HUNTINGTON - When looking back on this season, this could be the big one that got away for the Warsaw girls basketball team.

The Tigers trailed Huntington North (4-1) for much of the game Thursday and were on the verge of finally taking control of the game several times in the second half. But the chances seemed to slip right through Warsaw's fingers, and the Vikings escaped with a 43-39 win.

The Tigers' Tiffany Ross torched the Viking defense for 20 points and 12 boards, but it wasn't enough against the highly regarded Vikings, led this year by former assistant coach Jon Lippe, who took over for the successful Fred Fields.

"That is a quality Warsaw team," Lippe said. "Coming into the year, I thought Warsaw would have one of the best teams they have had in the last six years. They have an outstanding front line."

Warsaw entered the fourth quarter trailing by nine, 39-30. But seven straight points, including four by junior guard Jessica Zaugg, cut the margin to 39-37 with 2:17 on the clock. Huntington North made it 41-37 on two free throws from Sarah MacKay.

Ross' layup with seven seconds left made it a two-point game at 41-39. On the ensuing inbounds play, the Vikings were called for a violation, and Warsaw got the ball back.

The Tigers got the play they were looking for and the ball went to junior Katie Elliott under the basket, but the 6-foot-1 Elliott missed the layup. The Vikings' Carrie Fields grabbed the rebound and added two free throws for the final margin.

"Our kids ran that play to perfection, Katie got the shot we wanted, but it just didn't drop," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said.

It was a fitting end for Warsaw, which had trouble getting the ball to fall all game long. The Tigers hit on 14 of 38 shots (37 percent) from the field, several of which were layups or open shots.

"They were the shots we wanted," Wienhorst said. "If we hit anything, we win this game going away. It comes down to putting the ball in the hole. Against Crown Point, we didn't get the shots we wanted. Tonight, we got those shots."

Huntington didn't fare any better, hitting on only 15 of 41 from the field, including no field goals in the fourth quarter.

After giving up 17 points in the first quarter alone, the Tigers were able to get themselves back into the game by holding the Vikings to 14 second-half points.

"To this game from last Friday, we came a long way," Wienhorst said. "We are not going to face a faster and quicker team than Huntington. We grew up tonight. We are just going to get better."

Warsaw was without the services of senior guard Sherri Ross and lost its second straight game, but seemed to make some progress from its last game where a lack of execution in the final minutes cost them against Crown Point last Friday.

Warsaw got out of the gate quickly in the game, grabbing a 10-2 lead with Ross collecting seven points in the run. But the Vikings' vaulted fullcourt press began to get to the young Tiger guards and Huntington went on a 15-0 run grab a 17-10 lead after the first quarter.

The Tigers turned the ball over nine times in the quarter and made only 3 of 10 from the field.

"In the first quarter, we knew that was coming," Wienhorst said. "It was a little bit of nerves."

Warsaw settled down in the second quarter and outscored the Vikings 13-12 with Ross getting seven more points in the frame as the Tigers trailed at halftime 29-23.

"That is a big part of our game being able to extend the floor 90 feet and try to make them work against our defense for 32 minutes," Lippe said. "It wears on you mentally and physically."

Huntington North increased the lead to nine points in the third quarter despite hitting on only 3 of 12 shots from the field.

The Tigers also outrebounded the Vikings 30-17.

Warsaw (2-2) hosts Northridge in its Northern Lakes Conference opener Saturday. [[In-content Ad]]