Lady Warriors Fall To Memorial
January 16, 2017 at 5:36 p.m.
By Steve Krah-
The Lady Warriors went into the afternoon contest against Northern Lakes Conference foe Elkhart Memorial with seven of their nine losses being by less than 10 points, including a one-point setback and a pair of two-pointers.
After trailing by nine early in the fourth quarter and by eight with 3:20 to play, Wawasee (7-10, 2-2) cut the gap to 47-45 before ending up on the bottom end of a 52-45 decision.
The Crimson Chargers improved to 11-7 overall and 4-1 in the NLC. The Chargers are 8-2 in their last 10 contests, dating back to mid-December.
First-year Wawasee coach Matt Carpenter praised his team for its tenacity and communication against a multi-pronged Memorial attack.
“They are a tough match-up defensively,” Carpenter said. “They’ll go ‘four-out’ against the zone, spread you out and shoot the three and we have trouble rebounding sometimes against the zone. We kept the ball out of the paint relatively well. We didn’t get out to contest some of those threes as quickly as I would like.”
While Memorial was 16 of 33 from the floor, the Warriors were 14 of 37.
“We did not make some shots that we normally make,” Carpenter said. “If we do that, it’s a different ballgame.”
Carpenter said he is hopeful the lessons learned now will pay for the final five games of the regular season and into the postseason.
“It’s all about the process,” Carpenter said. “We’re trying to grow and improve. We’re in every ballgame. If we can just execute and get a few more (defensive) stops, we’re really close right now.
“I hate to talk about the moral victory type of thing, so that’s not the speech. The speech is: are we doing the right things and putting ourselves in position?”
Senior Aubrey Schmeltz scored a team-high 11 points against Memorial, including four in the first quarter and five in the third. The 6-foot-1 player scored baskets from the low post and away from the bucket on the baseline. Her team-best five rebounds also helped the hosts to double up the Chargers 28-14 on the boards.
“Aubrey Schmeltz is a nice player both inside and outside,” Carpenter said. “Playing with her back to the basket is a new thing for her this year. I wanted her to be able to utilize her size. She’s been up for the challenge. It hasn’t always been easy. She’s starting to make a lot better reads and she’s starting to do it quicker.
“It just takes time to develop that (low-post) skill set.”
Wawasee also got 10 points from junior Kabrea Rostochak, eight from junior Hannah-Marie Lamle and seven from senior Hannah Haines.
The Chargers’ balanced scoring attack featured Kambria Dale (15 points), Sierra Peete (11), Cydney Lapczynski (11), Skylar Axsom (9) and Ay’zyana Billings Tiller (6).
Both teams are scheduled to play again Tuesday, with Wawasee hosting Whitko and Memorial hosting Concord.
ELKHART MEMORIAL 52, WAWASEE 45
EM 9 13 12 18 – 52
W 7 12 9 17 – 45
Memorial – Kambria Dale 4-9 5-6 15, Skylar Axsom 4-5 1-2 9, Ay’zyana Billings-Tiller 2-3 1-2 6, Sierra Peete 2-8 7-10 11, Cydney Lapczynski 4-7 0-1 11, McKenna Curry 0-1 0-0 0. Team: 16-33 14-21 52.
Wawasee – Aubrey Schmeltz 4-9 3-6 11, Aubrey Kuhn 1-5 2-2 5, Hannah Haines 1-7 4-4 7, Hannah-Marie Lamle 3-6 2-2 8, Kabrea Rostochak 3-5 3-3 10, Casey Schroeder 1-3 0-0 2, Seaquinn Bright 1-2 0-0 2. Team: 14-37 14-17 45.
Three-pointers – Memorial 6 (Lapczynski 3, Dale 2, Billings-Tiller 1), Wawasee 3 (Rostochak, Kuhn, Haines); Rebounds – Memorial 14 (Dale 6), Wawasee 28 (Schmeltz 5, Kuhn 4, Bright 4); Turnovers – Memorial 12, Wawasee 20; Fouls – Memorial 15, Wawasee 18; Fouled out – Kuhn; Records: Memorial 11-7 (4-1 NLC), Wawasee 7-10 (2-2 NLC);
JV – Wawasee 35, Memorial 32
Wawasee – Morgan Adkins 10, Caitlin Wortinger 9, Sara Pritchard 6, McKenzie Smith 6
The Lady Warriors went into the afternoon contest against Northern Lakes Conference foe Elkhart Memorial with seven of their nine losses being by less than 10 points, including a one-point setback and a pair of two-pointers.
After trailing by nine early in the fourth quarter and by eight with 3:20 to play, Wawasee (7-10, 2-2) cut the gap to 47-45 before ending up on the bottom end of a 52-45 decision.
The Crimson Chargers improved to 11-7 overall and 4-1 in the NLC. The Chargers are 8-2 in their last 10 contests, dating back to mid-December.
First-year Wawasee coach Matt Carpenter praised his team for its tenacity and communication against a multi-pronged Memorial attack.
“They are a tough match-up defensively,” Carpenter said. “They’ll go ‘four-out’ against the zone, spread you out and shoot the three and we have trouble rebounding sometimes against the zone. We kept the ball out of the paint relatively well. We didn’t get out to contest some of those threes as quickly as I would like.”
While Memorial was 16 of 33 from the floor, the Warriors were 14 of 37.
“We did not make some shots that we normally make,” Carpenter said. “If we do that, it’s a different ballgame.”
Carpenter said he is hopeful the lessons learned now will pay for the final five games of the regular season and into the postseason.
“It’s all about the process,” Carpenter said. “We’re trying to grow and improve. We’re in every ballgame. If we can just execute and get a few more (defensive) stops, we’re really close right now.
“I hate to talk about the moral victory type of thing, so that’s not the speech. The speech is: are we doing the right things and putting ourselves in position?”
Senior Aubrey Schmeltz scored a team-high 11 points against Memorial, including four in the first quarter and five in the third. The 6-foot-1 player scored baskets from the low post and away from the bucket on the baseline. Her team-best five rebounds also helped the hosts to double up the Chargers 28-14 on the boards.
“Aubrey Schmeltz is a nice player both inside and outside,” Carpenter said. “Playing with her back to the basket is a new thing for her this year. I wanted her to be able to utilize her size. She’s been up for the challenge. It hasn’t always been easy. She’s starting to make a lot better reads and she’s starting to do it quicker.
“It just takes time to develop that (low-post) skill set.”
Wawasee also got 10 points from junior Kabrea Rostochak, eight from junior Hannah-Marie Lamle and seven from senior Hannah Haines.
The Chargers’ balanced scoring attack featured Kambria Dale (15 points), Sierra Peete (11), Cydney Lapczynski (11), Skylar Axsom (9) and Ay’zyana Billings Tiller (6).
Both teams are scheduled to play again Tuesday, with Wawasee hosting Whitko and Memorial hosting Concord.
ELKHART MEMORIAL 52, WAWASEE 45
EM 9 13 12 18 – 52
W 7 12 9 17 – 45
Memorial – Kambria Dale 4-9 5-6 15, Skylar Axsom 4-5 1-2 9, Ay’zyana Billings-Tiller 2-3 1-2 6, Sierra Peete 2-8 7-10 11, Cydney Lapczynski 4-7 0-1 11, McKenna Curry 0-1 0-0 0. Team: 16-33 14-21 52.
Wawasee – Aubrey Schmeltz 4-9 3-6 11, Aubrey Kuhn 1-5 2-2 5, Hannah Haines 1-7 4-4 7, Hannah-Marie Lamle 3-6 2-2 8, Kabrea Rostochak 3-5 3-3 10, Casey Schroeder 1-3 0-0 2, Seaquinn Bright 1-2 0-0 2. Team: 14-37 14-17 45.
Three-pointers – Memorial 6 (Lapczynski 3, Dale 2, Billings-Tiller 1), Wawasee 3 (Rostochak, Kuhn, Haines); Rebounds – Memorial 14 (Dale 6), Wawasee 28 (Schmeltz 5, Kuhn 4, Bright 4); Turnovers – Memorial 12, Wawasee 20; Fouls – Memorial 15, Wawasee 18; Fouled out – Kuhn; Records: Memorial 11-7 (4-1 NLC), Wawasee 7-10 (2-2 NLC);
JV – Wawasee 35, Memorial 32
Wawasee – Morgan Adkins 10, Caitlin Wortinger 9, Sara Pritchard 6, McKenzie Smith 6
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