Wawasee Girls Top Tippecanoe Valley
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Facing a fellow Sectional 21 team, the Wawasee Lady Warriors (12-5) picked up their third win in seven games, defeating the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings (4-13) by a count of 41-29.[[In-content Ad]]After starting the season with a 9-1 record, the Lady Warriors have stumbled since a Dec. 30 loss to Class 3A No. 3 Norwell. However, of their five losses, none have come against schlubs, having been beaten by Norwell, Class 1A No. 3 Fort Wayne Canterbury, Columbia City, Class 4A No. 2 Elkhart Memorial and Plymouth.
Wawasee's next two games are against sub-.500 Concord and Bremen, before closing the regular season out against 14-2 Northridge on Feb. 4. So over the next three games, Zolman is hoping to buff out the rough spots on his team.
"I don't think we're great defensively," he said. "We just don't recognize things. We're just young enough that we don't understand what we're doing in this matchup yet. That's just a constant thing we need to work on."
The defensive matchup Wawasee saw against Valley was a box-and-one, leaving four girls to play zone, while the other chased sophomore KiLee Knafel, who entered the contest averaging 18.5 points per game.
The defense worked against the Lady Warriors' leading scorer, as she hit just one field goal and scored seven of her nine points from the free-throw line.
"They were playing a box-and-one (defense) on her, and that hasn't happened before," Zolman said. "So, every time she got an open shot, she was pressing it. We looked a little choppy because of some of the junk defenses that were going on out there, which is perfectly fine. We need to see that. Our kids need to know what to do when that happens."
While Knafel was struggling, senior Jonna Wiggs stepped up by hitting back-to-back three-pointers inside the last two minutes of the second quarter, giving Wawaee breathing room at 20-14 at the half.
"That was kind of a back-breaker for us," Valley coach Chris Kindig said. "If you watched the game, you could tell we were focused on Knafel and making sure she wasn't going to hurt us. Wiggs stepped up in the second quarter and hit some threes, scoring 11 points in the first half. That was a big factor for them."
Wiggs finished the game with 14 points, but the back-to-back three-pointers were the biggest plays of the game, as Valley just fell farther and farther behind.
"We missed some layups early, some shots two feet from the basket," Kindig said. "Those come back to haunt you."
Like Knafel for Wawasee, Valley's leading scorer, junior Staci Groom, also had her struggles, hitting just three of 15 shots for eight points after entering the game averaging nearly 20 points.
Filling the scoring column out for Valley was junior Tory Keirn, who went 9 of 10 from the free-throw line en route to a game-high 15 points.
"She's been coming along," Kindig said of Keirn. "Just getting a little bit better all the time, understanding what we're asking from her. Hopefully she keeps taking strides like everyone else."
Both teams are back in action Saturday, as Wawasee hosts Concord and Valley hosts Manchester.
WAWASEE 41, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 29
V 7 7 6 9 - 29
W 12 8 9 12 - 41
Wawasee - Kalyn McDaniel 3-14 0-0 7, Amy Walker 2-8 0-0 4, KiLee Knafel 1-8 7-8 9, Kiley Cooper 3-4 0-0 6, Jonna Wiggs 5-12 1-2 14, Alexis Blunk 0-0 0-0 0, Kiley Norris 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Grindle 0-0 0-0 0, Kealah Alexander 0-0 1-2 1, Kasey Napier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-46 9-12 41.
Valley - Staci Groom 3-15 0-1 8, Taylor Gast 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Bibler 0-1 2-4 2, Brooke O'Connor 0-1 0-0 0, Tory Keirn 3-9 9-10 15, Danielle Bussard 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Newsome 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Madrigal 2-2 0-0 4, Connor Fraser 0-1 0-0 0, Kelsey Ball 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 8-32 11-15 29.
Three-point goals - Wawasee 4-21 (Wiggs 3, McDaniel), Valley 2-12 (Groom 2); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Wawasee 11 (Cooper), Valley 15; Turnovers - Wawasee 12, Valley 15; Rebounds - Wawasee 34 (Wiggs 9), Valley 24 (Bibler 7); Assists - Wawasee 12 (McDaniel 4), Valley 6 (Groom 3); Steals - Wawasee 10 (Knafel 5), Valley 9 (Groom 3); Blocks - Wawasee 2, Valley 2; Records - Wawasee 12-5, Valley 4-13
JV - Valley 37, Wawasee 25
Wawasee - Blunk 2, Grindle 5, Brittin Boatwright 6, Courtney Crabtree 4, Alex Fox 2, Napier 4, Kylie Fleming 2
Valley - Madrigal 11, Cara Hoffman 3, Kristen Mallott 4, Alexis Swihart 2, Ball 4, Fraser 5, Bussard 6, Amanda Simpson 2
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Facing a fellow Sectional 21 team, the Wawasee Lady Warriors (12-5) picked up their third win in seven games, defeating the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings (4-13) by a count of 41-29.[[In-content Ad]]After starting the season with a 9-1 record, the Lady Warriors have stumbled since a Dec. 30 loss to Class 3A No. 3 Norwell. However, of their five losses, none have come against schlubs, having been beaten by Norwell, Class 1A No. 3 Fort Wayne Canterbury, Columbia City, Class 4A No. 2 Elkhart Memorial and Plymouth.
Wawasee's next two games are against sub-.500 Concord and Bremen, before closing the regular season out against 14-2 Northridge on Feb. 4. So over the next three games, Zolman is hoping to buff out the rough spots on his team.
"I don't think we're great defensively," he said. "We just don't recognize things. We're just young enough that we don't understand what we're doing in this matchup yet. That's just a constant thing we need to work on."
The defensive matchup Wawasee saw against Valley was a box-and-one, leaving four girls to play zone, while the other chased sophomore KiLee Knafel, who entered the contest averaging 18.5 points per game.
The defense worked against the Lady Warriors' leading scorer, as she hit just one field goal and scored seven of her nine points from the free-throw line.
"They were playing a box-and-one (defense) on her, and that hasn't happened before," Zolman said. "So, every time she got an open shot, she was pressing it. We looked a little choppy because of some of the junk defenses that were going on out there, which is perfectly fine. We need to see that. Our kids need to know what to do when that happens."
While Knafel was struggling, senior Jonna Wiggs stepped up by hitting back-to-back three-pointers inside the last two minutes of the second quarter, giving Wawaee breathing room at 20-14 at the half.
"That was kind of a back-breaker for us," Valley coach Chris Kindig said. "If you watched the game, you could tell we were focused on Knafel and making sure she wasn't going to hurt us. Wiggs stepped up in the second quarter and hit some threes, scoring 11 points in the first half. That was a big factor for them."
Wiggs finished the game with 14 points, but the back-to-back three-pointers were the biggest plays of the game, as Valley just fell farther and farther behind.
"We missed some layups early, some shots two feet from the basket," Kindig said. "Those come back to haunt you."
Like Knafel for Wawasee, Valley's leading scorer, junior Staci Groom, also had her struggles, hitting just three of 15 shots for eight points after entering the game averaging nearly 20 points.
Filling the scoring column out for Valley was junior Tory Keirn, who went 9 of 10 from the free-throw line en route to a game-high 15 points.
"She's been coming along," Kindig said of Keirn. "Just getting a little bit better all the time, understanding what we're asking from her. Hopefully she keeps taking strides like everyone else."
Both teams are back in action Saturday, as Wawasee hosts Concord and Valley hosts Manchester.
WAWASEE 41, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 29
V 7 7 6 9 - 29
W 12 8 9 12 - 41
Wawasee - Kalyn McDaniel 3-14 0-0 7, Amy Walker 2-8 0-0 4, KiLee Knafel 1-8 7-8 9, Kiley Cooper 3-4 0-0 6, Jonna Wiggs 5-12 1-2 14, Alexis Blunk 0-0 0-0 0, Kiley Norris 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Grindle 0-0 0-0 0, Kealah Alexander 0-0 1-2 1, Kasey Napier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-46 9-12 41.
Valley - Staci Groom 3-15 0-1 8, Taylor Gast 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Bibler 0-1 2-4 2, Brooke O'Connor 0-1 0-0 0, Tory Keirn 3-9 9-10 15, Danielle Bussard 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Newsome 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Madrigal 2-2 0-0 4, Connor Fraser 0-1 0-0 0, Kelsey Ball 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 8-32 11-15 29.
Three-point goals - Wawasee 4-21 (Wiggs 3, McDaniel), Valley 2-12 (Groom 2); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Wawasee 11 (Cooper), Valley 15; Turnovers - Wawasee 12, Valley 15; Rebounds - Wawasee 34 (Wiggs 9), Valley 24 (Bibler 7); Assists - Wawasee 12 (McDaniel 4), Valley 6 (Groom 3); Steals - Wawasee 10 (Knafel 5), Valley 9 (Groom 3); Blocks - Wawasee 2, Valley 2; Records - Wawasee 12-5, Valley 4-13
JV - Valley 37, Wawasee 25
Wawasee - Blunk 2, Grindle 5, Brittin Boatwright 6, Courtney Crabtree 4, Alex Fox 2, Napier 4, Kylie Fleming 2
Valley - Madrigal 11, Cara Hoffman 3, Kristen Mallott 4, Alexis Swihart 2, Ball 4, Fraser 5, Bussard 6, Amanda Simpson 2
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