Warsaw Girls Fall Short
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
Fourth-year Warsaw Community High School girls basketball coach John Snyder said he was proud of his team's defensive effort Saturday night. The Tigers just didn't score enough points, and Northern Lakes Conference foe Elkhart Memorial beat Warsaw 51-38 in the championshp game of Class 4A Sectional 4 at Goshen High School.[[In-content Ad]]"Our defense was solid," said Sndyer. "We just didnít score enough points. I thought our defensive game plan was solid for the most part. We struggled in the first half against their press. We had too many turnovers. We either had a turnover or we didnít attack the basket very well. That was discouraging."
The Tigers turned the ball over 13 times in the game, leading to 16 points for the Crimson Chargers, who committed 12 turnovers. Warsaw was just 11 of 37 from the field in the game, including a 4-of-14 performance from three-point range, and only scored nine points off Elkhart Memorial's turnovers.
"If we played them 10 times, Elkhart Memorial would probably win seven times," said Snyder. "They're a very good basketball team, but I told the girls before the game we only had to beat them one time."
That didn't happen, though, and the Tigers ended their season with a 12-10 record, while the Crimson Chargers improved to 21-4.
Elkhart Memorial, which also defeated Warsaw 46-33 in the regular season finale, has won five consecutive sectional championships and will play Gary West (18-4) at 12:30 p.m. EST time Saturday in the Valparaiso Regional. Second-ranked South Bend Washington (20-2) will play Michigan City (20-5) in the first semifinal game, with the winners facing off Saturday night for a berth in the semistate.
Warsaw, which has played in the sectional with the likes of East Noble, DeKalb, Columbia City and Carroll in recent years, was looking for its first sectional championship since 2004 and its first under Snyder.
Struggling with Memorial's press, however, the Tigers found themselves down 12-3 early in the first quarter against the taller, more athletic Crimson Chargers, who led 17-10 after the first quarter and 27-17 at halftime.
Memorial pushed the lead to 16, 37-21, in the third quarter, but behind sophomore Kelci Freds the Tigers did everything they could to stay in the game.
Freds scored nine of her team-high 13 points in the third quarter, as Warsaw cut the Crimson Chargers' lead from 16 down to eight, 37-31, heading into the fourth quarter.
"Kelci is a nice player," said Snyder. "I hope she continues to work hard in the offseason. She'll be hard to handle."
Freds, who also started last year as a freshman, finished the season as Warsaw's second-leading scorer, averaging 8.4 points per contest.
The Tigers' leading scorer, senior Kate Denlinger, finished the season averaging 11 points and nine rebounds per game.
In Saturday's sectional final, Denlinger had four points and five rebounds.
Junior Alex Glenn scored six points for Warsaw, while senior Carlye Snider and freshman Kayla Stout contributed five points each and senior Courtney Ogle and sophomore sister Cendall Ogle had two points each. Junior Liz Tat converted a free throw opportunity for one point.
"I'm proud of the way the girls battled," Snyder said of his team. "They stuck to the game plan and gave everthing they had."
The Crimson Chargers, who pushed their lead back to 16, 50-34, in the fourth quarter, got 17 points each from senior Nicci Desimone and freshman Akyah Taylor, who also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Sophomore Jada Buggs added eight points, while junior Jasmine Watson chipped in with six points and seven rebounds.
Memorial outrebounded the Tigers 32-19, including a 13-8 advantage in offensive rebounds.
"We gave up too many offensive rebounds," said Snyder. "It's almost impossible to keep (Memorial) off the offensive glass."
With the season coming to a close, the Tigers will have to say farewell to five seniors, Megan Davis, Allison Reichard, Courtney Ogle, Denlinger and Snider.
"We had an oustanding class of seniors who were leaders behind the scenes," said Snyder. "We'll miss them. We had a good year, but that doesn't take away the hurt. It always hurts to lose."
MEMORIAL 51, WARSAW 38
M 17 10 12 12 - 51
W 10 7 14 7 - 38
Memorial - Desimone 4 7-8 17, Glaze 0 0-0 0, Dues 1 0-0 2, Ruff 0 0-0 0, Taylor 7 3-6 17, Cave 0 0-0 0, Buggs 3 2-3 8, Garman 0 1-4 1, Watson 3 0-0 6, King 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-21 51.
Warsaw - Freds 3 4-5 13, Denlinger 1 2-2 4, Reichard 0 0-0 0, Snider 2 0-0 5, Tat 0 1-2 1, Co. Ogle 1 0-0 2, Ce. Ogle 1 0-0 2, Glenn 1 4-04 6, Stout 2 1-1 5, Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 12-14 38.
3-point goals - Memorial 2 (Desimone 2), Warsaw 4 (Freds 3, Snider). Rebounds - Memorial 32 (Taylor 10). Turnovers - Memorial 12, Warsaw 13. Fouls - Memorial 14, Warsaw 15. Fouled out - none. Records: Memorial 21-4, Warsaw 12-10
Fourth-year Warsaw Community High School girls basketball coach John Snyder said he was proud of his team's defensive effort Saturday night. The Tigers just didn't score enough points, and Northern Lakes Conference foe Elkhart Memorial beat Warsaw 51-38 in the championshp game of Class 4A Sectional 4 at Goshen High School.[[In-content Ad]]"Our defense was solid," said Sndyer. "We just didnít score enough points. I thought our defensive game plan was solid for the most part. We struggled in the first half against their press. We had too many turnovers. We either had a turnover or we didnít attack the basket very well. That was discouraging."
The Tigers turned the ball over 13 times in the game, leading to 16 points for the Crimson Chargers, who committed 12 turnovers. Warsaw was just 11 of 37 from the field in the game, including a 4-of-14 performance from three-point range, and only scored nine points off Elkhart Memorial's turnovers.
"If we played them 10 times, Elkhart Memorial would probably win seven times," said Snyder. "They're a very good basketball team, but I told the girls before the game we only had to beat them one time."
That didn't happen, though, and the Tigers ended their season with a 12-10 record, while the Crimson Chargers improved to 21-4.
Elkhart Memorial, which also defeated Warsaw 46-33 in the regular season finale, has won five consecutive sectional championships and will play Gary West (18-4) at 12:30 p.m. EST time Saturday in the Valparaiso Regional. Second-ranked South Bend Washington (20-2) will play Michigan City (20-5) in the first semifinal game, with the winners facing off Saturday night for a berth in the semistate.
Warsaw, which has played in the sectional with the likes of East Noble, DeKalb, Columbia City and Carroll in recent years, was looking for its first sectional championship since 2004 and its first under Snyder.
Struggling with Memorial's press, however, the Tigers found themselves down 12-3 early in the first quarter against the taller, more athletic Crimson Chargers, who led 17-10 after the first quarter and 27-17 at halftime.
Memorial pushed the lead to 16, 37-21, in the third quarter, but behind sophomore Kelci Freds the Tigers did everything they could to stay in the game.
Freds scored nine of her team-high 13 points in the third quarter, as Warsaw cut the Crimson Chargers' lead from 16 down to eight, 37-31, heading into the fourth quarter.
"Kelci is a nice player," said Snyder. "I hope she continues to work hard in the offseason. She'll be hard to handle."
Freds, who also started last year as a freshman, finished the season as Warsaw's second-leading scorer, averaging 8.4 points per contest.
The Tigers' leading scorer, senior Kate Denlinger, finished the season averaging 11 points and nine rebounds per game.
In Saturday's sectional final, Denlinger had four points and five rebounds.
Junior Alex Glenn scored six points for Warsaw, while senior Carlye Snider and freshman Kayla Stout contributed five points each and senior Courtney Ogle and sophomore sister Cendall Ogle had two points each. Junior Liz Tat converted a free throw opportunity for one point.
"I'm proud of the way the girls battled," Snyder said of his team. "They stuck to the game plan and gave everthing they had."
The Crimson Chargers, who pushed their lead back to 16, 50-34, in the fourth quarter, got 17 points each from senior Nicci Desimone and freshman Akyah Taylor, who also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Sophomore Jada Buggs added eight points, while junior Jasmine Watson chipped in with six points and seven rebounds.
Memorial outrebounded the Tigers 32-19, including a 13-8 advantage in offensive rebounds.
"We gave up too many offensive rebounds," said Snyder. "It's almost impossible to keep (Memorial) off the offensive glass."
With the season coming to a close, the Tigers will have to say farewell to five seniors, Megan Davis, Allison Reichard, Courtney Ogle, Denlinger and Snider.
"We had an oustanding class of seniors who were leaders behind the scenes," said Snyder. "We'll miss them. We had a good year, but that doesn't take away the hurt. It always hurts to lose."
MEMORIAL 51, WARSAW 38
M 17 10 12 12 - 51
W 10 7 14 7 - 38
Memorial - Desimone 4 7-8 17, Glaze 0 0-0 0, Dues 1 0-0 2, Ruff 0 0-0 0, Taylor 7 3-6 17, Cave 0 0-0 0, Buggs 3 2-3 8, Garman 0 1-4 1, Watson 3 0-0 6, King 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-21 51.
Warsaw - Freds 3 4-5 13, Denlinger 1 2-2 4, Reichard 0 0-0 0, Snider 2 0-0 5, Tat 0 1-2 1, Co. Ogle 1 0-0 2, Ce. Ogle 1 0-0 2, Glenn 1 4-04 6, Stout 2 1-1 5, Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 12-14 38.
3-point goals - Memorial 2 (Desimone 2), Warsaw 4 (Freds 3, Snider). Rebounds - Memorial 32 (Taylor 10). Turnovers - Memorial 12, Warsaw 13. Fouls - Memorial 14, Warsaw 15. Fouled out - none. Records: Memorial 21-4, Warsaw 12-10
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