Warsaw Girls Pick Up Key NLC Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
When 5-foot-9 Warsaw senior Kara Kesler hit two free throws with 10 seconds left in regulation Saturday, in Tiger coach Will Wienhorst's eyes it did much more than give his girls basketball team a 50-47 home win over Northern Lakes Conference rival Plymouth, the second-ranked team in Class 3A.
Just as important as the win was to Wienhorst, so was the confidence the Tigers gained, as they won the first of a three-game, seven-day stretch where they will see two of 3A's top three teams, including the 2000 state runner-up.
Warsaw, which improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in conference action, will host Columbia City, last year's state runner-up, Tuesday and then the Shanna Zolman-led No. 3 Wawasee Warriors Saturday.
"This was an important NLC game," Wienhorst said. "It was important for us in the locker room to start believing we can win close ballgames."
And Saturday's game was close, with neither team leading by more than five in the second half.
With Warsaw down 40-35 with 6:09 left in the final frame, Kesler hit the second of two free throws to draw the Tigers within four.
Junior guard Hilary O'Connell then stole the ball and put up two more Tiger points.
With 2:14 left to play, O'Connell hit two free throws to cut Plymouth's lead to one, 43-42. With 1:27 remaining in the game, O'Connell made another steal and basket giving the Tigers a 44-43 lead.
O'Connell picked up her third steal of the quarter with 1:13 left to play and dished it off to senior Amie Poling, giving Warsaw a 46-43 lead.
Kesler, who scored seven fourth-quarter points for the Tigers, made good on four free throw attempts in the final 38 seconds to seal the deal for Warsaw.
"They stepped it up in the second half," Wienhorst said of guards Kesler and O'Connell. "They're our leaders. They didn't do some things early on in the game, but they played great when we needed them to."
O'Connell led all scorers with 18 points and was 8 of 10 at the free throw line, while Poling poured in 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Kesler matched her jersey number and scored 11 points in the win.
Warsaw shot just six free throws in the first half but was 11 of 13 in the second half.
"In the last two or three minutes the kids did what they needed to do," Wienhorst said. "We only shot six free throws in the first half but went 11 of 13 in the second half. I can't say enough about how these girls have played the last two games."
Wienhorst called Warsaw's win its biggest regular season win since knocking off NLC rival NorthWood in the 1998-99 season to win the conference outright before the Panthers won the 3A state title.
Plymouth, which fell to 5-1 overall and 0-1 in NLC action, was led in the scoring column by Carin Benge and Lindsay Houin, both of whom scored nine. Brandy Swihart and Lesley Blackburn scored eight points each for the Pilgrims.
Warsaw trailed 25-22 at halftime and 38-25 at the end of three quarters before outscoring Plymouth 15-9 in the eight minutes.
"Plymouth is an excellent basketball team," Wienhorst said. "We've been working on our defense more than our offense. Plymouth played very good defense. They were very physical."
Warsaw's defense made 11 steals, as Plymouth turned the ball over 22 times. Warsaw turned the ball over 16 times.
WARSAW 50
No. 2 (3A) PLYMOUTH 47
Plymouth (5-1) 16 9 13 9 - 47
Warsaw (4-2) 13 9 13 15 - 50
Plymouth FG FT R A S Pts.
* Blackburn 2-5 4-9 4 1 0 8
* Houin 4-7 1-1 9 1 2 9
* Bunton 1-4 2-2 0 2 1 5
* Cox 1-1 4-4 4 3 2 6
* Swihart 2-5 4-4 6 3 0 8
Benge 4-12 0-1 3 1 1 9
VanVactor 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Palmer 1-3 0-0 5 0 1 2
Team 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0
Totals 15-37 15-21 33 11 8 47
Warsaw FG FT R S A Pts.
* Kesler 3-6 5-7 3 2 0 11
* Poling 5-9 2-2 1 2 1 13
* O'Connell 4-16 8-10 3 1 4 18
* Chabot 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0
* Knisely 2-4 0-0 2 3 2 4
DeRenzo 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
Wyatt 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Leininger 0-4 0-0 8 1 1 0
DeGeeter 2-4 0-0 4 0 2 4
Team 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Totals 16-45 15-19 24 9 11 50
Three-point goals - Plymouth 2-8 (Benge 1-5, Bunton 1-1, Blackburn 0-2), Warsaw 3-12 (O'Connell 2-7, Poling 1-3, Leininger 0-2). Turnovers - Plymouth 22, Warsaw 16. Fouls - Plymouth 18, Warsaw 18. Fouled out - none.
JV - Plymouth 52, Warsaw 18
Plymouth (5-1) - Sarah Craig 12, Sarah Lynch 9, Shannon Gehrke 8, Ali Burroughs 6, Cassie Gantz 4, Morgan Uceny 4, Laura Wendel 4, Jenny Faulstich 4
Warsaw (2-4) - Debbie Allen 6, Cassie Himes 4, Jessica Davis 2, Rachael Franklin 2, Krystal Lesley 2, Julianna Beck 2 [[In-content Ad]]
When 5-foot-9 Warsaw senior Kara Kesler hit two free throws with 10 seconds left in regulation Saturday, in Tiger coach Will Wienhorst's eyes it did much more than give his girls basketball team a 50-47 home win over Northern Lakes Conference rival Plymouth, the second-ranked team in Class 3A.
Just as important as the win was to Wienhorst, so was the confidence the Tigers gained, as they won the first of a three-game, seven-day stretch where they will see two of 3A's top three teams, including the 2000 state runner-up.
Warsaw, which improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in conference action, will host Columbia City, last year's state runner-up, Tuesday and then the Shanna Zolman-led No. 3 Wawasee Warriors Saturday.
"This was an important NLC game," Wienhorst said. "It was important for us in the locker room to start believing we can win close ballgames."
And Saturday's game was close, with neither team leading by more than five in the second half.
With Warsaw down 40-35 with 6:09 left in the final frame, Kesler hit the second of two free throws to draw the Tigers within four.
Junior guard Hilary O'Connell then stole the ball and put up two more Tiger points.
With 2:14 left to play, O'Connell hit two free throws to cut Plymouth's lead to one, 43-42. With 1:27 remaining in the game, O'Connell made another steal and basket giving the Tigers a 44-43 lead.
O'Connell picked up her third steal of the quarter with 1:13 left to play and dished it off to senior Amie Poling, giving Warsaw a 46-43 lead.
Kesler, who scored seven fourth-quarter points for the Tigers, made good on four free throw attempts in the final 38 seconds to seal the deal for Warsaw.
"They stepped it up in the second half," Wienhorst said of guards Kesler and O'Connell. "They're our leaders. They didn't do some things early on in the game, but they played great when we needed them to."
O'Connell led all scorers with 18 points and was 8 of 10 at the free throw line, while Poling poured in 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Kesler matched her jersey number and scored 11 points in the win.
Warsaw shot just six free throws in the first half but was 11 of 13 in the second half.
"In the last two or three minutes the kids did what they needed to do," Wienhorst said. "We only shot six free throws in the first half but went 11 of 13 in the second half. I can't say enough about how these girls have played the last two games."
Wienhorst called Warsaw's win its biggest regular season win since knocking off NLC rival NorthWood in the 1998-99 season to win the conference outright before the Panthers won the 3A state title.
Plymouth, which fell to 5-1 overall and 0-1 in NLC action, was led in the scoring column by Carin Benge and Lindsay Houin, both of whom scored nine. Brandy Swihart and Lesley Blackburn scored eight points each for the Pilgrims.
Warsaw trailed 25-22 at halftime and 38-25 at the end of three quarters before outscoring Plymouth 15-9 in the eight minutes.
"Plymouth is an excellent basketball team," Wienhorst said. "We've been working on our defense more than our offense. Plymouth played very good defense. They were very physical."
Warsaw's defense made 11 steals, as Plymouth turned the ball over 22 times. Warsaw turned the ball over 16 times.
WARSAW 50
No. 2 (3A) PLYMOUTH 47
Plymouth (5-1) 16 9 13 9 - 47
Warsaw (4-2) 13 9 13 15 - 50
Plymouth FG FT R A S Pts.
* Blackburn 2-5 4-9 4 1 0 8
* Houin 4-7 1-1 9 1 2 9
* Bunton 1-4 2-2 0 2 1 5
* Cox 1-1 4-4 4 3 2 6
* Swihart 2-5 4-4 6 3 0 8
Benge 4-12 0-1 3 1 1 9
VanVactor 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Palmer 1-3 0-0 5 0 1 2
Team 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0
Totals 15-37 15-21 33 11 8 47
Warsaw FG FT R S A Pts.
* Kesler 3-6 5-7 3 2 0 11
* Poling 5-9 2-2 1 2 1 13
* O'Connell 4-16 8-10 3 1 4 18
* Chabot 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0
* Knisely 2-4 0-0 2 3 2 4
DeRenzo 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
Wyatt 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Leininger 0-4 0-0 8 1 1 0
DeGeeter 2-4 0-0 4 0 2 4
Team 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Totals 16-45 15-19 24 9 11 50
Three-point goals - Plymouth 2-8 (Benge 1-5, Bunton 1-1, Blackburn 0-2), Warsaw 3-12 (O'Connell 2-7, Poling 1-3, Leininger 0-2). Turnovers - Plymouth 22, Warsaw 16. Fouls - Plymouth 18, Warsaw 18. Fouled out - none.
JV - Plymouth 52, Warsaw 18
Plymouth (5-1) - Sarah Craig 12, Sarah Lynch 9, Shannon Gehrke 8, Ali Burroughs 6, Cassie Gantz 4, Morgan Uceny 4, Laura Wendel 4, Jenny Faulstich 4
Warsaw (2-4) - Debbie Allen 6, Cassie Himes 4, Jessica Davis 2, Rachael Franklin 2, Krystal Lesley 2, Julianna Beck 2 [[In-content Ad]]