Lady Tigers 53-44 Opening Win: A Tale of Two Clinics

November 7, 2021 at 8:58 p.m.
Lady Tigers 53-44 Opening Win: A Tale of Two Clinics
Lady Tigers 53-44 Opening Win: A Tale of Two Clinics

By Chip Davenport-

The Warsaw Tigers girls’ basketball team’s 53-44 win over the Norwell Knights was a tale of two clinics Saturday night in the Tiger Den.

The two teams conducted a three-point shooting clinic in the second quarter, landing a combined nine three-point buckets in the period: Norwell five, and Warsaw four. Kacilyn Krebs nailed three treys on her way to scoring a game- and career-high 17 points for the Tigers.

“I’m proud of Kacilyn,” Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs said. “Usually when she hits one, we know two or three are right behind it.”

Krebs’s freshman teammate, 6’0” Brooke Winchester, added a three in the period.

The Tigers followed up the clinic beyond the arc with a free-throw clinic in the fourth quarter, a run of twelve straight hits at the charity stripe for the victors.

Warsaw senior forward Abby Sanner hit four straight freebies, and freshman guard Abbey Peterson added four free throws of her own during the stretch. Krebs, and junior Zoe Bergan added two apiece.

Warsaw trailed Norwell 38-37 with just under six minutes remaining in the contest when Krebs added a mid-range jumper followed by senior guard Bailey Stephens’s layup from a crisp pass from the newcomer, Peterson, who saw her teammate open backside.

The Tigers had their largest lead of the evening since their opening basket, 40-37 with 5:32 left in the game. Peterson had already settled in comfortably, picking up meaningful minutes in first-half action.

“I’m proud of Abbey,” Krebs remarked. “She got thrown in the fire. To go against a team like Norwell as a freshman in your first varsity game, to do what she did, says a lot about the fight, grit, and the heart she has. She made a lot of adjustments throughout the course of the game.”

Sanner added two free throws and an inside bucket to punctuate an 8-0 run to increase the lead to 44-37, and Warsaw scored its final nine points on free throws. The hosts finished their clinic with a 14-16 (87.5%) showing for the evening.

“We shoot an awful lot of free throws in practice,” Krebs said. “I feel it’s an important part of our game, and you obviously saw that today. We had a multitude of kids hitting free throws. That’s a big confidence boost for us.”

Norwell, a solid Class 3A program, employed a 1-3-1 zone keeping Sanner out of the lane most of the first period, and making each Tiger work for her basket on their way to a 12-9 opening frame lead.

It rained threes in the Tiger Den in the second quarter, with the Knights’ spreading their barrage of treys among Makenzie Fuess (two baskets), Mackinzie Tolliver, Emily Todd, and Annabelle Johnson. The foursome helped maintain the Knights’ 29-25 halftime lead.

Coach Krebs exclaimed to his Warsaw defenders halfway into the third quarter, “Watch the corner! Watch the corner!”

It’s exactly what they did.

There wasn’t a Tiger defender within fifteen feet of Fuess, whose fifth basket beyond the arc pushed Norwell’s lead to 32-27.

Warsaw made the necessary adjustments thereafter to hold Norwell to twelve points in the ensuing twelve minutes. Fuess only scored one more point for the remainder of the game, leading her team with 16 tallies.

The rest of the Knights’ scoring included Kennedy Fuelling (eight pts.), Todd, Johnson, and Skyla Tomasek (five pts. each), Tolliver (three pts.), and Haley Green (two pts.)

“We talked at halftime how we were giving up too many uncontested shots,” Krebs continued. “Norwell was penetrating for the sole purpose of kicking the shooters. We made the adjustment of not helping the penetrator, to stay out and (stop) the shooters.”

Sanner (16 pts.), Stephens (nine pts.), Bergan and Peterson (four pts. each), and freshman Brooke Winchester (3 pts.).

Norwell’s JV squad snatched a 38-37 victory successfully converting a hoop and harm in the contest’s final 7.7 seconds.

Warsaw (1-0) will host the Manchester Squires Wednesday at 6 p.m.



The Warsaw Tigers girls’ basketball team’s 53-44 win over the Norwell Knights was a tale of two clinics Saturday night in the Tiger Den.

The two teams conducted a three-point shooting clinic in the second quarter, landing a combined nine three-point buckets in the period: Norwell five, and Warsaw four. Kacilyn Krebs nailed three treys on her way to scoring a game- and career-high 17 points for the Tigers.

“I’m proud of Kacilyn,” Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs said. “Usually when she hits one, we know two or three are right behind it.”

Krebs’s freshman teammate, 6’0” Brooke Winchester, added a three in the period.

The Tigers followed up the clinic beyond the arc with a free-throw clinic in the fourth quarter, a run of twelve straight hits at the charity stripe for the victors.

Warsaw senior forward Abby Sanner hit four straight freebies, and freshman guard Abbey Peterson added four free throws of her own during the stretch. Krebs, and junior Zoe Bergan added two apiece.

Warsaw trailed Norwell 38-37 with just under six minutes remaining in the contest when Krebs added a mid-range jumper followed by senior guard Bailey Stephens’s layup from a crisp pass from the newcomer, Peterson, who saw her teammate open backside.

The Tigers had their largest lead of the evening since their opening basket, 40-37 with 5:32 left in the game. Peterson had already settled in comfortably, picking up meaningful minutes in first-half action.

“I’m proud of Abbey,” Krebs remarked. “She got thrown in the fire. To go against a team like Norwell as a freshman in your first varsity game, to do what she did, says a lot about the fight, grit, and the heart she has. She made a lot of adjustments throughout the course of the game.”

Sanner added two free throws and an inside bucket to punctuate an 8-0 run to increase the lead to 44-37, and Warsaw scored its final nine points on free throws. The hosts finished their clinic with a 14-16 (87.5%) showing for the evening.

“We shoot an awful lot of free throws in practice,” Krebs said. “I feel it’s an important part of our game, and you obviously saw that today. We had a multitude of kids hitting free throws. That’s a big confidence boost for us.”

Norwell, a solid Class 3A program, employed a 1-3-1 zone keeping Sanner out of the lane most of the first period, and making each Tiger work for her basket on their way to a 12-9 opening frame lead.

It rained threes in the Tiger Den in the second quarter, with the Knights’ spreading their barrage of treys among Makenzie Fuess (two baskets), Mackinzie Tolliver, Emily Todd, and Annabelle Johnson. The foursome helped maintain the Knights’ 29-25 halftime lead.

Coach Krebs exclaimed to his Warsaw defenders halfway into the third quarter, “Watch the corner! Watch the corner!”

It’s exactly what they did.

There wasn’t a Tiger defender within fifteen feet of Fuess, whose fifth basket beyond the arc pushed Norwell’s lead to 32-27.

Warsaw made the necessary adjustments thereafter to hold Norwell to twelve points in the ensuing twelve minutes. Fuess only scored one more point for the remainder of the game, leading her team with 16 tallies.

The rest of the Knights’ scoring included Kennedy Fuelling (eight pts.), Todd, Johnson, and Skyla Tomasek (five pts. each), Tolliver (three pts.), and Haley Green (two pts.)

“We talked at halftime how we were giving up too many uncontested shots,” Krebs continued. “Norwell was penetrating for the sole purpose of kicking the shooters. We made the adjustment of not helping the penetrator, to stay out and (stop) the shooters.”

Sanner (16 pts.), Stephens (nine pts.), Bergan and Peterson (four pts. each), and freshman Brooke Winchester (3 pts.).

Norwell’s JV squad snatched a 38-37 victory successfully converting a hoop and harm in the contest’s final 7.7 seconds.

Warsaw (1-0) will host the Manchester Squires Wednesday at 6 p.m.



Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092

e-Edition


e-edition

Sign up


for our email newsletters

Weekly Top Stories

Sign up to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday

Daily Updates & Breaking News Alerts

Sign up to get our daily updates and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox daily

Latest Stories


Kosciusko County
2025 Meetings

Town of Claypool
Additional Appropriations

KCCRVC
2025 Meetings

Solid Waste
2025 Meetinigs

Kosciusko County
Additional Appropriations