino (130) had a tough time with Triton's 30-1 Errik Lemler. Lemler was unable to pin Palladino but finally scored a 17-2 technical fall at 4:57.

technical fall at 4:57.

Brandon Cordell (140) was a wild ride for Chris Hutchinson of Plymouth. Down by a score of 11-0, Cordell nearly surprised him and Hutchinson suddenly found himself of on his back with the referee counting back points. The Plymouth stand-out wiggled free and twisted Cordell to his back. The fall was signaled exactly at the final buzzer, at 6:00.

Heavyweight David Ferguson was pinned by Evan Flora of Plymouth in 58 seconds of the final match.

Thomas Balestri (145), Brandon LaFollette (152), and Troy Miller (160) earned third-place finishes by winning consolation matches. All three Tiger victories in the consolation round came by fall. Adam Galvin did not wrestle in the consolation round after he had been injured in his first round match.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY

Tippecanoe Valley will send six representatives to the Goshen Regional, including one sectional champ, Jake Long (171) who came from behind to pin Plymouth's Nathan Bieszka in 5:43. Valley wrestlers who took second place will also advance to the individual regional: Brad Bauters (103), Matt Manns (112), Lance Bailey (125), Kevin Day (145), and Chris Hurd (160).

TRITON

Triton had only three wrestlers reach the finals, but all three were victorious. Justin Scott (112) pinned Matt Manns of Valley in 1:42. Errik Lemler (130), who has only one loss on the season, racked up a 17-2 technical fall at 4:57 in his match against Warsaw's Matt Palladino. Tate Chapman (152) was a 6-2 winner over Keegan Campbell of Plymouth.

All first and second place finishers from the Warsaw Sectional advance to Saturday's individual regional tournament at Goshen. Sectionals funneling into Goshen are Elkhart Memorial, Lakeland, and NorthWood, along with Warsaw.

Team Scores

Plymouth 195, Warsaw 166, Tippecanoe Valley 126, and Triton 113.

Championship Results

103 Matt Simanski (Plymouth) pinned Brad Bauters (Tippecanoe Valley), 0:27

112 Justin Scott (Triton) pinned Matt Manns (TV), 1:42

119 Anthony Boley (Warsaw) pined Brandon Shanks (P), 1:37

125 Tanner Connealy (W) def. Lance Bailey (TV), 7-1

130 Errik Lemler (Tri) def. Matt Palladino (W), 17-2 at 4:57

135 Kyle Boley (W) pinned Alex Uceny (P), 2:10

140 Chris Hutchinson (P) pinned Brandon Cordell (W), 6:00

145 Matt Read (P) def. Kevin Day (TV), 14-5

152 Tate Chapman (Tri) def. Keegan Campbell (P), 6-2

160 Chris May (P) def. Chris Hurd (TV), 14-0

171 Jake Long (TV) pinned Nathan Bieszka (P), 5:43

189 Tyler Miller (W) def. Joe Quintana (P), 9-2

215 Jacob Boots (W) pinned Johnson Black (P), 3:39

275 Evan Flora (P) pinned David Ferguson (W), :58

Consolation Results

103 Double forfeit

112 Adam Pratt (Tri) forfeit

119 Scott Barber (TV) ff

125 Rusty Heckaman (Tri) ff

130 Nick Rader (P) ff

135 Chris Scott (Tri) ff

140 Josh Van Cleave (TV) pinned David Gabhart (Tri), 1:19

145 Thomas Balestri (W) pinned Zac Chittum (Tri), 3:29

152 Brandon Lafollette (W) pinned Dongquin Pan (TV), 1:42

160 Troy Miller (W) pinned Anthony Lovechio (Tri), 3:43

171 Mark Smith (Tri) ff

189 Tyler Kottkamp (TV) pinned Nathan Ulmer (Tri), 3:36

215 Dan Schmucker (Tri) ff

275 Chris Reeser (TV) def. Matt Houlihan (Tri), 4-0

Wawasee Wrestlers Capture Team Title

By Mike Madison, Times Union Sports Correspondent

KENDALLVILLE -ÊIn what could probably best be described as a dominating performance, coach Kevin Taylor and the Wawasee wrestling team claimed title to the East Noble Sectional on Saturday with a total of 225 points.

The Warriors finished far ahead of second place East Noble which scored 176. Third place went to Dekalb, followed by Central Noble, West Noble, and Westview.

For Taylor and his Warriors it was a particularly satisfying win as they had a string of nine consecutive sectional championships ended last year with a one-point loss to East Noble.

"Our goal all season has been to perform well in the state tournament series so this is really nice. Our guys wrestled with a purpose today and I am very proud of that," said Taylor.

The Warriors finished the regular season with just two dual meet losses (to state ranked Portage and Columbia City) and a perfect 7-0 record in the Northern Lakes Conference.

There was little doubt who would claim the championship trophy as the Warriors placed 11 wrestlers into the finals. The only point in question was who would take second behind Wawasee.

Winning championships for the Warriors with their season record were; Eracleo Vallejo at 112 pounds (26-3), Deme Vallejo at 119 pounds (22-7), German Vallejo at 135 (12-3), Mike Hanlin at 140 (26-4), Josh Roa 145 (27-0), Grant Gibson at 152 (22-2), Trevor Brown at 160 (23-9), and Nick Hanlin at 189 (19-7). Wrestling to a second place finish was Cody Ramseyer at 125 pounds, Lucas Speakman at 171 pounds and Mike Hall at 215.

The win will pit the Warriors against Fort Wayne Dwenger on Wednesday night in the team regional at Churubusco. In the other match Columbia City will take on Ft. Wayne Bishop Luers. The two winners will then wrestle for the regional championship that same evening.

In addition to the team regional, the eight winners and three runner-ups will qualify for the Individual regional this coming Saturday at Fort Wayne Carroll.

"We came out aggressive and wrestled well," said Taylor, "I am really happy for the guys. This was certainly a big goal of ours."

Warsaw Places Second At NLC Championship

By Mike Madison, Times-Union Sports Correspondent

SYRACUSE -ÊWarsaw, like all the other Northern Lakes Conference teams, went into Saturday's NLC boys swim championships knowing it was competing for second place.

Northridge had not only gone undefeated during the NLC duel meet season, it had dominated each and every opponent and went into Saturday with a No. 6 state ranking.

While everyone knew they were competing for second, the Tigers knew it was theirs to lose.

Warsaw went in with a 6-1 record in the NLC but knew Wawasee and Concord would challenge it for second even though the Tigers had defeated them during the regular season.

The Tigers were up to the challenge as they swam their best meet of the year on the way to a comfortable second place finish.

Northridge dominated the day with 360 points. Warsaw scored 240 points on way to second. Wawasee slipped ahead of Concord for a third place with 207 points to the Minutemen's 196. Plymouth was fifth with 130 followed by Goshen, Memorial, and Northwood.

"Our guys swam really well today," said Tiger coach Chris LaLonde. "Knowing that Northridge was going to come in and beat everybody, our guys came in with a lot of confidence and swam many of their best times."

One of those swims turned out to be a record setting performance as the Tiger team of Kiel Beehler, Brett Moore, Ryan Munsch, and Michael Thallemer, not only won the 200-yard freestyle relay, they did it with an NLC record time of 1:30.20. On Thursday that Tiger group set a new school record in that event and then bettered their time on Saturday by nearly a full second.

The Tigers began the day with Beehler, Munsch, Thallemer, and Brandon Moore, finishing second to Northridge in the 200-yard medley relay. They finished three seconds ahead of the third place team from Wawasee.

In the 200-yard freestyle Thallemer finished in fifth for the Tigers while teammate Joe Clevenger came in sixth. Beehler came back in the 200-yard individual medley and picked up another second for the Tigers.

Wawasee picked up ground on the field when it went one-two in the 50-yard free style behind excellent swims from Nic Conley and Guy Simmons. The Tigers' Brett Moore was fourth.

Brandon Moore finished third for Warsaw in the 100-yard butterfly. In the 100-yard freestyle it was Wawasee's Conley finishing second and Warsaw's Brett Moore third. The Tigers' Thallemer swam to a third in the 500-yard freestyle.

In the 100-yard backstroke it was Wawasee's Simmons taking the win with the Tiger's Brandon Moore in third. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Warsaw's Kiel Beehler dropped two and half seconds off Thursday's preliminary time, good for a second-place finish.

In the day's final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, Wawasee's Conley, Simmons, Steve Dingledein and Brook Singrey took second while Warsaw's Clevenger, Brett and Brandon Moore, and Nate Long came in third.

In the diving competition Wawasee's Simon Beer, his cousin Regg Beer, and Mark Speakman came in fourth, fifth, and sixth. Warsaw's Jake Keim came in seventh.

"This was really a team effort today," said LaLonde. "We had probably 16 or 17 personal bests today in 24 individual swims and that is just great. "

Another happy coach was Wawasee's Roger Karns.

"I am really happy, our guys swam well today," he said. Wawasee avenged an earlier defeat to Concord to finish ahead of them on this day.

Both Warsaw and Wawasee have two weeks to get ready for sectionals. While Warsaw will come into the Wawasee Sectional as the favorite, the Tigers can expect a tough challenge from both Wawasee and Huntington North.

Zolman Hits 3,000 Mark

Times-Union Staff Report

DUNLAP - Already the most prolific scorer in Indiana girls high school basketball history, Wawasee senior Shanna Zolman wrote another chapter in her storied prep career Saturday.

In a 91-30 thrashing of Northern Lakes Conference opponent Concord Zolman scored 40 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, made five steals and dished out five assists. Her 40-point offensive outburst put her at 3,000 for her career.

She became only the third player in state history - boy or girl - to score 3,000 points in a varsity career, trailing only Marion Pierce (3,019) and Damon Bailey (3,134).

The university of Tennesse recruit scored her final two points of the game at the free throw line, where she hit her 63rd and 64th consecutive free throws of the season, breaking her own national record of 63. The 5-foot-10 senior also holds the record for free throw percentage. Thus far this season Zolman has made 130 of 136 (95.6 percent) charity tosses.

The Class 4A seventh-ranked Warriors also got 29 points from junior Meagan Wallen, 10 from junior Jocelyn Higginbotham and nine from senior Jessica Henderson.

Jenna Barghahn led the Minutemen with eight points.

Wawase is now 20-2 on the season and 6-0 in the NLC. The Warriors host Northridge Friday in the final game of the regular season and then play next week in the Warsaw Sectional.

4A NO. 7 WAWASEE 91, CONCORD 30

Wawasee 23 29 21 18 - 91

Concord 11 6 9 4 - 30

Wawasee - Sorenson 0 0-0 0, Bollier 0 0-0 0, Henders 4 0-0 9, Zolman 13 8-8 40, Hershberger 0 0-0 0, Fawley 1 0-0 3, Lamb 0 0-0 0, Wallen 11 6-6 29, Leach 0 0-0 0, Higginbotham 4 2-4 10. Totals 33 16-18 91.

Three-point goals - Wawasee 9 (Zolman 6, Henderson 1, Fawley 1, Wallen 1), Concord 2 (Barghahn 2). Fouls - Wawasee 14, Concord 17. Fouled out - Fawley.

JV - Wawasee 36, Concord 12 [[In-content Ad]]