Warsaw Wears Wawasee Down
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - It wasn't that Warsaw got hot at the right time. It was more like lukewarm.
Both teams went through stretches in this game where things weren't falling, but in the fourth, Warsaw put enough together to produce a big Northern Lakes Conference win over Wawasee, 47-43, Saturday.
The win puts the Tigers (11-5) at 4-0 in the NLC and sets up a big showdown Tuesday with No. 12 NorthWood for the conference title.
After trailing by six at halftime, the Warriors stepped it up on defense and eventually tied the score at 31 entering the fourth quarter. Baskets by Tiffany Ross and Sam Wideman gave the Tigers the lead 35-31 to begin the quarter, but Warsaw spent the rest of the frame struggling to put the Warriors away, hitting on only 4 of 10 free throws.
But the Warriors spent the fourth just struggling. Wawasee made only 2 of 15 shots, including 0 of 6 from inside the three-point arc.
Warsaw did manage to extend the lead to 47-40 before a three-pointer by Kari Wortinger cut the lead to 47-43 with 20 seconds left. Ross missed two free throws with :14 on the clock, but Wawasee couldn't get any shots to fall in the final seconds.
"We came out in the second half and really got after it," Wawasee coach Randy Aalbregtse said. "For the most part, we had good opportunities, but they just didn't fall. We played good defense in the second half and did what we had to do. We just couldn't finish at the offensive end. We missed some crucial shots at crucial times."
Wawasee shot only 10 of 45 from the field for the entire game, but managed to stay in the game through its defense and outscoring the Tigers 19-7 at the free throw line and 12-0 from beyond the three-point line.
The game was very physical and called close by the officials, and foul trouble caused a lot of problems for both teams. Wawasee's big force inside, 6-foot junior Lydia Carpenter, was saddled with three fouls early in the second quarter and was never a factor with just three points and three rebounds.
Warsaw had foul troubles of its own with second-leading scorer Sherri Ross picking up two quick fouls in the first quarter and sitting on the bench a majority of the game. She ended up with zero points, one rebound and one assist. Also, 6-2 sophomore center Katie Elliott, who blocked eight shots against Benton Central on Thursday, picked up two quick fouls in the fourth quarter and eventually fouled out.
With key players sitting on the bench, Warsaw got contributions from Emily Niemier (7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists), Holli Murphy (3 points, 2 assists) and Sarah Calhoun (5 rebounds).
"We got taken out of a lot of our offense because we had people in foul trouble," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said. "All of the sudden, we have a different five in different positions.
"That is the nice thing about this team," he said. "We have a lot of people who do good things. Sherri was on the bench in foul trouble and never got on track. We have a lot of weapons. We are just now starting to see them."
Sherri Ross and Elliott fouled out for Warsaw, while Wawasee lost Carpenter to fouls. Warsaw was whistled for 24 personals, and Wawasee 21.
"Anytime you get into a very aggressive game and both teams wanting it very bad, that (fouling) is going to happen," Aalbregtse said. "We knew it was going to be physical. They are a very physical team. We had to counter that. We played that way, and that is the way the game was called. Both teams had a lot of fouls."
Warsaw's biggest weapon of all was Tiffany Ross, who took advantage of Carpenter's presence on the Wawasee bench by collecting a career-high 25 points and nine rebounds. It marks only the second time all season that a Tiger player has scored at least 20 points, both of them being Ross.
Warsaw opened up the game and jumped out to the lead behind 10 first-quarter points from Ross and led 18-11. Ross added seven more points in the second quarter as Warsaw kept the margin throughout the frame and led by six, 27-21, at the break.
The Warriors turned things around the third quarter by limiting the Tigers, especially Tiffany Ross, on the offensive end with a stubborn 2-3 zone. Warsaw made only 2 of 9 shots in the third and committed six turnovers. More importantly for the Warriors, Ross was held scoreless.
Wawasee's cat-like guards, Aubrey Coy and Carly Beer, brought Wawasee back on the offensive end combing for nine points as the Warriors tied the score at 31 at the end of the third period.
"We got off to a slow start," Aalbregtse said. "On the offensive end, we weren't handling the ball very well. But our kids stayed with it.
"They are very strong inside, and we just had to focus on trying to not allow them to just come down and dump it in," he said. "We really tried to take that away."
Beer almost single-handedly kept the Warriors in the game. Despite shooting only 4 of 16 from the field, Beer hit on 10 of 10 from the charity stripe and led Wawasee with 21 points.
"Wawasee was 12-2, and they knew that if they lost you are out of the conference race basically," Wienhorst said. "They gave it all they had."
Wawasee (12-3) fell to 3-2 in the NLC and is at Plymouth Tuesday.
Warsaw will now try to move into a position of winning the NLC Tuesday against NorthWood (14-0, 5-0 NLC) at the Tiger Den. If the Tigers, who lost in double overtime to NorthWood last year, would beat the Panthers they would have at least a share of the NLC title and could win it outright with a win against Goshen on Thursday.
NorthWood and Warsaw shared the NLC title last year. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - It wasn't that Warsaw got hot at the right time. It was more like lukewarm.
Both teams went through stretches in this game where things weren't falling, but in the fourth, Warsaw put enough together to produce a big Northern Lakes Conference win over Wawasee, 47-43, Saturday.
The win puts the Tigers (11-5) at 4-0 in the NLC and sets up a big showdown Tuesday with No. 12 NorthWood for the conference title.
After trailing by six at halftime, the Warriors stepped it up on defense and eventually tied the score at 31 entering the fourth quarter. Baskets by Tiffany Ross and Sam Wideman gave the Tigers the lead 35-31 to begin the quarter, but Warsaw spent the rest of the frame struggling to put the Warriors away, hitting on only 4 of 10 free throws.
But the Warriors spent the fourth just struggling. Wawasee made only 2 of 15 shots, including 0 of 6 from inside the three-point arc.
Warsaw did manage to extend the lead to 47-40 before a three-pointer by Kari Wortinger cut the lead to 47-43 with 20 seconds left. Ross missed two free throws with :14 on the clock, but Wawasee couldn't get any shots to fall in the final seconds.
"We came out in the second half and really got after it," Wawasee coach Randy Aalbregtse said. "For the most part, we had good opportunities, but they just didn't fall. We played good defense in the second half and did what we had to do. We just couldn't finish at the offensive end. We missed some crucial shots at crucial times."
Wawasee shot only 10 of 45 from the field for the entire game, but managed to stay in the game through its defense and outscoring the Tigers 19-7 at the free throw line and 12-0 from beyond the three-point line.
The game was very physical and called close by the officials, and foul trouble caused a lot of problems for both teams. Wawasee's big force inside, 6-foot junior Lydia Carpenter, was saddled with three fouls early in the second quarter and was never a factor with just three points and three rebounds.
Warsaw had foul troubles of its own with second-leading scorer Sherri Ross picking up two quick fouls in the first quarter and sitting on the bench a majority of the game. She ended up with zero points, one rebound and one assist. Also, 6-2 sophomore center Katie Elliott, who blocked eight shots against Benton Central on Thursday, picked up two quick fouls in the fourth quarter and eventually fouled out.
With key players sitting on the bench, Warsaw got contributions from Emily Niemier (7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists), Holli Murphy (3 points, 2 assists) and Sarah Calhoun (5 rebounds).
"We got taken out of a lot of our offense because we had people in foul trouble," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said. "All of the sudden, we have a different five in different positions.
"That is the nice thing about this team," he said. "We have a lot of people who do good things. Sherri was on the bench in foul trouble and never got on track. We have a lot of weapons. We are just now starting to see them."
Sherri Ross and Elliott fouled out for Warsaw, while Wawasee lost Carpenter to fouls. Warsaw was whistled for 24 personals, and Wawasee 21.
"Anytime you get into a very aggressive game and both teams wanting it very bad, that (fouling) is going to happen," Aalbregtse said. "We knew it was going to be physical. They are a very physical team. We had to counter that. We played that way, and that is the way the game was called. Both teams had a lot of fouls."
Warsaw's biggest weapon of all was Tiffany Ross, who took advantage of Carpenter's presence on the Wawasee bench by collecting a career-high 25 points and nine rebounds. It marks only the second time all season that a Tiger player has scored at least 20 points, both of them being Ross.
Warsaw opened up the game and jumped out to the lead behind 10 first-quarter points from Ross and led 18-11. Ross added seven more points in the second quarter as Warsaw kept the margin throughout the frame and led by six, 27-21, at the break.
The Warriors turned things around the third quarter by limiting the Tigers, especially Tiffany Ross, on the offensive end with a stubborn 2-3 zone. Warsaw made only 2 of 9 shots in the third and committed six turnovers. More importantly for the Warriors, Ross was held scoreless.
Wawasee's cat-like guards, Aubrey Coy and Carly Beer, brought Wawasee back on the offensive end combing for nine points as the Warriors tied the score at 31 at the end of the third period.
"We got off to a slow start," Aalbregtse said. "On the offensive end, we weren't handling the ball very well. But our kids stayed with it.
"They are very strong inside, and we just had to focus on trying to not allow them to just come down and dump it in," he said. "We really tried to take that away."
Beer almost single-handedly kept the Warriors in the game. Despite shooting only 4 of 16 from the field, Beer hit on 10 of 10 from the charity stripe and led Wawasee with 21 points.
"Wawasee was 12-2, and they knew that if they lost you are out of the conference race basically," Wienhorst said. "They gave it all they had."
Wawasee (12-3) fell to 3-2 in the NLC and is at Plymouth Tuesday.
Warsaw will now try to move into a position of winning the NLC Tuesday against NorthWood (14-0, 5-0 NLC) at the Tiger Den. If the Tigers, who lost in double overtime to NorthWood last year, would beat the Panthers they would have at least a share of the NLC title and could win it outright with a win against Goshen on Thursday.
NorthWood and Warsaw shared the NLC title last year. [[In-content Ad]]