Wawasee Girls In Control Of NLC
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Well, they still have some bullets left.[[In-content Ad]]Defeating Class 4A's, 10th-ranked Chargers 49-45 at home, the Class 3A, fifth-ranked Warriors are now the only undefeated girls basketball team in the Northern Lakes Conference, as they improved to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
"The conference has gone through this game the last three years," Wawasee coach Kem Zolman said. "All we have to do now, is take care of business. We have not won this conference in any way, shape or form. It's definitely a step in the right direction, and a good opportunity."
The win did not grant Wawasee the NLC crown, but a win over Plymouth this Saturday would almost assure the Warriors of their second conference title in three years. Following the Plymouth game, Wawasee's remaining NLC schedule includes Concord (6-7) and Northridge (6-9).
On the flip side, having already defeated Plymouth the previous week, Memorial could have almost started etching its name on a conference plaque for a second-straight year with a win. Instead, they sit at 3-1 in the conference, and can only hope for a Wawasee loss, resulting in what could be a three-way tie for the title with Plymouth.
"I felt like we were not excited," Memorial coach Larry Fielstra said. "You're playing for the conference championship, and I'm not seeing a lot of talking out there, a lot of leadership or a lot of 'Hey, let's get this thing done.'
Utilizing their smothering defense, the Warriors slowed a potent Memorial offense down in the first half, but still trailed 19-12 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Warriors gradually chipped away until senior Brennan McAdams scored six-straight points for her team, bringing Wawasee to within 22-21 late in the first half.
Memorial sustained its lead through the half, but weren't feeling as well as they could have with two seven-point leads slipping away.
"Instead of getting up by seven, then extending it to 12 or 13, we let them back in it," Fielstra said. "They're a good enough ball club, that if you let them hang around, they'll do bad stuff to you."
And McAdams did that bad stuff.
Following two free throws by senior Taylor Goshert, Wawasee crept to within 29-27 at the 6:34 mark in the third quarter, before McAdams sank a three-pointer to grab the lead for Wawasee at 30-29 with 5:17 left in the third.
McAdams followed her trey with another bucket 28 seconds later, before Memorial senior Jada Buggs scored, cutting the Wawasee lead to 32-31.
Still having the hot hand, McAdams hit another three-pointer at the 2:21 mark, scoring her team's eighth-straight point, and giving Wawasee a 35-31 advantage, one which would swell to nine points in the fourth quarter.
"Credit her teammates, because they found her," Zolman said about McAdams' two-minute scoring outburst that changed the game. "This team understands who's hot. If it was someone else, they would have found her.
On top of going 5-for-7 from the field on her way to 14 points, McAdams also led the Warriors defensive attack, posting seven of the team's 11 steals.
The Warriors were led in scoring by Goshert, who iced the game in the fourth quarter, going 7-for-8 from the free-throw line on her way to a game-high 20 points.
Memorial was led by freshman point guard Brionna Barnett's 17 points, but Division-I prospects Buggs and sophomore Akyah Taylor struggled, scoring eight and seven points, respectively.
The game left both teams with a 13-2 record, and Zolman credits the lessons learned in the previous 14 games as steps to winning the 15th.
"It's a good win based on things we've learned from the past," he said. "If we don't learn from the games we had during Christmas when we had four games in five days (going 2-2 at the Hall of Fame Classic and Norwell Shootout), then this game doesn't happen for us. What's gratifying for me is to see the kids learn, and then apply it in a game like this."
Lessons learned from this game will now have to be applied to Saturday's road game at Plymouth, where the junior varsity gets things started at 6:15 p.m.
WAWASEE 49, ELKHART MEMORIAL 45
EM 13 13 5 14 - 45
W 9 14 14 12 - 49
Memorial - Culbreath 3 1-2 7, Barnett 7 0-0 17, Ruff 2 0-0 4, Taylor 3 1-2 7, Buggs 3 2-2 8, Dues 1 0-0 2, Burleson 0 0-0 0, Cave 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 4-6 45.
Wawasee - A. Ort 3 4-6 10, K. Ort 1 1-2 5, McAdams 5 1-1 14, Goshert 5 9-10 20, Tait 0 0-0 0, Woodard 1 0-0 2, Wiggs 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 15-19 49.
3-point goals - Memorial 3-8 (Barnett 3), Wawasee 4-10 (McAdams 3, Goshert). Team Fouls - Memorial 17, Wawasee 11. Turnovers - Memorial 20, Wawasee 15. Rebounds - Memorial 28 (Taylor 8, Buggs 8), Wawasee 22 (A. Ort 5, K. Ort 4). Assists - Memorial 9 (Buggs 3), Wawasee 6 (A. Ort 3). Steals - Memorial 4, Wawasee 11 (McAdams 7), Blocks - Memorial 0, Wawasee 1. Records: Memorial 13-2 (3-1 NLC), Wawasee 13-2 (4-0 NLC)
JV - Wawasee 48, Memorial 32
Wawasee JV Record: 13-0
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Well, they still have some bullets left.[[In-content Ad]]Defeating Class 4A's, 10th-ranked Chargers 49-45 at home, the Class 3A, fifth-ranked Warriors are now the only undefeated girls basketball team in the Northern Lakes Conference, as they improved to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
"The conference has gone through this game the last three years," Wawasee coach Kem Zolman said. "All we have to do now, is take care of business. We have not won this conference in any way, shape or form. It's definitely a step in the right direction, and a good opportunity."
The win did not grant Wawasee the NLC crown, but a win over Plymouth this Saturday would almost assure the Warriors of their second conference title in three years. Following the Plymouth game, Wawasee's remaining NLC schedule includes Concord (6-7) and Northridge (6-9).
On the flip side, having already defeated Plymouth the previous week, Memorial could have almost started etching its name on a conference plaque for a second-straight year with a win. Instead, they sit at 3-1 in the conference, and can only hope for a Wawasee loss, resulting in what could be a three-way tie for the title with Plymouth.
"I felt like we were not excited," Memorial coach Larry Fielstra said. "You're playing for the conference championship, and I'm not seeing a lot of talking out there, a lot of leadership or a lot of 'Hey, let's get this thing done.'
Utilizing their smothering defense, the Warriors slowed a potent Memorial offense down in the first half, but still trailed 19-12 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Warriors gradually chipped away until senior Brennan McAdams scored six-straight points for her team, bringing Wawasee to within 22-21 late in the first half.
Memorial sustained its lead through the half, but weren't feeling as well as they could have with two seven-point leads slipping away.
"Instead of getting up by seven, then extending it to 12 or 13, we let them back in it," Fielstra said. "They're a good enough ball club, that if you let them hang around, they'll do bad stuff to you."
And McAdams did that bad stuff.
Following two free throws by senior Taylor Goshert, Wawasee crept to within 29-27 at the 6:34 mark in the third quarter, before McAdams sank a three-pointer to grab the lead for Wawasee at 30-29 with 5:17 left in the third.
McAdams followed her trey with another bucket 28 seconds later, before Memorial senior Jada Buggs scored, cutting the Wawasee lead to 32-31.
Still having the hot hand, McAdams hit another three-pointer at the 2:21 mark, scoring her team's eighth-straight point, and giving Wawasee a 35-31 advantage, one which would swell to nine points in the fourth quarter.
"Credit her teammates, because they found her," Zolman said about McAdams' two-minute scoring outburst that changed the game. "This team understands who's hot. If it was someone else, they would have found her.
On top of going 5-for-7 from the field on her way to 14 points, McAdams also led the Warriors defensive attack, posting seven of the team's 11 steals.
The Warriors were led in scoring by Goshert, who iced the game in the fourth quarter, going 7-for-8 from the free-throw line on her way to a game-high 20 points.
Memorial was led by freshman point guard Brionna Barnett's 17 points, but Division-I prospects Buggs and sophomore Akyah Taylor struggled, scoring eight and seven points, respectively.
The game left both teams with a 13-2 record, and Zolman credits the lessons learned in the previous 14 games as steps to winning the 15th.
"It's a good win based on things we've learned from the past," he said. "If we don't learn from the games we had during Christmas when we had four games in five days (going 2-2 at the Hall of Fame Classic and Norwell Shootout), then this game doesn't happen for us. What's gratifying for me is to see the kids learn, and then apply it in a game like this."
Lessons learned from this game will now have to be applied to Saturday's road game at Plymouth, where the junior varsity gets things started at 6:15 p.m.
WAWASEE 49, ELKHART MEMORIAL 45
EM 13 13 5 14 - 45
W 9 14 14 12 - 49
Memorial - Culbreath 3 1-2 7, Barnett 7 0-0 17, Ruff 2 0-0 4, Taylor 3 1-2 7, Buggs 3 2-2 8, Dues 1 0-0 2, Burleson 0 0-0 0, Cave 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 4-6 45.
Wawasee - A. Ort 3 4-6 10, K. Ort 1 1-2 5, McAdams 5 1-1 14, Goshert 5 9-10 20, Tait 0 0-0 0, Woodard 1 0-0 2, Wiggs 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 15-19 49.
3-point goals - Memorial 3-8 (Barnett 3), Wawasee 4-10 (McAdams 3, Goshert). Team Fouls - Memorial 17, Wawasee 11. Turnovers - Memorial 20, Wawasee 15. Rebounds - Memorial 28 (Taylor 8, Buggs 8), Wawasee 22 (A. Ort 5, K. Ort 4). Assists - Memorial 9 (Buggs 3), Wawasee 6 (A. Ort 3). Steals - Memorial 4, Wawasee 11 (McAdams 7), Blocks - Memorial 0, Wawasee 1. Records: Memorial 13-2 (3-1 NLC), Wawasee 13-2 (4-0 NLC)
JV - Wawasee 48, Memorial 32
Wawasee JV Record: 13-0
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