Warriors Top Bremen, Await Plymouth
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - One might not have been able to tell by the first-quarter score, but Wawasee girls basketball coach Kem Zolman called Thursday's home game with Bremen a test.
The Warriors hadn't played a game since Jan. 13, and heading into Friday's rescheduled Northern Lakes Conference battle with 10-2 Plymouth, 3-1 in league play, Zolman said he was more than happy to get a game under his team's belt.
"It was a blessing in disguise," said Zolman. "We needed to get a game under our belt. Plymouth is tough and agressive. They've only lost two games all year. I feel this is the caliber of team that we'll see in the sectional. I'm excited to see where we measure up."
For the first eight minutes of last night's game, Bremen didn't measure up at all.
Wawasee topped the Lions 73-51, thanks, in large part, to a 25-3 first-quarter thrashing.
"I thought we played real well in the first quarter," said Zolman. "We executed real well and were getting some good shots. Then, for whatever reason, that stops. We decided to try and make things happen. There's a time and place for that, and that wasn't it."
The Warriors shot a blistering 11 of 16 (68.8 percent) from the field in the first quarter. Bremen, on the other hand, was a dismal 1 of 11 (9.1 percent) from the field.
But that was the first quarter. The rest of the way Bremen played Wawasee even on the scoreboard, 48-48.
"We didn't see too many of the little things," said Zolman.
"Fortunately, we had a good start. They played us even after that."
Wawasee sophomore Shanna Zolman, the state's leading scorer, scored 14 points in the first quarter and 13 in the second. With the Warriors leading 40-18 at halftime, the 5-foot-9 Zolman had 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting and nine rebounds. She finished the game with 37 points on 16-of-24 shooting (66.7 percent), pulled down 10 rebounds and made three steals.
Freshmen Meagan Wallen and Jessica Leach added 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the win. The two also combined for 11 rebounds.
For the game Wawasee was 33 of 53 (62.3 percent) from the field and 5 of 12 at the charity stripe. Bremen finished the game 20 of 59 (33.9 percent) from the field and 8 of 12 at the free throw line.
Bremen was led in the scoring column by sophomore Mista Bollman's 14 points. Katie Bollenbacher added eight and Andrea Gramm seven in the loss.
After a basket by Leach at the onset of the third quarter upped Wawasee's advantage to 42-28, the Lions went on a 10-2 run, and eventually got as close as 12, 44-32.
"They could've folded," said Kem Zolman of Bremen. "They made us turn the ball over and they came back at us. We've gotta be able to sustain. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, getting a game under our belt before Plymouth."
The Warriors responded to Bremen's run by pushing the advantage to 57-36 by the end of the third quarter.
A three-point play by Gramm brought the Lions within 16, 59-43, with 5:16 remaining in the game, but the Warriors closed with a 14-8 run to account for the 22-point win.
The win improves Wawasee's overall season record to 11-5. The Lions fall to 7-10.
"We're real tickled with that," said Kem Zolman of Wawasee's record. "I'm not sure people expected us to be in this position. I think that if we take care of a few more things that our sectional is wide open."
Wawasee, 2-2 in conference action, hosts Plymouth tonight at 6:15 p.m.
WAWASEE 73, BREMEN 51
Bremen 3 15 18 15 - 51
Wawasee 25 15 17 16 - 73
Bremen FG FT S R Pts.
LaFree (G) 4-9 1-2 3 3 9
Bollman (G) 6-16 2-4 5 5 14
Leeper (F) 1-3 2-2 1 0 4
Bixel 0-3 0-0 0 0 0
Pike 1-3 0-0 0 1 3
Bollenbacher (F) 4-8 0-0 0 2 8
Miller 1-4 0-0 0 4 2
Klotz 2-3 0-1 0 0 4
Graham (C) 2-10 3-3 1 7 7
Totals 20-59 8-12 10 26 51
Wawasee FG FT S R Pts.
D. Krull (G) 2-4 0-0 1 1 4
Henderson 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
Sawyer 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
Zolman (F) 16-24 3-5 3 10 37
Fawley (G) 1-3 1-2 1 2 3
Lamb 0-1 0-1 0 0 0
Wallen (F) 6-10 1-3 1 5 13
Leach (C) 5-7 0-1 1 6 10
S. Krull 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Higginbotham 2-2 0-0 0 7 4
Totals 33-53 5-12 9 37 73
Three-pointers - Bremen 1 (Pike), Wawasee 2 (Zolman 2). Turnovers - Bremen 16, Wawasee 19. Fouls - Bremen 14, Wawasee 14. Fouled out - none.
JV: Wawasee 41, Bremen 42 [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - One might not have been able to tell by the first-quarter score, but Wawasee girls basketball coach Kem Zolman called Thursday's home game with Bremen a test.
The Warriors hadn't played a game since Jan. 13, and heading into Friday's rescheduled Northern Lakes Conference battle with 10-2 Plymouth, 3-1 in league play, Zolman said he was more than happy to get a game under his team's belt.
"It was a blessing in disguise," said Zolman. "We needed to get a game under our belt. Plymouth is tough and agressive. They've only lost two games all year. I feel this is the caliber of team that we'll see in the sectional. I'm excited to see where we measure up."
For the first eight minutes of last night's game, Bremen didn't measure up at all.
Wawasee topped the Lions 73-51, thanks, in large part, to a 25-3 first-quarter thrashing.
"I thought we played real well in the first quarter," said Zolman. "We executed real well and were getting some good shots. Then, for whatever reason, that stops. We decided to try and make things happen. There's a time and place for that, and that wasn't it."
The Warriors shot a blistering 11 of 16 (68.8 percent) from the field in the first quarter. Bremen, on the other hand, was a dismal 1 of 11 (9.1 percent) from the field.
But that was the first quarter. The rest of the way Bremen played Wawasee even on the scoreboard, 48-48.
"We didn't see too many of the little things," said Zolman.
"Fortunately, we had a good start. They played us even after that."
Wawasee sophomore Shanna Zolman, the state's leading scorer, scored 14 points in the first quarter and 13 in the second. With the Warriors leading 40-18 at halftime, the 5-foot-9 Zolman had 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting and nine rebounds. She finished the game with 37 points on 16-of-24 shooting (66.7 percent), pulled down 10 rebounds and made three steals.
Freshmen Meagan Wallen and Jessica Leach added 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the win. The two also combined for 11 rebounds.
For the game Wawasee was 33 of 53 (62.3 percent) from the field and 5 of 12 at the charity stripe. Bremen finished the game 20 of 59 (33.9 percent) from the field and 8 of 12 at the free throw line.
Bremen was led in the scoring column by sophomore Mista Bollman's 14 points. Katie Bollenbacher added eight and Andrea Gramm seven in the loss.
After a basket by Leach at the onset of the third quarter upped Wawasee's advantage to 42-28, the Lions went on a 10-2 run, and eventually got as close as 12, 44-32.
"They could've folded," said Kem Zolman of Bremen. "They made us turn the ball over and they came back at us. We've gotta be able to sustain. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, getting a game under our belt before Plymouth."
The Warriors responded to Bremen's run by pushing the advantage to 57-36 by the end of the third quarter.
A three-point play by Gramm brought the Lions within 16, 59-43, with 5:16 remaining in the game, but the Warriors closed with a 14-8 run to account for the 22-point win.
The win improves Wawasee's overall season record to 11-5. The Lions fall to 7-10.
"We're real tickled with that," said Kem Zolman of Wawasee's record. "I'm not sure people expected us to be in this position. I think that if we take care of a few more things that our sectional is wide open."
Wawasee, 2-2 in conference action, hosts Plymouth tonight at 6:15 p.m.
WAWASEE 73, BREMEN 51
Bremen 3 15 18 15 - 51
Wawasee 25 15 17 16 - 73
Bremen FG FT S R Pts.
LaFree (G) 4-9 1-2 3 3 9
Bollman (G) 6-16 2-4 5 5 14
Leeper (F) 1-3 2-2 1 0 4
Bixel 0-3 0-0 0 0 0
Pike 1-3 0-0 0 1 3
Bollenbacher (F) 4-8 0-0 0 2 8
Miller 1-4 0-0 0 4 2
Klotz 2-3 0-1 0 0 4
Graham (C) 2-10 3-3 1 7 7
Totals 20-59 8-12 10 26 51
Wawasee FG FT S R Pts.
D. Krull (G) 2-4 0-0 1 1 4
Henderson 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
Sawyer 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
Zolman (F) 16-24 3-5 3 10 37
Fawley (G) 1-3 1-2 1 2 3
Lamb 0-1 0-1 0 0 0
Wallen (F) 6-10 1-3 1 5 13
Leach (C) 5-7 0-1 1 6 10
S. Krull 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Higginbotham 2-2 0-0 0 7 4
Totals 33-53 5-12 9 37 73
Three-pointers - Bremen 1 (Pike), Wawasee 2 (Zolman 2). Turnovers - Bremen 16, Wawasee 19. Fouls - Bremen 14, Wawasee 14. Fouled out - none.
JV: Wawasee 41, Bremen 42 [[In-content Ad]]