Warsaw Girls Knock Off Northridge
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Holding a one-possession lead on the visiting Northridge Lady Raiders (10-4, 2-1 Northern Lakes Conference), Desenberg forced three turnovers in the late stages of the game, including a steal with two seconds remaining to secure the 30-28 conference win for the Warsaw Lady Tigers (6-7, 1-2 NLC).
Prior to the clean steal on the final possession of the game, Desenberg forced two jump balls in the final two minutes of the game, with each giving Warsaw possession.
“She comes off the bench and gives us just a little bit more energy on the floor,” Warsaw coach Michelle Harter said of the 5-foot-7 freshman, who actually appeared to have injured herself while playing in the junior varsity game. “That’s what we needed. She just plays such solid defense. She’s so quick on her feet. She just stayed in her stance, she didn’t go for any hesitations. She knew where the girl was going to go and she was right there and grabbed ahold of the ball.”
That defense was essential for the Lady Tigers, who finished the game making 1 of 14 shots following bucket by senior Brooklyn Harrison with 6:12 left in the second quarter.
Making the poor shooting even more perplexing was the fact that Warsaw opened the game making 9 of 10, including a 7-of-7 showing the opening quarter.
Despite the cold spell, which began after Harrison picked up her second foul with 5:48 left in the first half, the defense of the Lady Tigers kept the team in it, limiting Northridge to 3-of-15 shooting in the second half.
“We were getting some looks and they just weren’t falling for us,” Harter said. “(Senior) Eryn (Leek) hits a big 3 for us when we needed it (with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter and the score tied 19-19). Defensively, we really locked down on their shooters. They hit a 3, because you’re not going to keep them scoreless, but at least we continued to battle. We didn’t let some of our missed shots throw us off and not go down and play solid defense.”
Warsaw didn’t even attempt a shot in the fourth quarter, but did go 8-of-11 at the free-throw line.
The win is Warsaw’s fourth straight after it got off to a 2-7 start, and also keeps it alive in the NLC.
“This was a big win for the girls,” Harter said. “Confidence-wise, we’ve been continuing to get on a little bit of a roll here. We didn’t play well in our last conference game at Wawasee (on Dec. 21). Tonight, the girls really played with some enthusiasm, some excitement, some intensity.”
The 39-35 loss to Wawasee was Warsaw’s last and forced Harter to re-evaluate things going into the Christmas break.
“When things aren’t going well you have to continue to be positive and look at what you’re doing,” she said. “The coaching staff and I, we talked about what we needed to do, and the big thing was just getting back to the basics – the fundamentals. I felt like I got away from that a little bit. Over Christmas break, that’s what we did. We talked to the girls about playing with energy – we lacked energy in our first few games. They’ve really come out and played with energy. They’re also getting excited for each other.”
Along with energy, Warsaw’s also been playing with 6-foot center Nikki Grose, as she missed four games in a five-game stretch in December.
Being the focal point of the Lady Raiders’ defense, Grose scored just six points Saturday, but did record nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
“They were really keying on Nikki,” Harter said. “Every time she caught it, they were double and triple teaming. I thought Nikki did a great job of finding the open person, not getting frustrated with them hanging on her like that. She went down defensively and got on the boards for us, which is what we need her to do, and she just forced them to change their shots on the inside.”
Warsaw was led in scoring by Leek’s nine points, going 3 of 5 from the field, followed by Harrison’s eight and junior Erin Clemens’ six.
Still alive in the NLC race, and experiencing much more success, Harter has noticed a big change in the atmosphere around the team and hopes it continues going into Wednesday’s game at Carroll (3-11).
“Our locker room is much more excited and happy,” she said. “There’s smiles on the faces of everyone. Even the girls that don’t play a whole lot or don’t get in, they’re such a big part of what we’re doing. They come to practice every night and push our team to be better. It’s nice to see the girls in there having fun, because we weren’t early on.”
WARSAW 30, NORTHRIDGE 28
N 9 8 3 8 – 28
W 15 4 3 8 – 30
Warsaw – Jodie Carlson 0-0 0-0 0, Eryn Leek 3-5 1-2 9, Pam Miller 0-0 1-2 1, Brooklyn Harrison 3-6 2-6 8, Nikki Grose 2-4 2-3 6, Page Desenberg 0-1 0-1 0, Vicki Harris 0-5 0-0 0, Erin Clemens 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 10-23 8-16 30.
Northridge – Brianne O’Dell 3-5 0-0 7, Morgan Miller 1-5 0-3 2, Mikaela Zook 0-3 0-3 0, Taylor Miller 3-10 2-2 10, Molly Bontrager 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly Miller 0-1 1-2 1, Baleigh Carithers 2-3 0-0 6, Ellie Lengacher 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 10-29 3-10 28.
3-point goals – Warsaw 2-8 (Leek 2), Northridge 5-13 (Carithers 2, T. Miller 2, O’Dell); Team Fouls – Warsaw 16, Northridge 18; Turnovers – Warsaw 15, Northridge 13; Rebounds – Warsaw 22 (Grose 9), Northridge 20 (O’Dell 4); Assists – Warsaw 9 (Grose 4), Northridge 3 (T. Miller 2); Steals – Warsaw 8 (Desenberg 4), Northridge 9 (T. Miller 3); Blocks – Warsaw 2 (Grose 2), Northridge 1.
Records: Warsaw 6-7 (1-2 NLC) Northridge 10-4 (2-1 NLC).
JV – Warsaw 34, Northridge 26
Warsaw JV – Tahya Bruce 15, Dayton Groninger 9, Desenberg 4, Madi Graham 4, Mikaela Till 2.[[In-content Ad]]
Holding a one-possession lead on the visiting Northridge Lady Raiders (10-4, 2-1 Northern Lakes Conference), Desenberg forced three turnovers in the late stages of the game, including a steal with two seconds remaining to secure the 30-28 conference win for the Warsaw Lady Tigers (6-7, 1-2 NLC).
Prior to the clean steal on the final possession of the game, Desenberg forced two jump balls in the final two minutes of the game, with each giving Warsaw possession.
“She comes off the bench and gives us just a little bit more energy on the floor,” Warsaw coach Michelle Harter said of the 5-foot-7 freshman, who actually appeared to have injured herself while playing in the junior varsity game. “That’s what we needed. She just plays such solid defense. She’s so quick on her feet. She just stayed in her stance, she didn’t go for any hesitations. She knew where the girl was going to go and she was right there and grabbed ahold of the ball.”
That defense was essential for the Lady Tigers, who finished the game making 1 of 14 shots following bucket by senior Brooklyn Harrison with 6:12 left in the second quarter.
Making the poor shooting even more perplexing was the fact that Warsaw opened the game making 9 of 10, including a 7-of-7 showing the opening quarter.
Despite the cold spell, which began after Harrison picked up her second foul with 5:48 left in the first half, the defense of the Lady Tigers kept the team in it, limiting Northridge to 3-of-15 shooting in the second half.
“We were getting some looks and they just weren’t falling for us,” Harter said. “(Senior) Eryn (Leek) hits a big 3 for us when we needed it (with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter and the score tied 19-19). Defensively, we really locked down on their shooters. They hit a 3, because you’re not going to keep them scoreless, but at least we continued to battle. We didn’t let some of our missed shots throw us off and not go down and play solid defense.”
Warsaw didn’t even attempt a shot in the fourth quarter, but did go 8-of-11 at the free-throw line.
The win is Warsaw’s fourth straight after it got off to a 2-7 start, and also keeps it alive in the NLC.
“This was a big win for the girls,” Harter said. “Confidence-wise, we’ve been continuing to get on a little bit of a roll here. We didn’t play well in our last conference game at Wawasee (on Dec. 21). Tonight, the girls really played with some enthusiasm, some excitement, some intensity.”
The 39-35 loss to Wawasee was Warsaw’s last and forced Harter to re-evaluate things going into the Christmas break.
“When things aren’t going well you have to continue to be positive and look at what you’re doing,” she said. “The coaching staff and I, we talked about what we needed to do, and the big thing was just getting back to the basics – the fundamentals. I felt like I got away from that a little bit. Over Christmas break, that’s what we did. We talked to the girls about playing with energy – we lacked energy in our first few games. They’ve really come out and played with energy. They’re also getting excited for each other.”
Along with energy, Warsaw’s also been playing with 6-foot center Nikki Grose, as she missed four games in a five-game stretch in December.
Being the focal point of the Lady Raiders’ defense, Grose scored just six points Saturday, but did record nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
“They were really keying on Nikki,” Harter said. “Every time she caught it, they were double and triple teaming. I thought Nikki did a great job of finding the open person, not getting frustrated with them hanging on her like that. She went down defensively and got on the boards for us, which is what we need her to do, and she just forced them to change their shots on the inside.”
Warsaw was led in scoring by Leek’s nine points, going 3 of 5 from the field, followed by Harrison’s eight and junior Erin Clemens’ six.
Still alive in the NLC race, and experiencing much more success, Harter has noticed a big change in the atmosphere around the team and hopes it continues going into Wednesday’s game at Carroll (3-11).
“Our locker room is much more excited and happy,” she said. “There’s smiles on the faces of everyone. Even the girls that don’t play a whole lot or don’t get in, they’re such a big part of what we’re doing. They come to practice every night and push our team to be better. It’s nice to see the girls in there having fun, because we weren’t early on.”
WARSAW 30, NORTHRIDGE 28
N 9 8 3 8 – 28
W 15 4 3 8 – 30
Warsaw – Jodie Carlson 0-0 0-0 0, Eryn Leek 3-5 1-2 9, Pam Miller 0-0 1-2 1, Brooklyn Harrison 3-6 2-6 8, Nikki Grose 2-4 2-3 6, Page Desenberg 0-1 0-1 0, Vicki Harris 0-5 0-0 0, Erin Clemens 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 10-23 8-16 30.
Northridge – Brianne O’Dell 3-5 0-0 7, Morgan Miller 1-5 0-3 2, Mikaela Zook 0-3 0-3 0, Taylor Miller 3-10 2-2 10, Molly Bontrager 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly Miller 0-1 1-2 1, Baleigh Carithers 2-3 0-0 6, Ellie Lengacher 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 10-29 3-10 28.
3-point goals – Warsaw 2-8 (Leek 2), Northridge 5-13 (Carithers 2, T. Miller 2, O’Dell); Team Fouls – Warsaw 16, Northridge 18; Turnovers – Warsaw 15, Northridge 13; Rebounds – Warsaw 22 (Grose 9), Northridge 20 (O’Dell 4); Assists – Warsaw 9 (Grose 4), Northridge 3 (T. Miller 2); Steals – Warsaw 8 (Desenberg 4), Northridge 9 (T. Miller 3); Blocks – Warsaw 2 (Grose 2), Northridge 1.
Records: Warsaw 6-7 (1-2 NLC) Northridge 10-4 (2-1 NLC).
JV – Warsaw 34, Northridge 26
Warsaw JV – Tahya Bruce 15, Dayton Groninger 9, Desenberg 4, Madi Graham 4, Mikaela Till 2.[[In-content Ad]]
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