Warsaw Girls Win NLC Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
And with their latest victory, a 46-42 win over Class 3A No. 9 NorthWood Saturday night in the Tiger Den, the Lady Tigers claimed their first Northern Lakes Conference championship since 2004.[[In-content Ad]]Warsaw's girls program has now won 15 NLC crowns.
"One of our goals was to win the conference championship," said second-year Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. "I give a lot of credit to these young ladies. They played hard. They battled and played with a lot of heart."
After an eight-point loss at Marion on Jan. 5, the Lady Tigers responded with a 19-point victory over NLC foe Northridge.
Following, a one-point setback at Carrroll, Warsaw crushed conference opponent Goshen 74-29.
Rebounding from a three-point loss to Penn, the Lady Tigers thrashed NLC rival Concord 75-36.
Four days after a five-point loss to Class 4A No. 10 Elkhart Memorial, the only NLC team to beat them, the Lady Tigers rebounded by snapping NorthWood's eight-game winning streak.
NorthWood, which entered Saturday's game beating their opponents by an average of 28 points per contest, fell to 16-3 overall and 4-2 in NLC action. The Lady Panthers finish conference play and the regular season Friday at Concord.
"He had his girls ready to go," Harter said of NorthWood's Hall of Fame coach, Steve Neff, who was denied his 572nd career win. "For us, it was a matter of coming out and executing. I thought our girls did a great job contesting shots and keeping them from getting open looks."
The Lady Panthers finished the game 16 of 42 (38 percent) from the field overall, 4 of 11 from three point range, and 6 of 12 at the free throw line.
Warsaw was 17 of 38 (45 percent) from the field, 4 of 12 from three-point range and 8 of 17 at the charity stripe.
Though they were just 47 percent at the free throw line, it was a charity shot that iced the game for Warsaw.
With the Lady Tigers leading by three, freshman Lindsay Baker stepped to the free throw line for two shots with just under 10 seconds remaining.
Baker, who had missed her other six free throws up to that point Saturday, missed the first but got a shooter's roll on the second, finishing off the Lady Panthers in what truly was a cat fight against the Lady Tigers.
Coming off the bench, Baker finished with eight points, three steals and a pair of rebounds.
"That was a huge free throw," Harter said of Baker's shot. "For a freshman to step into a pressure situation like that and knock one down, I'm so proud of her. She stepped up their with confidence and got the roll. That was a big, big free throw."
Kelci Freds led Warsaw in scoring with a game-high 13 points, while Sarah Shilling and Baker scored eight points each, Kaelee Sands chipped in with seven points and Kayla Stout added six points.
Cendall Ogle and Beth Plummer rounded out the Lady Tigers' scoring attack with two points each.
"This was a team win," said Harter. "And it's a huge confidence builder for our team. We've been so close in the five games that we've lost. Those losses helped us tonight. We got down nine points but the kids fought back. They played with a lot of heart."
The Lady Panthers, who led 14-8 after one quarter of play, scored the first two points of the third quarter to take a 26-17 lead.
Warsaw, however, outscored NorthWood 29-16 the rest of the way.
Kelcie Lehman led NorthWood with 11 points, while Courtney Frantz added 10 points, Lindsey Steffen scored nine points and Kaci Heeter contributed with seven points.
The Lady Tigers are in action again Tuesday when they host Fort Wayne Snider. Warsaw finishes the regular season Thursday at South Bend Riley.
WARSAW 46, NORTHWOOD 42
NW 14 10 10 8 - 42
W 8 9 19 10 - 46
NorthWood - Kaci Heeter 2-8 2-2 7, DeYahnna Styles 0-0 1-2 1, Hillary Lechlitner 0-1 0-0 0, Maddi Spitaels 0-0 0-0 0, Kelcie Lehman 5-8 0-1 11, Mackenzie Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Courtney Frantz 3-8 3-3 10, Lindsey Steffen 4-11 1-4 9, Taylor Olson 2-5 0-1 4. Totals 16-42 6-12 42.
Warsaw - Kelci Freds 5-14 0-0 13, Kaelee Sands 2-5 3-4 7, Cendall Ogle 0-0 2-2 2, Beth Plummer 0-0 2-2 2, Lindsay Baker 3-6 1-8 8, Ryesha Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Stout 3-8 0-0 6, Sarah Shilling 4-5 0-1 8. Totals 17-38 8-17 46.
Three-point goals - NorthWood 4 (Frantz 2, Heeter, Lehman), Warsaw 4 (Freds 3, Baker). Rebounds - NorthWood 32 (Frantz 9), Warsaw 25 (Shilling 9). Turnovers - NorthWood 15, Warsaw 12. Fouls - NorthWood 16, Warsaw 13. Fouled out - Ogle. Records: NorthWood 16-3, 4-2 NLC, Warsaw 13-5, 6-1 NLC.
JV - NorthWood 40, Warsaw 35
Warsaw (16-2) - Jennifer Walker-Crawford 12, Tiffany Tat 6, Lauren Burish 5, Brooke Kline 4, Sarah 4, Merideth Holler 4
And with their latest victory, a 46-42 win over Class 3A No. 9 NorthWood Saturday night in the Tiger Den, the Lady Tigers claimed their first Northern Lakes Conference championship since 2004.[[In-content Ad]]Warsaw's girls program has now won 15 NLC crowns.
"One of our goals was to win the conference championship," said second-year Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. "I give a lot of credit to these young ladies. They played hard. They battled and played with a lot of heart."
After an eight-point loss at Marion on Jan. 5, the Lady Tigers responded with a 19-point victory over NLC foe Northridge.
Following, a one-point setback at Carrroll, Warsaw crushed conference opponent Goshen 74-29.
Rebounding from a three-point loss to Penn, the Lady Tigers thrashed NLC rival Concord 75-36.
Four days after a five-point loss to Class 4A No. 10 Elkhart Memorial, the only NLC team to beat them, the Lady Tigers rebounded by snapping NorthWood's eight-game winning streak.
NorthWood, which entered Saturday's game beating their opponents by an average of 28 points per contest, fell to 16-3 overall and 4-2 in NLC action. The Lady Panthers finish conference play and the regular season Friday at Concord.
"He had his girls ready to go," Harter said of NorthWood's Hall of Fame coach, Steve Neff, who was denied his 572nd career win. "For us, it was a matter of coming out and executing. I thought our girls did a great job contesting shots and keeping them from getting open looks."
The Lady Panthers finished the game 16 of 42 (38 percent) from the field overall, 4 of 11 from three point range, and 6 of 12 at the free throw line.
Warsaw was 17 of 38 (45 percent) from the field, 4 of 12 from three-point range and 8 of 17 at the charity stripe.
Though they were just 47 percent at the free throw line, it was a charity shot that iced the game for Warsaw.
With the Lady Tigers leading by three, freshman Lindsay Baker stepped to the free throw line for two shots with just under 10 seconds remaining.
Baker, who had missed her other six free throws up to that point Saturday, missed the first but got a shooter's roll on the second, finishing off the Lady Panthers in what truly was a cat fight against the Lady Tigers.
Coming off the bench, Baker finished with eight points, three steals and a pair of rebounds.
"That was a huge free throw," Harter said of Baker's shot. "For a freshman to step into a pressure situation like that and knock one down, I'm so proud of her. She stepped up their with confidence and got the roll. That was a big, big free throw."
Kelci Freds led Warsaw in scoring with a game-high 13 points, while Sarah Shilling and Baker scored eight points each, Kaelee Sands chipped in with seven points and Kayla Stout added six points.
Cendall Ogle and Beth Plummer rounded out the Lady Tigers' scoring attack with two points each.
"This was a team win," said Harter. "And it's a huge confidence builder for our team. We've been so close in the five games that we've lost. Those losses helped us tonight. We got down nine points but the kids fought back. They played with a lot of heart."
The Lady Panthers, who led 14-8 after one quarter of play, scored the first two points of the third quarter to take a 26-17 lead.
Warsaw, however, outscored NorthWood 29-16 the rest of the way.
Kelcie Lehman led NorthWood with 11 points, while Courtney Frantz added 10 points, Lindsey Steffen scored nine points and Kaci Heeter contributed with seven points.
The Lady Tigers are in action again Tuesday when they host Fort Wayne Snider. Warsaw finishes the regular season Thursday at South Bend Riley.
WARSAW 46, NORTHWOOD 42
NW 14 10 10 8 - 42
W 8 9 19 10 - 46
NorthWood - Kaci Heeter 2-8 2-2 7, DeYahnna Styles 0-0 1-2 1, Hillary Lechlitner 0-1 0-0 0, Maddi Spitaels 0-0 0-0 0, Kelcie Lehman 5-8 0-1 11, Mackenzie Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Courtney Frantz 3-8 3-3 10, Lindsey Steffen 4-11 1-4 9, Taylor Olson 2-5 0-1 4. Totals 16-42 6-12 42.
Warsaw - Kelci Freds 5-14 0-0 13, Kaelee Sands 2-5 3-4 7, Cendall Ogle 0-0 2-2 2, Beth Plummer 0-0 2-2 2, Lindsay Baker 3-6 1-8 8, Ryesha Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Stout 3-8 0-0 6, Sarah Shilling 4-5 0-1 8. Totals 17-38 8-17 46.
Three-point goals - NorthWood 4 (Frantz 2, Heeter, Lehman), Warsaw 4 (Freds 3, Baker). Rebounds - NorthWood 32 (Frantz 9), Warsaw 25 (Shilling 9). Turnovers - NorthWood 15, Warsaw 12. Fouls - NorthWood 16, Warsaw 13. Fouled out - Ogle. Records: NorthWood 16-3, 4-2 NLC, Warsaw 13-5, 6-1 NLC.
JV - NorthWood 40, Warsaw 35
Warsaw (16-2) - Jennifer Walker-Crawford 12, Tiffany Tat 6, Lauren Burish 5, Brooke Kline 4, Sarah 4, Merideth Holler 4
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