GOSHEN - Who would have known that a small, furry animal would determine how far Warsaw's girls basketball team would last into the postseason?

"Before you ask your questions, I'll say the bottom line was all our missed bunnies," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said.

In football, a 22-yard field goal is a chip shot. In baseball, a routine fly ball out is a can of corn.

The bunnies Wienhorst refers to in basketball are shots close to the basket. They would not fall often enough early enough, leading Elkhart Memorial (12-9) to send Warsaw (14-7) home with a 73-62 loss on the first night of the sectional.

Guard Chakiea Jackson led Memorial with 22 points, while forward Latasha Wolfe added 18 and 10 rebounds. Center Liz Lewis scored 16.

Center Katie Elliott paced Warsaw with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while forward Jenna Rooney added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Tigers shot 5 of 18 from the field in the first quarter and 4 of 15 in the second quarter to finish the half 9 of 33 (27 percent). They had their chances close to the basket, as they grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone.

The shots could not, would not fall.

"We were up 6-0, and we should have been up 18-0," Wienhorst said. "But we missed too many of our bunnies. Elkhart Memorial got right back in the game and tied it at 6-6."

"As the game went on, Elkhart Memorial just seemed to get quicker. When we had the lead, they didn't seem as quick. When they took the lead, they gained confidence and seemed a step faster."

Indeed. Memorial, picking up the hint Warsaw wasn't about to run away and hide, took advantage of the Tigers' pardon. Memorial did not score its first points until the 4:04 mark of the first quarter, but because of Warsaw's missed opportunities, was still in the game at 6-2.

When the first half ended, Warsaw led 25-23.

"We got shots galore," Wienhorst said. "We should have been up 38-23 at the end of the first half."

But they weren't, and Memorial's defense went to work in the second half.

The Crimson Charger guards harassed the Warsaw guards, and the Crimson Charger forwards kept Elliott from getting the ball under the basket.

"When I watched them play NorthWood, I said Elliott would get 40 against us," Elkhart Memorial coach Scott Geist said. "Charlie Russ, the ex-assistant boys coach at Elkhart Memorial, put in our 2-3 zone last night, because up until then, we weren't sure how we were going to stop Elliott."

While they may not have stopped her - she scored 27 on 12-of-23 shooting -Êthey number of times they allowed the guards to pass the ball to her under the basket for a "bunny" could be counted on one hand.

"It was a situation where we wanted to direct our passes into the post, but our guards were not making good reads," Wienhorst said. "You have to realize, all of our guards except Jessica Zaugg, this was their first time in the sectional."

Said Geist: "I listened to Will last week on the radio after the Marion game. We knew we had to take either Elliott away or take their guards away. We chose to take Elliott away, but we also chose to try to take their guards away with some token pressure on them as they brought the ball up the court."

Elkhart Memorial seemed a step quicker to the ball all evening, forcing several Warsaw turnovers between the free-throw line and halfcourt that they converted into points. Warsaw lost the ball 14 times in the second half alone.

The Crimson Charger's 73 points were the second-most scored against Warsaw this season. The guards, Jackson and Irenna Coleman, attacked the basket and dumped the ball off to Wolfe and Lewis.

"Elkhart Memorial was very quick," Wienhorst said. "Coming in we wanted to stop their dribble penetration, but we didn't do it."

Said Geist: "Our penetration and our interior passing game broke them. Chakeia's quickness was the key to our energy."

The two teams entered the fourth quarter tied 41-41. Warsaw's Jenna Rooney single-handedly kept the Tigers in the game, scoring 12 of their 16 third-quarter points.

But their defense couldn't slow Memorial.

"Jenna Rooney played very well for us, but even then, they were matching us shot for shot," Wienhorst said.

But Rooney going off was OK with Geist.

"I was surprised with Rooney," he said. "She had a nice game. I told her girls, let her try to beat us. We are not gonna let Elliott beat us."

He didn't, his team didn't, and with the win, a girl handed Geist a Charlie Brown Valentine box and told him Happy Valentine's Day.

"This is the biggest win in my three years here," he said. "I thought Warsaw would come with more pressure than they did. I'm 27, but if I grow my hair out, you will see the girls have put a little gray in there.

"We've had a habit of not playing hard in the second half. We believe we have the game won. Last week we were up 13 at halftime to Bethany Christian and lost. I don't know how we beat Warsaw and lost to Bethany Christian."

Last week Wienhorst fretted about how his team has had a tendency to miss easy shots. When asked then what will determine how far his team goes, he said, "We can't miss our bunnies."

They did, and they're done.

"This was a game that we should have put away early," he said. "It just didn't happen tonight." [[In-content Ad]]