Lady Tigers Down Elk. Central To Advance To Title Game
February 8, 2020 at 5:00 a.m.
Lady Tigers Down Elk. Central To Advance To Title Game
By Anthony Anderson-
The Tigers (16-7), with their 12th victory in their last 14 games, earned a spot opposite No. 6-ranked Penn (24-2) in Saturday’s 6 p.m. championship.
The Kingsmen, 49-19 winners over Goshen in Friday’s second semi, downed host Warsaw 41-28 in late November.
In its rematch with Central — the Tigers had escaped 63-61 in double overtime 10 days earlier — Warsaw pulled away in the fourth quarter this time after leading just 31-28 late in the third.
“It’s probably one of the first times I’ve seen us start to understand how to play at the end of a game with a lead,” Tiger coach Lenny Krebs said. “We (usually) think we have to be trying to score with every kind of shot or we’re playing keep-away and too passive. We finally got to where we were still looking for some things, but didn’t force a shot. When you get to that bonus or double bonus with a lead, it becomes ‘either you’re going to give me a layup or you’re going to foul me,’ and we did a nice job with that.”
Junior Kensie Ryman hit 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter and 10-of-11 in the game on her way to a team-high 13 points for Warsaw, which outscored the Blazers 13-7 in the final period.
Senior Brielle Harrison added 10 points and nine rebounds for the winners;, sophomore Abby Sanner eight points, nine boards and four blocked shots; and sophomore Kacilyn Krebs nine points, her damage coming on 3-of-6 shooting outside the arc.
“That’s something we have to have,” Lenny Krebs said of his team’s point distribution. “We’ve had some games where we’ve had kids in the high teens and 20s, but didn’t have much after that, and in order to advance through the tournament, you either have to have the stud who can put up about 35 every game or some nice balance, and we don’t have anybody who’s going to put 35 on the board. We’re striving for that balance. Our goal was to find the mismatch, wherever it was, and I thought we did a nice job finding that.”
At the other end of the floor, Central (15-8) got 13 points from freshman Makaya Porter and 11 from senior Yiesha Williams, but the two season-long standouts finished just a combined 10-of-28 from the field.
They went into the game averaging a combined 40.1 points (20.9 by Porter and 19.2 by Williams), and they had equally split a combined 48 in that regular-season matchup against the Tigers.
“They packed it in on us,” Blazer coach Will Coatie said of the 1-2-2 look the Tigers employed much of the evening Friday to help track Porter and Williams. “We didn’t get our touches like we wanted in the middle and in the short corner, because they packed it in so much, which means we had to make outside shots, and we didn’t make too many. That was a great game plan by Lenny.”
“Looking back at film (from the regular-season meeting),” Krebs said, “we felt like they caught the ball in the high post way too often, so our goal was to eliminate those high-post catches.”
Warsaw led 9-4 by late in the first quarter, before Central rallied for an 11-10 lead at the end of period.
Ryman, who had hit a game-winning shot from barely inside mid-court in the first meeting, was this time fouled on a 3-point try from about 25 feet at the end of the first half.
She sank all three free throws for a 25-20 Tiger lead at the break.
The Blazers tallied the first five points of a low-scoring third quarter to knot the game, before Sanner put Warsaw ahead for good at 27-25 with an inside bucket at 2:45 to go in the period.
The Tigers then steadily pulled away in the fourth period.
While Porter and Williams were slowed on offense for Central, they still came up with a combined nine steals — six by Porter — to help keep their team close much of the night.
“That’s a tribute to 35 and 11,” Krebs said of focusing his defensive plan on Porter and Williams, and of the two still causing chaos in other manners. “By golly, I’m thanking the good Lord that No. 35’s graduating, and I’m praying to the good Lord for ways to figure out how to guard No. 11.”
WARSAW 46, ELKHART CENTRAL 35
W 10 15 8 13 — 46
EC 11 9 8 7 – 35
WARSAW – Abby Sanner 3-6 2-6 8, Brielle Harrison 3-7 4-6 10 Kacilyn Krebs 3-7 0-0 9, Kaylee Patton 0-3 0-0 0, Kensie Ryman 1-6 10-11 13, Kendall Wayne 0-1 1-2 1, Audrey Grimm 2-2 1-1 5, Lauren Grose 0-0 0-0 0, Bailie Stephens 0-0 0-0 0, Marin Hart 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Hatfield 0-0 0-0 0, Zoe Bergan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-32 (.375) 18-26 (.692) 46.
CENTRAL – Yiesha Williams 4-13 3-6 11, Abbey Miller 1-4 0-0 3, Michaela Whittaker 1-6 0-0 2, Makaya Porter 6-15 1-4 13, Julee Miller 2-4 0-0 6, Daneen Swanson 0-3 0-0 0, Alexa Hurt 0-0 0-0 0, Brina Baer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-45 (.311) 4-10 (.400) 35.
3-point goals: Warsaw (4-12) — Krebs 3-6, Ryman 1-6; Central (3-15) — J. Iller 2-3, A. Miller 1-4. Rebounds: Warsaw (33) — Sanner 9, Harrison 9, Patton 7. Central (26) — Williams 9, Porter 5, J. Miller 5. Assists: Warsaw (8) — Patton 3; Central (7) — A. Miller 3, J. Miller 3. Steals: Warsaw (3); Central (10) — Porter 6, Williams 3. Total fouls: Warsaw 8, Central 19. Fouled out — Whitaker (1:16, 4Q). Turnovers: Warsaw 17, Central 12.
Records: Warsaw 16-7, Central 15-8.
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The Tigers (16-7), with their 12th victory in their last 14 games, earned a spot opposite No. 6-ranked Penn (24-2) in Saturday’s 6 p.m. championship.
The Kingsmen, 49-19 winners over Goshen in Friday’s second semi, downed host Warsaw 41-28 in late November.
In its rematch with Central — the Tigers had escaped 63-61 in double overtime 10 days earlier — Warsaw pulled away in the fourth quarter this time after leading just 31-28 late in the third.
“It’s probably one of the first times I’ve seen us start to understand how to play at the end of a game with a lead,” Tiger coach Lenny Krebs said. “We (usually) think we have to be trying to score with every kind of shot or we’re playing keep-away and too passive. We finally got to where we were still looking for some things, but didn’t force a shot. When you get to that bonus or double bonus with a lead, it becomes ‘either you’re going to give me a layup or you’re going to foul me,’ and we did a nice job with that.”
Junior Kensie Ryman hit 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter and 10-of-11 in the game on her way to a team-high 13 points for Warsaw, which outscored the Blazers 13-7 in the final period.
Senior Brielle Harrison added 10 points and nine rebounds for the winners;, sophomore Abby Sanner eight points, nine boards and four blocked shots; and sophomore Kacilyn Krebs nine points, her damage coming on 3-of-6 shooting outside the arc.
“That’s something we have to have,” Lenny Krebs said of his team’s point distribution. “We’ve had some games where we’ve had kids in the high teens and 20s, but didn’t have much after that, and in order to advance through the tournament, you either have to have the stud who can put up about 35 every game or some nice balance, and we don’t have anybody who’s going to put 35 on the board. We’re striving for that balance. Our goal was to find the mismatch, wherever it was, and I thought we did a nice job finding that.”
At the other end of the floor, Central (15-8) got 13 points from freshman Makaya Porter and 11 from senior Yiesha Williams, but the two season-long standouts finished just a combined 10-of-28 from the field.
They went into the game averaging a combined 40.1 points (20.9 by Porter and 19.2 by Williams), and they had equally split a combined 48 in that regular-season matchup against the Tigers.
“They packed it in on us,” Blazer coach Will Coatie said of the 1-2-2 look the Tigers employed much of the evening Friday to help track Porter and Williams. “We didn’t get our touches like we wanted in the middle and in the short corner, because they packed it in so much, which means we had to make outside shots, and we didn’t make too many. That was a great game plan by Lenny.”
“Looking back at film (from the regular-season meeting),” Krebs said, “we felt like they caught the ball in the high post way too often, so our goal was to eliminate those high-post catches.”
Warsaw led 9-4 by late in the first quarter, before Central rallied for an 11-10 lead at the end of period.
Ryman, who had hit a game-winning shot from barely inside mid-court in the first meeting, was this time fouled on a 3-point try from about 25 feet at the end of the first half.
She sank all three free throws for a 25-20 Tiger lead at the break.
The Blazers tallied the first five points of a low-scoring third quarter to knot the game, before Sanner put Warsaw ahead for good at 27-25 with an inside bucket at 2:45 to go in the period.
The Tigers then steadily pulled away in the fourth period.
While Porter and Williams were slowed on offense for Central, they still came up with a combined nine steals — six by Porter — to help keep their team close much of the night.
“That’s a tribute to 35 and 11,” Krebs said of focusing his defensive plan on Porter and Williams, and of the two still causing chaos in other manners. “By golly, I’m thanking the good Lord that No. 35’s graduating, and I’m praying to the good Lord for ways to figure out how to guard No. 11.”
WARSAW 46, ELKHART CENTRAL 35
W 10 15 8 13 — 46
EC 11 9 8 7 – 35
WARSAW – Abby Sanner 3-6 2-6 8, Brielle Harrison 3-7 4-6 10 Kacilyn Krebs 3-7 0-0 9, Kaylee Patton 0-3 0-0 0, Kensie Ryman 1-6 10-11 13, Kendall Wayne 0-1 1-2 1, Audrey Grimm 2-2 1-1 5, Lauren Grose 0-0 0-0 0, Bailie Stephens 0-0 0-0 0, Marin Hart 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Hatfield 0-0 0-0 0, Zoe Bergan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-32 (.375) 18-26 (.692) 46.
CENTRAL – Yiesha Williams 4-13 3-6 11, Abbey Miller 1-4 0-0 3, Michaela Whittaker 1-6 0-0 2, Makaya Porter 6-15 1-4 13, Julee Miller 2-4 0-0 6, Daneen Swanson 0-3 0-0 0, Alexa Hurt 0-0 0-0 0, Brina Baer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-45 (.311) 4-10 (.400) 35.
3-point goals: Warsaw (4-12) — Krebs 3-6, Ryman 1-6; Central (3-15) — J. Iller 2-3, A. Miller 1-4. Rebounds: Warsaw (33) — Sanner 9, Harrison 9, Patton 7. Central (26) — Williams 9, Porter 5, J. Miller 5. Assists: Warsaw (8) — Patton 3; Central (7) — A. Miller 3, J. Miller 3. Steals: Warsaw (3); Central (10) — Porter 6, Williams 3. Total fouls: Warsaw 8, Central 19. Fouled out — Whitaker (1:16, 4Q). Turnovers: Warsaw 17, Central 12.
Records: Warsaw 16-7, Central 15-8.
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