Tiger Girls Win Sectional, Set School Record For Wins
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Far from a masterpiece, a game that at times couldn't have been uglier for Warsaw's varsity girls basketball team, the outcome couldn't have been prettier for Will Wienhorst and his Class 4A No. 2 Tigers.
A game in which Miss Basketball candidate Jaclyn Leiniger took just five shots from the field and scored 15 points below her average, Warsaw scored but two points in the third quarter and only hit 24 percent of its shots from the field for the game yet still won the sectional championship with a 39-34 victory over Carroll Saturday evening.
"Carroll is a very well coached basketball team," said Wienhorst. "We had good shots, it was just like there was a lid on the basket. Even with as many shots as we missed, we were still only down six points."
Carroll coach Lisa McBride, whose Chargers were playing for their third straight sectional championship, was unavailable for comment after the game.
Warsaw, which set a school record for wins in improving to 23-2 with its first sectional crown in three years, trailed the Chargers 33-27 after three quarters of play.
After Carroll junior Mary Petrie was whistled for her fourth foul, Leininger hit the first of two free throws to cut the deficit to five, and then sophomore point guard Julie Seiss brought the Tigers within two, 33-30, with a steal and bucket at the 4:51 mark.
Fouled on the play, Seiss' free throw attempt at a three-point play came up short and the Chargers rebounded the ball and then took the air out of it, stalling just over 2:30 off the clock.
Leininger then made a steal and a break for the basket but was fouled with 2:06 left.
The 6-foot senior, who finished the regular season with the fourth-best scoring average in the state but scored just two in the first half Saturday, hit both free throws to pull the Tigers within one, 33-32.
Twenty five seconds later Petrie missed a shot attempt for Carroll and Tiger junior Rebekah Reichard, who missed a double-double in the first half by just one rebound, collected the miss and Leininger hit a runner for a 34-33 Tiger lead with 1:23 on the clock.
While Warsaw was clutch from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, hitting seven of its last eight attempts, the Chargers couldn't get theirs to fall.
Petrie missed a pair of charity tosses with 1:01 remaining that could have cut the Warsaw lead to one, but Tiger senior Michelle DeGeeter grabbed the second miss and after a 30-second time out Leininger hit a pair to give Warsaw a 38-33 lead with 39.2 seconds on the clock.
After DeGeeter collected the rebound on a missed three-point attempt by Carroll junior Kelley Meiklejohn and then hit 1 of 2 free throws with 15 seconds left for a six-point Warsaw advantage, junior Hollace Yoder was fouled on a three-point attempt.
With 5.6 seconds left on the clock, Yoder attempted three free throws, hitting the first for the only point the Chargers scored the entire fourth quarter.
The comeback bailed out a Warsaw team that shot 0 of 11 from the field in the third quarter.
The Chargers, who finished the game 42.4 percent from the field as the Tigers struggled, were 0 of 5 from the field in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
Warsaw hit just two shots from the field in the fourth quarter, but did convert 8 of 11 free throw attempts.
"We didn't panic in the fourth quarter," Wienhorst said. "Julie Seiss made a great play, and then Jaclyn made a great play. Jaclyn had three girls on her still got a jumper to go to give us a one-point lead."
While Seiss and Leininger were scoring clutch points in the fourth quarter, credit Reichard and DeGeeter for their first-half performances.
Reichard, Warsaw's version of Dennis Rodman Saturday for her crashing of the boards, tallied 10 points and nine rebounds in the first half. She grabbed two rebounds in the second half for a double-double.
"We know they were gonna key on our strong points," Reichard said of Carroll. "They were all over Jaclyn and tried to take away Julie, too. You always know that when other things aren't happening that you've got to step up, and I just did what we needed to win."
DeGeeter had four points and five big rebounds in the first half as the Tigers led 25-20 at the break.
"This means the world to us," DeGeeter said of the sectional champioship, Warsaw's first since DeGeeter, Leininger and fellow senior Holly Durcholz were freshmen. "We knew we had to go for it, and we made plays when we had to. I don't know if we're a team of destiny, but we're gonna work as hard as we can and get as far as we can go."
The next step for the Tigers is the Huntington North Regional, where Saturday they play No. 10 Kokomo (19-4) in the second semifinal game at approximately noon. Kokomo advanced by beating Marion for the sectional championship.
Greenfield (11-11), which advanced by beating Muncie Central Saturday evening, squares off with No. 9 Huntington North (19-3) in the 10 a.m. semifinal game, with the winners battling at 8 p.m. for the right to play in the Warsaw Semistate. Huntington North advanced to the regional by edging Fort Wayne Snider by two points.
Despite a 2-of-5 effort from the field Saturday, Leininger scored a team-high 11 points as she finished 7 of 8 from the charity stripe. Reichard added 10, while Seiss had nine, DeGeeter five and Kara Mayer four.
"Rebekah Reichard, what a trooper," Wienhorst said. "She doesn't always score points, but she does so much to help the team. She's so unselfish, and that's what makes this team great. We're definately not a one-person team."
Carroll, which ended Warsaw's season in the sectional semifinals last year, finished the season with a 20-3 mark. The Chargers lost twice to Warsaw, which ended their four-year winning streak at home, and once to No. 9 Huntington North.
Petrie led Carroll with 12 points, while senior Tamesha Scotton added 11, Lindsey Pape six, Yoder three and Tai Felger two.
The Chargers finished the game 14 of 33 (42.4 percent) from the field, while the Tigers were 11 of 45 (24.4 percent). Carroll hit 6 of 13 free throws, while Warsaw hit 15 of 23.
NO. 2 (4A) WARSAW 39, CARROLL 34
Carroll (20-3) 8 12 13 1 - 34
Warsaw (23-2) 12 13 2 12 - 39
Carroll FG FT R S Pts.
* Petrie 4-10 4-6 3 0 12
* Pape 3-8 0-0 6 0 6
* Yoder 1-4 1-3 4 0 3
* Scotton 5-7 1-4 6 2 11
* Meiklejohn 0-1 0-0 5 0 0
Reese 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Felger 1-2 0-0 5 0 2
Myers 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 14-33 6-13 30 2 34
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Mayer 1-9 1-2 2 1 4
* Seiss 3-11 2-3 6 3 9
* Reichard 3-8 4-6 11 2 10
* Leininger 2-5 7-8 4 1 11
* DeGeeter 2-11 1-4 7 0 5
Abbitt 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Durcholz 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Clay 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Kindig 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 11-45 15-23 31 7 39
Three-point goals - Carroll 0-3 (Yoder 0-2, Paper 0-1), Warsaw 2-9 (Mayer 1-5, Seiss 1-4). Fouls - Carroll 21, Warsaw 14. Fouled out - Petrie, Seiss. [[In-content Ad]]
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Far from a masterpiece, a game that at times couldn't have been uglier for Warsaw's varsity girls basketball team, the outcome couldn't have been prettier for Will Wienhorst and his Class 4A No. 2 Tigers.
A game in which Miss Basketball candidate Jaclyn Leiniger took just five shots from the field and scored 15 points below her average, Warsaw scored but two points in the third quarter and only hit 24 percent of its shots from the field for the game yet still won the sectional championship with a 39-34 victory over Carroll Saturday evening.
"Carroll is a very well coached basketball team," said Wienhorst. "We had good shots, it was just like there was a lid on the basket. Even with as many shots as we missed, we were still only down six points."
Carroll coach Lisa McBride, whose Chargers were playing for their third straight sectional championship, was unavailable for comment after the game.
Warsaw, which set a school record for wins in improving to 23-2 with its first sectional crown in three years, trailed the Chargers 33-27 after three quarters of play.
After Carroll junior Mary Petrie was whistled for her fourth foul, Leininger hit the first of two free throws to cut the deficit to five, and then sophomore point guard Julie Seiss brought the Tigers within two, 33-30, with a steal and bucket at the 4:51 mark.
Fouled on the play, Seiss' free throw attempt at a three-point play came up short and the Chargers rebounded the ball and then took the air out of it, stalling just over 2:30 off the clock.
Leininger then made a steal and a break for the basket but was fouled with 2:06 left.
The 6-foot senior, who finished the regular season with the fourth-best scoring average in the state but scored just two in the first half Saturday, hit both free throws to pull the Tigers within one, 33-32.
Twenty five seconds later Petrie missed a shot attempt for Carroll and Tiger junior Rebekah Reichard, who missed a double-double in the first half by just one rebound, collected the miss and Leininger hit a runner for a 34-33 Tiger lead with 1:23 on the clock.
While Warsaw was clutch from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, hitting seven of its last eight attempts, the Chargers couldn't get theirs to fall.
Petrie missed a pair of charity tosses with 1:01 remaining that could have cut the Warsaw lead to one, but Tiger senior Michelle DeGeeter grabbed the second miss and after a 30-second time out Leininger hit a pair to give Warsaw a 38-33 lead with 39.2 seconds on the clock.
After DeGeeter collected the rebound on a missed three-point attempt by Carroll junior Kelley Meiklejohn and then hit 1 of 2 free throws with 15 seconds left for a six-point Warsaw advantage, junior Hollace Yoder was fouled on a three-point attempt.
With 5.6 seconds left on the clock, Yoder attempted three free throws, hitting the first for the only point the Chargers scored the entire fourth quarter.
The comeback bailed out a Warsaw team that shot 0 of 11 from the field in the third quarter.
The Chargers, who finished the game 42.4 percent from the field as the Tigers struggled, were 0 of 5 from the field in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
Warsaw hit just two shots from the field in the fourth quarter, but did convert 8 of 11 free throw attempts.
"We didn't panic in the fourth quarter," Wienhorst said. "Julie Seiss made a great play, and then Jaclyn made a great play. Jaclyn had three girls on her still got a jumper to go to give us a one-point lead."
While Seiss and Leininger were scoring clutch points in the fourth quarter, credit Reichard and DeGeeter for their first-half performances.
Reichard, Warsaw's version of Dennis Rodman Saturday for her crashing of the boards, tallied 10 points and nine rebounds in the first half. She grabbed two rebounds in the second half for a double-double.
"We know they were gonna key on our strong points," Reichard said of Carroll. "They were all over Jaclyn and tried to take away Julie, too. You always know that when other things aren't happening that you've got to step up, and I just did what we needed to win."
DeGeeter had four points and five big rebounds in the first half as the Tigers led 25-20 at the break.
"This means the world to us," DeGeeter said of the sectional champioship, Warsaw's first since DeGeeter, Leininger and fellow senior Holly Durcholz were freshmen. "We knew we had to go for it, and we made plays when we had to. I don't know if we're a team of destiny, but we're gonna work as hard as we can and get as far as we can go."
The next step for the Tigers is the Huntington North Regional, where Saturday they play No. 10 Kokomo (19-4) in the second semifinal game at approximately noon. Kokomo advanced by beating Marion for the sectional championship.
Greenfield (11-11), which advanced by beating Muncie Central Saturday evening, squares off with No. 9 Huntington North (19-3) in the 10 a.m. semifinal game, with the winners battling at 8 p.m. for the right to play in the Warsaw Semistate. Huntington North advanced to the regional by edging Fort Wayne Snider by two points.
Despite a 2-of-5 effort from the field Saturday, Leininger scored a team-high 11 points as she finished 7 of 8 from the charity stripe. Reichard added 10, while Seiss had nine, DeGeeter five and Kara Mayer four.
"Rebekah Reichard, what a trooper," Wienhorst said. "She doesn't always score points, but she does so much to help the team. She's so unselfish, and that's what makes this team great. We're definately not a one-person team."
Carroll, which ended Warsaw's season in the sectional semifinals last year, finished the season with a 20-3 mark. The Chargers lost twice to Warsaw, which ended their four-year winning streak at home, and once to No. 9 Huntington North.
Petrie led Carroll with 12 points, while senior Tamesha Scotton added 11, Lindsey Pape six, Yoder three and Tai Felger two.
The Chargers finished the game 14 of 33 (42.4 percent) from the field, while the Tigers were 11 of 45 (24.4 percent). Carroll hit 6 of 13 free throws, while Warsaw hit 15 of 23.
NO. 2 (4A) WARSAW 39, CARROLL 34
Carroll (20-3) 8 12 13 1 - 34
Warsaw (23-2) 12 13 2 12 - 39
Carroll FG FT R S Pts.
* Petrie 4-10 4-6 3 0 12
* Pape 3-8 0-0 6 0 6
* Yoder 1-4 1-3 4 0 3
* Scotton 5-7 1-4 6 2 11
* Meiklejohn 0-1 0-0 5 0 0
Reese 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Felger 1-2 0-0 5 0 2
Myers 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 14-33 6-13 30 2 34
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Mayer 1-9 1-2 2 1 4
* Seiss 3-11 2-3 6 3 9
* Reichard 3-8 4-6 11 2 10
* Leininger 2-5 7-8 4 1 11
* DeGeeter 2-11 1-4 7 0 5
Abbitt 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Durcholz 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Clay 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Kindig 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 11-45 15-23 31 7 39
Three-point goals - Carroll 0-3 (Yoder 0-2, Paper 0-1), Warsaw 2-9 (Mayer 1-5, Seiss 1-4). Fouls - Carroll 21, Warsaw 14. Fouled out - Petrie, Seiss. [[In-content Ad]]