Warsaw Eliminates Elkhart Memorial
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
The Warsaw senior made sure it didn’t Tuesday night, as she led the Class 4A No. 8 Lady Tigers to a 49-37 win over Elkhart Memorial in the opening round of sectional play at Concord.
The 6-foot Walker-Crawford scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, as Warsaw improved to 20-1 on the season and ended the Lady Crimson Chargers’ bid for a 10th-straight sectional title.
The teams were tied 8-8 at the end of the first quarter and Warsaw led 18-16 at halftime.
The third and fourth quarters, however, belonged to Walker-Crawford and the Lady Tigers.
“I think they kind of forgot about me in the second half,” said Walker-Crawford, who finished the game 5 of 10 from the field and 8 of 11 at the free throw line. “I wanted to be physical, take their contact, and finish.”
An old-fashioned three-point play by Walker-Crawford gave Warsaw a 45-35 lead with 1:30 to play, sending the Lady Tigers and their fans into a frenzied celebration.
Warsaw led by 12 at the end of the third quarter before Memorial cut into the Lady Tigers’ cushion with a 6-0 run to open the final frame.
Plays like that of the one by Walker-Crawford, however, helped Warsaw beat Memorial for the second time this season.
Prior to last month’s 39-32 win in Elkhart, the Lady Tigers had lost 13 in a row to Memorial, including five straight in postseason play.
“This is a tremendous weight off our shoulders,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. “I can’t be more proud of the girls. They played as a team and executed the game plan so well.
“We talked at halftime about being poised and keeping our heads,” she added. “And our patience was a big key, we didn’t settle for the first shot. We got good shots in the flow of the offense.”
After making just 6 of 20 attempts in the first half, Warsaw made 10 of 17 shots in the third and fourth quarters.
Memorial was 7 of 15 from the field in the first half and 7 of 19 after the intermission.
“I thought we were in a perfect spot at halftime,” Memorial coach Steve Scott said of the back-and-forth battle that took place in the first 16 minutes of play. “We had them where we wanted them. “The story of our season has been our trouble scoring, and that was the case again tonight. We play 25 or 26 good minutes, and then we have a drought where we can’t score. That just kills us. That happened again tonight in the third quarter.”
With the game knotted at 18-18 early in the third quarter, the Lady Tigers went on a 7-0 run and took the first real advantage of the game.
A trey by senior Lindsay Baker pushed the lead to 30-20 with 1:30 remaining in the quarter, and a three-pointer at the buzzer by junior Brooklyn Harrison gave the Lady Tigers a 35-23 lead.
Harrison, who had scored a total of three points in the previous eight games, scored eight points against Memorial.
Junior Nikki Grose had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Tigers, while Baker finished with 10 points and five assists.
Junior Eryn Leek rounded out Warsaw’s scoring with two points.
Junior Khadijah Moore led Memorial with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while seniors Monica Jones and Alyssa Wagner scored six points each in the loss.
The Lady Crimson Chargers finished their season with a 13-8 record, while Warsaw advanced to Friday night’s 6 p.m. semifinal game against Concord (6-16)
The Lady Tigers beat Concord 52-21 in the regular season.
Friday’s second semifinal game will feature Northridge (18-4) and Goshen (14-7).
Goshen advanced with a 63-36 win over Elkhart Central in Tuesday’s second game, while Concord and Northridge both drew a bye.
“I told the girls we can enjoy this win (tonight), but we have to come back at practice and really focus on Concord,” said Harter. “We have to be ready to play Friday night. We earned the right to play Friday, now we have to earn the right to play for a championship Saturday.”
WARSAW 49, ELKHART MEMORIAL 37
EM 8 8 7 14 – 37
War 8 10 17 14 – 49
Memorial – Paige Newvine 2-5 0-0 5, Victoria Kyle 1-6 1-3 3, Monica Jones 3-10 0-0 6, Alyssa Wagner 2-4 2-2 6, Jenal Peoples 0-2 0-0 0, Mechayla Thompson 1-1 0-0 2, Khadija Moore 5-6 4-5 15. Totals 14-34 7-9 37.
Warsaw – Sarah Ray 0-1 0-0 0, Melanie Holladay 0-3 0-0 0, Eryn Leek 1-2 0-0 2, Jennifer Walker-Crawford 5-10 8-11 18, Lindsay Baker 2-5 4-6 10, Brooklyn Harrison 3-6 0-0 8, Pam Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Nikki Grose 5-10 1-3 11. Totals 16-37 13-20 49.
Three-pointers – Memorial 2 (Newvine, Moore), Warsaw 4 (Baker 2, Harrison 2); Rebounds – Memorial 24 (Moore 12), Warsaw 23 (Grose 9); Turnovers – Memorial 12, Warsaw 6; Fouls – Memorial 19, Warsaw 8; Fouled out – none; Records: Memorial 13-8, Warsaw 20-1[[In-content Ad]]
The Warsaw senior made sure it didn’t Tuesday night, as she led the Class 4A No. 8 Lady Tigers to a 49-37 win over Elkhart Memorial in the opening round of sectional play at Concord.
The 6-foot Walker-Crawford scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, as Warsaw improved to 20-1 on the season and ended the Lady Crimson Chargers’ bid for a 10th-straight sectional title.
The teams were tied 8-8 at the end of the first quarter and Warsaw led 18-16 at halftime.
The third and fourth quarters, however, belonged to Walker-Crawford and the Lady Tigers.
“I think they kind of forgot about me in the second half,” said Walker-Crawford, who finished the game 5 of 10 from the field and 8 of 11 at the free throw line. “I wanted to be physical, take their contact, and finish.”
An old-fashioned three-point play by Walker-Crawford gave Warsaw a 45-35 lead with 1:30 to play, sending the Lady Tigers and their fans into a frenzied celebration.
Warsaw led by 12 at the end of the third quarter before Memorial cut into the Lady Tigers’ cushion with a 6-0 run to open the final frame.
Plays like that of the one by Walker-Crawford, however, helped Warsaw beat Memorial for the second time this season.
Prior to last month’s 39-32 win in Elkhart, the Lady Tigers had lost 13 in a row to Memorial, including five straight in postseason play.
“This is a tremendous weight off our shoulders,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. “I can’t be more proud of the girls. They played as a team and executed the game plan so well.
“We talked at halftime about being poised and keeping our heads,” she added. “And our patience was a big key, we didn’t settle for the first shot. We got good shots in the flow of the offense.”
After making just 6 of 20 attempts in the first half, Warsaw made 10 of 17 shots in the third and fourth quarters.
Memorial was 7 of 15 from the field in the first half and 7 of 19 after the intermission.
“I thought we were in a perfect spot at halftime,” Memorial coach Steve Scott said of the back-and-forth battle that took place in the first 16 minutes of play. “We had them where we wanted them. “The story of our season has been our trouble scoring, and that was the case again tonight. We play 25 or 26 good minutes, and then we have a drought where we can’t score. That just kills us. That happened again tonight in the third quarter.”
With the game knotted at 18-18 early in the third quarter, the Lady Tigers went on a 7-0 run and took the first real advantage of the game.
A trey by senior Lindsay Baker pushed the lead to 30-20 with 1:30 remaining in the quarter, and a three-pointer at the buzzer by junior Brooklyn Harrison gave the Lady Tigers a 35-23 lead.
Harrison, who had scored a total of three points in the previous eight games, scored eight points against Memorial.
Junior Nikki Grose had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Tigers, while Baker finished with 10 points and five assists.
Junior Eryn Leek rounded out Warsaw’s scoring with two points.
Junior Khadijah Moore led Memorial with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while seniors Monica Jones and Alyssa Wagner scored six points each in the loss.
The Lady Crimson Chargers finished their season with a 13-8 record, while Warsaw advanced to Friday night’s 6 p.m. semifinal game against Concord (6-16)
The Lady Tigers beat Concord 52-21 in the regular season.
Friday’s second semifinal game will feature Northridge (18-4) and Goshen (14-7).
Goshen advanced with a 63-36 win over Elkhart Central in Tuesday’s second game, while Concord and Northridge both drew a bye.
“I told the girls we can enjoy this win (tonight), but we have to come back at practice and really focus on Concord,” said Harter. “We have to be ready to play Friday night. We earned the right to play Friday, now we have to earn the right to play for a championship Saturday.”
WARSAW 49, ELKHART MEMORIAL 37
EM 8 8 7 14 – 37
War 8 10 17 14 – 49
Memorial – Paige Newvine 2-5 0-0 5, Victoria Kyle 1-6 1-3 3, Monica Jones 3-10 0-0 6, Alyssa Wagner 2-4 2-2 6, Jenal Peoples 0-2 0-0 0, Mechayla Thompson 1-1 0-0 2, Khadija Moore 5-6 4-5 15. Totals 14-34 7-9 37.
Warsaw – Sarah Ray 0-1 0-0 0, Melanie Holladay 0-3 0-0 0, Eryn Leek 1-2 0-0 2, Jennifer Walker-Crawford 5-10 8-11 18, Lindsay Baker 2-5 4-6 10, Brooklyn Harrison 3-6 0-0 8, Pam Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Nikki Grose 5-10 1-3 11. Totals 16-37 13-20 49.
Three-pointers – Memorial 2 (Newvine, Moore), Warsaw 4 (Baker 2, Harrison 2); Rebounds – Memorial 24 (Moore 12), Warsaw 23 (Grose 9); Turnovers – Memorial 12, Warsaw 6; Fouls – Memorial 19, Warsaw 8; Fouled out – none; Records: Memorial 13-8, Warsaw 20-1[[In-content Ad]]
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