Lady Tigers Use Defensive Gem To Beat Northridge 36-28
January 9, 2022 at 10:01 p.m.
Lady Tigers Use Defensive Gem To Beat Northridge 36-28
By Anthony Anderson-
Just about every combination that Krebs mentioned was one that paid out at some point, while the crisp offense of Bailee Stephens was cash-worthy as well.
The senior guard tallied 14 points — making her the lone double-digit scorer on either side — and dished a couple assists as the Tigers captured the showdown between the last two NLC unbeatens.
“Her shiftiness,” Krebs said of what enabled Stephens to stand out. “I think she changes directions well against people. We got her going downhill, and she got us going early with some drives to the basket that made them change how they were playing. She always does so much for us, handles the basketball, guards key players from other teams.”
Warsaw (12-5, 4-0) blanked recently hot Northridge 8-0 in the first quarter, with the visitors committing seven turnovers and going 0-of-4 from the field.
The Raiders (15-4, 3-1) got to within 12-7 by halftime, but the Tigers stretched the spread to 25-11 entering the final period.
Then they closed like a realtor after Northridge rallied to within 27-25 at 2:08 to go.
Stephens responded to that narrow lead 20 seconds later with a driving basket and free throw conversion for a 30-25 count that started an 8-0 game-deciding run.
Krebs’ assortment of defenses appeared to put Northridge off balance much of the way.
Besides man-to-man, he mentioned using 1-2-2 and 2-1-2, flashed some effective 1-3-1 early, and even went so far as to concede he was sort of using a 2-3, although “I’m not a 2-3 guy. That’s a curse word in my mind.”
“I thought we were well-prepared for what they were going to do, both in man (and zone),” Krebs said. “We had a week to prepare defensively, and we were able to throw some new wrinkles into what we wanted to do. … I’m just proud of the kids. It’s a big win for us.”
The Raiders entered having won seven straight games and 13 of their last 14. They had scored at least 40 points in each of those games, the lone loss 45-41 against Fairfield (14-2).
Warsaw, though, solved its traditionally powerful rival for the fourth straight time over the last three seasons, and this one was eerily similar to last winter’s Class 4A Goshen Sectional encounter, including the score being exactly the same.
“The ball didn’t go in and that’s tribute to their defense and how they played,” Raider coach Doug Springer said of the latest meeting. “That’s two NLC heavyweights going at it, and they took round one. Hopefully, there’s more rounds for us.”
Indeed the sides could meet in the Penn Sectional that starts in just over three weeks.
First, though, Warsaw has a chance to run the NLC table for the first time in 18 years, as well win a second straight league crown for the first time in 18.
Remaining conference games are at home against Mishawaka (2-1) on Wednesday, at Goshen (2-2) next Saturday and home to Concord (1-4) on Jan. 22.
“This is a group of kids that I don’t feel like they’re going to be content with this win,” Krebs said. “It’s a group that’s always looking forward to the next game. They know what they accomplished tonight, but they know the job’s not finished.”
Abby Sanner contributed seven points and six rebounds to the victory, fellow senior Kacilyn Krebs six points, and sophomore Ava Egolf five points and a game-high seven boards. Each also made two steals.
For Northridge, senior Julia Mantyla scored nine points and sophomore Morgan Cross eight.
The Raiders finished just 9-of-30 from the field, albeit with five 3-pointers, and committed 18 turnovers. The Tigers hit 11-of-25 with one trey and had 16 turnovers. Warsaw made 13-of-23 from the line to Northridge’s 5-of-6.
The Raiders (15-1, 4-0) won the junior varsity contest 34-31. Freshman Mia Jones paced the JV Tigers (12-5, 3-1) with eight points.
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Just about every combination that Krebs mentioned was one that paid out at some point, while the crisp offense of Bailee Stephens was cash-worthy as well.
The senior guard tallied 14 points — making her the lone double-digit scorer on either side — and dished a couple assists as the Tigers captured the showdown between the last two NLC unbeatens.
“Her shiftiness,” Krebs said of what enabled Stephens to stand out. “I think she changes directions well against people. We got her going downhill, and she got us going early with some drives to the basket that made them change how they were playing. She always does so much for us, handles the basketball, guards key players from other teams.”
Warsaw (12-5, 4-0) blanked recently hot Northridge 8-0 in the first quarter, with the visitors committing seven turnovers and going 0-of-4 from the field.
The Raiders (15-4, 3-1) got to within 12-7 by halftime, but the Tigers stretched the spread to 25-11 entering the final period.
Then they closed like a realtor after Northridge rallied to within 27-25 at 2:08 to go.
Stephens responded to that narrow lead 20 seconds later with a driving basket and free throw conversion for a 30-25 count that started an 8-0 game-deciding run.
Krebs’ assortment of defenses appeared to put Northridge off balance much of the way.
Besides man-to-man, he mentioned using 1-2-2 and 2-1-2, flashed some effective 1-3-1 early, and even went so far as to concede he was sort of using a 2-3, although “I’m not a 2-3 guy. That’s a curse word in my mind.”
“I thought we were well-prepared for what they were going to do, both in man (and zone),” Krebs said. “We had a week to prepare defensively, and we were able to throw some new wrinkles into what we wanted to do. … I’m just proud of the kids. It’s a big win for us.”
The Raiders entered having won seven straight games and 13 of their last 14. They had scored at least 40 points in each of those games, the lone loss 45-41 against Fairfield (14-2).
Warsaw, though, solved its traditionally powerful rival for the fourth straight time over the last three seasons, and this one was eerily similar to last winter’s Class 4A Goshen Sectional encounter, including the score being exactly the same.
“The ball didn’t go in and that’s tribute to their defense and how they played,” Raider coach Doug Springer said of the latest meeting. “That’s two NLC heavyweights going at it, and they took round one. Hopefully, there’s more rounds for us.”
Indeed the sides could meet in the Penn Sectional that starts in just over three weeks.
First, though, Warsaw has a chance to run the NLC table for the first time in 18 years, as well win a second straight league crown for the first time in 18.
Remaining conference games are at home against Mishawaka (2-1) on Wednesday, at Goshen (2-2) next Saturday and home to Concord (1-4) on Jan. 22.
“This is a group of kids that I don’t feel like they’re going to be content with this win,” Krebs said. “It’s a group that’s always looking forward to the next game. They know what they accomplished tonight, but they know the job’s not finished.”
Abby Sanner contributed seven points and six rebounds to the victory, fellow senior Kacilyn Krebs six points, and sophomore Ava Egolf five points and a game-high seven boards. Each also made two steals.
For Northridge, senior Julia Mantyla scored nine points and sophomore Morgan Cross eight.
The Raiders finished just 9-of-30 from the field, albeit with five 3-pointers, and committed 18 turnovers. The Tigers hit 11-of-25 with one trey and had 16 turnovers. Warsaw made 13-of-23 from the line to Northridge’s 5-of-6.
The Raiders (15-1, 4-0) won the junior varsity contest 34-31. Freshman Mia Jones paced the JV Tigers (12-5, 3-1) with eight points.
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