Tigers Cash In On Charity Tosses, Win Hall Of Fame Classic
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NEW CASTLE - Warsaw girls basketball coach Will Wienhorst said his team has been working on free throws.
It showed Friday night in the championship game of the City Securities Hall of Fame Classic at New Castle's Chrysler Fieldhouse.
Led by a 39-of-45 performance at the charity stripe, including a record-breaking effort from senior Jaclyn Leininger, the Class 4A No. 8 Tigers beat Mooresville 63-51 to become the first girls team in state history to win the prestigious tournament twice. Warsaw's other Hall of Fame Classic title came in 1988 with a 10-point win over North Knox.
"Both teams were very tired," said Wienhorst. "This was our fourth game in three days. We were tired. We only shot 12 of 32 from the field, and I told the girls to keep taking it at the basket and drawing fouls. We've really been working on our foul shots and it showed today."
Leininger, who broke the H.O.F. Classic championship game record for attempts (16) and makes (11) finished the game 21 of 21 at the charity stripe and scored 33 points to garner MVP honors.
The 6-foot Miss Basketball candidate opened the day by scoring 24 points in the semifinal contest as the Tigers knocked off 4A No. 5 Jeffersonville, a team with five girls at 6-0 or taller, 63-46.
Leininger made school history in the morning game, becoming WCHS' all-time leading scorer with a basket at the 3:06 mark, topping Hilary O'Connell's previous record of 1,135.
"Jaclyn Leininger, I can't say enough about her," Wienhorst said. "She shoots well and she makes her team better."
After handling the much-taller Red Devils in the semifinal game, the Tigers came back in the
championship game and jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter against Mooresville and led 27-21 at the half and 39-36 after three.
Though the Pioneers made it interesting, Warsaw never trailed in the contest.
After Mooresville senior Rachel Kenney cut the Tiger advantage to 39-38 with a field goal to start the fourth quarter, the Tigers went on a 14-3 run which ultimately won them the game and their second tournament championship this week.
The Tigers knocked off last year's 3A and 4A state runners-up South Bend St. Joe and Indianapolis Perry Meridian Tuesday to win the Lady Tiger Tournament.
Mooresville cut the Warsaw lead to as little as eight, 58-50, with 58 seconds left but the Tigers hit 5 of 6 charity tosses in the closing seconds to pull away.
"We shoot free throws all the time in practice," said Leininger. "We knew we had to hit them and we did."
Perhaps the most critical free throws were hit by Leininger with 6:28 remaining in the fourth when she converted a pair of charity tosses after the Mooresville bench was whistled for a technical foul, giving Warsaw a 43-38 advantage.
The Tigers then went up 10, 51-41, when sophomore point guard Julie Seiss stole the ball and fed Leininger for an easy two with 3:58 left.
Leininger finished the title tilt with 33 points and 11 rebounds.
Seiss joined her on the all-tournament team after scoring 22 points in the semifinal round, and then coming back in the championship game with 12 points, four steals, four rebounds and three assists.
Junior Rebekah Reichard had nine points and seven boards in the nightcap, while fellow frontliner Michelle DeGeeter had seven points and five boards.
"Michelle and Rebekah played great post defense all day," said Wienhorst. "Mooresville has two great post players and Michelle and Rebekah played very well today."
Prior to the start of Friday's championship game, DeGeeter was awarded the Richard P. Jennings Scholarship. The 6-1 multi-sport athlete ranks fifth in her class of 389 and is a four-year starter on both the basketball and volleyball teams.
With the two wins Friday, the Tigers have now won 11 straight and are 11-1 on the season. Mooresville, which advanced to the championship game with a 62-34 win over 2A No. 5 Indian Creek, fell to 7-4.
Jeffersonville (10-2) beat Indian Creek (9-3) 79-64 in the consolation game.
Rachel Kenney led the Mooresville scoring charge against the Tigers with 20 points, while Sarah Harper added 13.
Both Kenney and Harper joined Leininger and Seiss on the all-tournament team, as did Jeffersonville's Amy Austin and Indian Creek's Adrienne Squire.
The Tigers are in action again tonight at 6 p.m. as they open up the Lake City Bank Northern Lakes Conference Holiday Tournament with a boys/girls doubleheader at rival Wawasee.
HALL OF Fame Classic
Championship Game
NO. 8 (4A) WARSAW 63, MOORESVILLE 51
Warsaw 15 12 12 24 - 63
Mooresville 10 11 15 15 - 51
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts
* Mayer 0-4 0-2 1 0 0
* Seiss 2-6 8-10 4 4 12
* Reichard 2-3 5-7 7 2 9
* Leininger 6-16 21-21 11 1 33
* DeGeeter 2-3 3-5 5 2 7
Abbitt 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Durcholz 0-0 0-0 2 1 0
Clay 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Smith 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Sand 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Heiman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 12-32 39-45 31 11 63
Mooresville FG FT R S Pts
* Gardner 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
* Wright 2-5 0-0 3 1 5
* Couch 3-8 0-0 2 1 8
* R. Kenney 9-17 2-4 9 3 20
* S. Harper 5-10 3-3 5 1 13
Wys 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Schafer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
L. Kenney 1-5 0-1 3 1 2
Dougherty 0-0 1-2 0 0 1
Viles 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
H. Harper 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Thompson 0-4 2-2 4 1 2
Totals 20-50 8-12 26 8 51
Three-point goals - Warsaw 0-5 (Mayer 0-2, Leininger 0-2, Seiss 0-1), Mooresville 3-9 (Couch 2-6, Wright 1-1, Thompson 0-2). Turnovers - Warsaw 16, Mooresville 18. Fouls - Warsaw 11, Mooresville 29. Fouled out - Thompson.
Consolation game - No. 5 (4A) Jeffersonville 79, No. 5 (2A) Indian Creek 64
All-Tournament Team - Jaclyn Leininger (Warsaw, MVP), Julie Seiss (Warsaw), Sarah Harper (Mooresville), Rachel Kenney (Mooresville), Amy Austin (Jeffersonville), Adrienne Squire (Indian Creek)
Game 1
NO. 8 (4A) WARSAW 63,
NO. 5 (4A) JEFFERSONVILLE 46
Warsaw 18 19 8 18 - 63
Jeffersonville 10 15 5 16 - 46
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Mayer 2-3 0-0 1 1 5
* Seiss 6-14 8-12 1 4 22
* Reichard 1-4 0-0 9 2 2
* Leininger 10-19 1-2 6 2 24
* DeGeeter 2-4 3-4 8 2 7
Abbitt 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Braddock 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Durcholz 0-1 1-2 1 0 1
Clay 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Smith 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sand 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Heiman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Kindig 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 22-46 13-20 26 11 63
Jeffersonville FG FT R S Pts
* Austin 4-9 2-2 4 0 11
* Pait 0-7 0-0 1 1 0
* Baines 3-7 1-2 3 0 7
* Leavall 1-4 0-0 5 0 2
* Sam. Johnson 1-4 0-0 2 0 2
Sab. Johnson 2-3 0-0 3 0 4
May 1-4 0-2 2 2 3
Cherry 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Gary 2-4 1-2 2 1 5
Price 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Molnar 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Lindley 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
Lloyd 4-7 2-4 7 1 10
Totals 19-50 6-12 33 5 46
Three-point goals - Warsaw 6-11 (Leininger 3-4, Seiss 2-6, Mayer 1-1), Jeffersonville 2-7 (Austin 1-3, May 1-1, Pait 0-3). Turnovers - Warsaw 14, Jeffersonville 18. Fouls - Warsaw 10, Jeffersonville 16. Fouled out - none.
Other semifinal score - Mooresville 62, No. 5 (2A) Indian Creek 34 [[In-content Ad]]
NEW CASTLE - Warsaw girls basketball coach Will Wienhorst said his team has been working on free throws.
It showed Friday night in the championship game of the City Securities Hall of Fame Classic at New Castle's Chrysler Fieldhouse.
Led by a 39-of-45 performance at the charity stripe, including a record-breaking effort from senior Jaclyn Leininger, the Class 4A No. 8 Tigers beat Mooresville 63-51 to become the first girls team in state history to win the prestigious tournament twice. Warsaw's other Hall of Fame Classic title came in 1988 with a 10-point win over North Knox.
"Both teams were very tired," said Wienhorst. "This was our fourth game in three days. We were tired. We only shot 12 of 32 from the field, and I told the girls to keep taking it at the basket and drawing fouls. We've really been working on our foul shots and it showed today."
Leininger, who broke the H.O.F. Classic championship game record for attempts (16) and makes (11) finished the game 21 of 21 at the charity stripe and scored 33 points to garner MVP honors.
The 6-foot Miss Basketball candidate opened the day by scoring 24 points in the semifinal contest as the Tigers knocked off 4A No. 5 Jeffersonville, a team with five girls at 6-0 or taller, 63-46.
Leininger made school history in the morning game, becoming WCHS' all-time leading scorer with a basket at the 3:06 mark, topping Hilary O'Connell's previous record of 1,135.
"Jaclyn Leininger, I can't say enough about her," Wienhorst said. "She shoots well and she makes her team better."
After handling the much-taller Red Devils in the semifinal game, the Tigers came back in the
championship game and jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter against Mooresville and led 27-21 at the half and 39-36 after three.
Though the Pioneers made it interesting, Warsaw never trailed in the contest.
After Mooresville senior Rachel Kenney cut the Tiger advantage to 39-38 with a field goal to start the fourth quarter, the Tigers went on a 14-3 run which ultimately won them the game and their second tournament championship this week.
The Tigers knocked off last year's 3A and 4A state runners-up South Bend St. Joe and Indianapolis Perry Meridian Tuesday to win the Lady Tiger Tournament.
Mooresville cut the Warsaw lead to as little as eight, 58-50, with 58 seconds left but the Tigers hit 5 of 6 charity tosses in the closing seconds to pull away.
"We shoot free throws all the time in practice," said Leininger. "We knew we had to hit them and we did."
Perhaps the most critical free throws were hit by Leininger with 6:28 remaining in the fourth when she converted a pair of charity tosses after the Mooresville bench was whistled for a technical foul, giving Warsaw a 43-38 advantage.
The Tigers then went up 10, 51-41, when sophomore point guard Julie Seiss stole the ball and fed Leininger for an easy two with 3:58 left.
Leininger finished the title tilt with 33 points and 11 rebounds.
Seiss joined her on the all-tournament team after scoring 22 points in the semifinal round, and then coming back in the championship game with 12 points, four steals, four rebounds and three assists.
Junior Rebekah Reichard had nine points and seven boards in the nightcap, while fellow frontliner Michelle DeGeeter had seven points and five boards.
"Michelle and Rebekah played great post defense all day," said Wienhorst. "Mooresville has two great post players and Michelle and Rebekah played very well today."
Prior to the start of Friday's championship game, DeGeeter was awarded the Richard P. Jennings Scholarship. The 6-1 multi-sport athlete ranks fifth in her class of 389 and is a four-year starter on both the basketball and volleyball teams.
With the two wins Friday, the Tigers have now won 11 straight and are 11-1 on the season. Mooresville, which advanced to the championship game with a 62-34 win over 2A No. 5 Indian Creek, fell to 7-4.
Jeffersonville (10-2) beat Indian Creek (9-3) 79-64 in the consolation game.
Rachel Kenney led the Mooresville scoring charge against the Tigers with 20 points, while Sarah Harper added 13.
Both Kenney and Harper joined Leininger and Seiss on the all-tournament team, as did Jeffersonville's Amy Austin and Indian Creek's Adrienne Squire.
The Tigers are in action again tonight at 6 p.m. as they open up the Lake City Bank Northern Lakes Conference Holiday Tournament with a boys/girls doubleheader at rival Wawasee.
HALL OF Fame Classic
Championship Game
NO. 8 (4A) WARSAW 63, MOORESVILLE 51
Warsaw 15 12 12 24 - 63
Mooresville 10 11 15 15 - 51
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts
* Mayer 0-4 0-2 1 0 0
* Seiss 2-6 8-10 4 4 12
* Reichard 2-3 5-7 7 2 9
* Leininger 6-16 21-21 11 1 33
* DeGeeter 2-3 3-5 5 2 7
Abbitt 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Durcholz 0-0 0-0 2 1 0
Clay 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Smith 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Sand 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Heiman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 12-32 39-45 31 11 63
Mooresville FG FT R S Pts
* Gardner 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
* Wright 2-5 0-0 3 1 5
* Couch 3-8 0-0 2 1 8
* R. Kenney 9-17 2-4 9 3 20
* S. Harper 5-10 3-3 5 1 13
Wys 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Schafer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
L. Kenney 1-5 0-1 3 1 2
Dougherty 0-0 1-2 0 0 1
Viles 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
H. Harper 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Thompson 0-4 2-2 4 1 2
Totals 20-50 8-12 26 8 51
Three-point goals - Warsaw 0-5 (Mayer 0-2, Leininger 0-2, Seiss 0-1), Mooresville 3-9 (Couch 2-6, Wright 1-1, Thompson 0-2). Turnovers - Warsaw 16, Mooresville 18. Fouls - Warsaw 11, Mooresville 29. Fouled out - Thompson.
Consolation game - No. 5 (4A) Jeffersonville 79, No. 5 (2A) Indian Creek 64
All-Tournament Team - Jaclyn Leininger (Warsaw, MVP), Julie Seiss (Warsaw), Sarah Harper (Mooresville), Rachel Kenney (Mooresville), Amy Austin (Jeffersonville), Adrienne Squire (Indian Creek)
Game 1
NO. 8 (4A) WARSAW 63,
NO. 5 (4A) JEFFERSONVILLE 46
Warsaw 18 19 8 18 - 63
Jeffersonville 10 15 5 16 - 46
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Mayer 2-3 0-0 1 1 5
* Seiss 6-14 8-12 1 4 22
* Reichard 1-4 0-0 9 2 2
* Leininger 10-19 1-2 6 2 24
* DeGeeter 2-4 3-4 8 2 7
Abbitt 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Braddock 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Durcholz 0-1 1-2 1 0 1
Clay 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Smith 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sand 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Heiman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Kindig 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 22-46 13-20 26 11 63
Jeffersonville FG FT R S Pts
* Austin 4-9 2-2 4 0 11
* Pait 0-7 0-0 1 1 0
* Baines 3-7 1-2 3 0 7
* Leavall 1-4 0-0 5 0 2
* Sam. Johnson 1-4 0-0 2 0 2
Sab. Johnson 2-3 0-0 3 0 4
May 1-4 0-2 2 2 3
Cherry 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Gary 2-4 1-2 2 1 5
Price 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Molnar 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Lindley 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
Lloyd 4-7 2-4 7 1 10
Totals 19-50 6-12 33 5 46
Three-point goals - Warsaw 6-11 (Leininger 3-4, Seiss 2-6, Mayer 1-1), Jeffersonville 2-7 (Austin 1-3, May 1-1, Pait 0-3). Turnovers - Warsaw 14, Jeffersonville 18. Fouls - Warsaw 10, Jeffersonville 16. Fouled out - none.
Other semifinal score - Mooresville 62, No. 5 (2A) Indian Creek 34 [[In-content Ad]]