Hosting IHSAA 4A Sectional 4 at the Tiger Den on Friday night, the Warsaw girls basketball team began their playoff campaign against Elkhart in the semifinals after drawing a bye. Things didn’t exactly start out the way the hosts wanted, but they were able to right the ship and get it going en route to a 67-36 victory.
Things were tight to start out, with Warsaw holding onto a narrow 4-3 lead after three minutes of action. The Lady Tigers were implementing a suffocating press on defense that led to the Lady Lions using a ton of clock on each possession as they tried to create offense. On the other side, the host school was generating a large chunk of its offense from inside the paint.
Despite holding onto a lead, Warsaw was far below their regular scoring pace, managing just six points through the first five minutes of play. Elkhart was playing a physical brand of basketball that the Lady Tigers hadn’t figured out how to much just yet.
“We knew that Elkhart was going to give us a fight in the beginning,” head coach Lenny Krebs said. “They were forcing us to play their brand of basketball and they were playing it well,”
The longer that things stayed close, the louder the Lady Lion bench became. They were building confidence and playing with it as Warsaw attempted to get back to their strengths. With a minute to go in the first quarter, Elkhart jumped back in front.
A big and-one by Brooke Winchester put the senior on the board and gave the lead back to the Lady Tigers, albeit temporarily. The Lady Lions added one final bucket in the waning seconds of the opening period to take a 10-9 lead into the second.
Four quick points for Joslyn Bricker to begin the following quarter put Warsaw back in business. A transition three by Brooke Zartman a possession later extended their lead to six as the host school started to look like itself once more.
“We just kept telling the girls to stay the course and put together a full 32 minutes,” Krebs said. “I’m really proud of how they responded to what was a pretty rough start.”
Zartman put in another big shot after a timeout called by Elkhart, hitting a three and absorbing the contact for a chance at a four-point play. She converted at the line and extended the Lady Tiger lead to double digits at 10 with four and a half minutes to go until halftime. A hush went over the crowd a minute later when Zartman appeared to hurt her knee attempting a chasedown block, but she was able to get up and walk off on her own. She’d remain in the game.
Warsaw was able to take its defense to another level during the second quarter, forcing turnovers on plenty of possessions as well as forcing Elkhart to take some tough shots around the perimeter on others. After scoring 10 in the first eight minutes of the game, the Lady Lions were only able to manage two over the next six.

    Warsaw senior Brooke Zartman breaks away from the Elkhart defense for a layuup during the first quarter...Nieter

After a tough start to the contest, the Lady Tigers were fully rolling as the halftime buzzer neared. A three by Abbey Peterson in the final minute put the hosts up by 15, while Elkhart was able to split a pair at the free throw line for the last point of the half. After 16 minutes of action, Warsaw led 30-16.
“We were able to extend our 1-3-1 zone on them and it forced them to react quicker and it got them out of their element,” Krebs said. “That pressure we were able to start putting on them was a big difference.”
The hosts continued to add on to their lead as the third quarter got going, with a pair of shots from deep by Peterson and Winchester allowed the team to extend its advantage past the 20-point mark. The triples didn’t stop there, as Peterson hit her third from behind the perimeter a possession later to make an 11-0 run to start the second half.
Bricker and Zartman each added triples around the midway point of the quarter to each reach double figures, joining Winchester. Warsaw kept pouring it on, and soon, their lead had reached 30 points. The slow start was a thing of the past. After trailing by one heading into the second, Warsaw had outscored Elkhart 43-14 at the 1:30 mark of the third.
Braylie Chastain found herself in the right place at the right time throughout the third quarter, coming away with a ton of open looks inside thanks to some pretty passes by her teammates as well as some tough work on the offensive glass. The senior would become the fourth Lady Tiger to reach double digits scoring with 10 as the hosts went up 58-28 going into the fourth.
“Braylie does a great job of putting herself in position to get open and make those shots. They lost her a couple of times and she made them pay for it,” Krebs said. “Any time we can get that production from her, we’ll take it.”
Having a quiet game by her standards, Alexis Neely buried a triple in the opening minutes of the fourth for her first points of the night. The three also extended the Warsaw lead to 35, resulting in a running clock the rest of the way. It also resulted in the night being done for the Lady Tiger starters, as bench players took the floor to finish out the contest.
Winchester had 16 points and nine rebounds. Bricker finished with 15, while Zartman had 12 and two steals. Chastain scored 10 to round out the top four.
Warsaw (22-1) will take on Northridge Saturday night in the championship game. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
“The kids have waited a year for this opportunity. We have the chance to do something really special on our home court in front of our fans,” Krebs said. “They’re going to give us everything they’ve got and they’re going to come into this game confident. We’re going to have to be well prepared and play a full 32 minutes.”