Warsaw Beats Washington, Captures First Regional Title In 12 Years
February 15, 2025 at 9:00 p.m.
No stranger to playing against fellow top five teams in the state, the No. 5 Warsaw girls basketball team took on its biggest test yet at LaPorte High School on Saturday evening. Facing off against No. 4 South Bend Washington, the Lady Tigers had their hands full for all 32 minutes, but were able to hold onto a lead they had nearly the entire game. For the first time in 12 years, Warsaw took home a regional championship with a 53-43 win.
“Like last week, it won’t sink in until we’re practicing on Monday,” Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs said. “Obviously it’s very rewarding right now to stand here watching these young ladies who have gone through so much together. I’m excited to be able to continue to watch them play.”
The first bucket of the game for the Lady Tigers was a monumental one, as Brooke Winchester hit a three from the corner to reach 1,000 points for her career. The bucket ended a 4-0 start for Washington, who began the game with a ton of energy.
Outside of the make by Winchester, Warsaw struggled to get anything going offensively early on. The defense of the Lady Panthers was suffocating, creating a series of turnovers that kept the Lady Tigers from getting any shots up at all. Luckily for Warsaw, Washington was having a hard time getting into a rhythm as well, keeping things close.
A second bucket from Winchester gave the visitors on the scoreboard their first lead of the night. Those would be the last points to go on the board for quite some time, as the offensive drought continued for both teams. The Lady Tigers caught a break late in the first as Washington’s star player Kira Reynolds picked up her second offensive foul of the night and was relegated to the bench.
Warsaw added the final two points of the first quarter in the final seconds on a midrange jumper by Bricker, which gave the visitors a 7-4 lead after eight minutes of action. Bricker had the tough task of playing as the team’s primary ball handler while being guarded by Washington’s Ryiah Wilson, one of the best defenders in the state.
“The coaches put a lot of trust in me, as did my teammates, and I didn’t want to let them down,” Bricker said. “She’s tough to work against, it was messy at times but we got the win and that’s all that matters.”
With Reynolds still on the bench to begin the second, the Lady Tigers were able to get a little something going in the paint, with Winchester and Bricker each getting a shot to go down low. This extended the team’s run to 11-0 and forced a timeout for Washington.
After the break, Reynolds returned to the court and made her impact felt immediately, scoring three quick points. This led to Krebs burning a timeout of his own as the Warsaw lead had been shrunk down to four.
The offense started flowing in the middle portion of the second, as Alexis Neely and Abbey Peterson were able to hit a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions with a triple for the Lady Panthers sandwiched in between. Peterson added a second triple moments later to temporarily extend the Warsaw lead to double digits at 20-10.
A third offensive foul on Reynolds put her back on the bench with two minutes left in the half, giving the visitors a big opportunity to find some separation before the break. The Lady Tigers had a couple of chances to bury Washington here, but the Lady Panthers did well defensively to keep them from doing so. At the half, Warsaw led 23-14.
Winchester drew all three offensive fouls on Reynolds in the first half.
Teammates eagerly await Warsaw senior Brooke Winchester to finish her interview to share the Regional trophy with her...Nieter“I knew coming in that she was going to have the size advantage on me but I was not going to let her go off tonight and let my teammates down,” she said. “I knew I was going to have to box out and keep her off of the glass and it wasn’t just me that did that, it was a total team effort.”
“Winchester just has a knack at being in the right place at the right time to take charges,” Krebs said. “Offensively, [Reynolds being out] allowed us to do more things.”
The third quarter of the game could have gone one of two ways. Washington began the second half on fire, scoring five straight points in the first 80 seconds to tighten things up significantly. A midrange jumper by Bricker finally ended the run following a timeout and kept Warsaw up by six.
The Lady Tigers continued to weather the storm, seeing the Lady Panthers cut their lead back down to four before getting it back up to eight on a putback layup by Winchester. But Washington kept the pressure on, consistently getting back into striking distance.
“We knew going into the game that they’re a great team, they can light up the scoreboard,” Winchester said. “We had to stay resilient. If they were going to go on runs we had to go on runs too.”
With a little over two minutes to go in the third, a huge momentum shift went in favor of the Lady Tigers, as Brooke Zartman hit her first triple of the night, which was followed promptly by a three by Winchester to get the lead back up to 10.
Zartman, a player who does not need much space at all to let one fly, stayed ready for her moment despite a faceguard that kept her out of the game offensively for a majority of the contest.
“If we’re scoring, I don’t need to be pushing for the ball as much, I can let my teammates go to work and they will take advantage of their defenders,” the junior said. “They switched to more of a zone in the second half which allowed me to get the space I needed for some good looks.”
A key offensive rebound by Joslyn Bricker led to a hoop plus the harm with a minute left in the quarter, which extended the Lady Tiger lead to 13, its largest of the night thus far. A blown assignment on the next trip down the floor gave Bricker a wide open look that made it a 15-point game. Washington added one final basket at the end of the third, but Warsaw still held onto a 42-29 lead just eight minutes away from a semi-state appearance.
Senior Abbey Peterson of Warsaw spins to the basket around Kira Reynolds of Washington during the fourth quarter...NieterFour quick Lady Panther points made it a single-digit affair just moments into the fourth, leading to another timeout call by Krebs. Winchester’s third triple of the night helped right the ship after the break, extending the advantage back up to 12 with six minutes left. A couple of big steals for Washington allowed them to get back within eight with five minutes left, making way for an exciting finish.
A highlight reel triple for Zartman brought the lead back up to eleven with just four minutes left. With time becoming more and more of a factor by the second, the Lady Tigers began taking their time offensively, draining the clock and milking each possession. Things were not over yet though, as another Washington spurt brought the home side within seven with 2:22 left. This was due to the fact that on a couple of occasions, Warsaw was a little too trigger happy shooting the ball in situations in which more time could have come off of the clock.
“We will work on our end of game situations, we had a nice lead at the end and were still taking some quick shots,” Krebs said. “We need to continue to get better in those situations and at what we do.”
The Lady Tiger defense came up with a pair of key stops, leaving the difference at seven with just 90 seconds left. Now forced to foul, the game would be decided at the charity stripe. Bricker was able to sink a huge pair to extend the lead back up to nine with 1:23 remaining.
It remained that way as time continued to tick down. With less than a minute to go in the game and Winchester at the line up nine, the crowd began to sense it. With the Warsaw faithful giving them a standing ovation, the Lady Tigers were able to close things out and take home the regional title.
Bricker and Winchester both had double-doubles for Warsaw in the victory, with Bricker scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, while Winchester put together 16 and 10. Zartman scored eight points in support.
Warsaw (24-1) will play in the Semi-State round next weekend. Their opponent will be revealed in the IHSAA Pairings Show on Sunday afternoon. The three other teams in the pool are No. 1 Hamilton Southeastern (26-0), No. 17 McCutcheon (24-3) and Valparaiso (19-7).
“There’s still a lot more basketball left to be played. The fact that we’re one of the last eight teams standing in the state is an honor,” Krebs said. “We’ll enjoy this win tonight and then turn our focus back to being one of the final four and then final two.”
“We know what we’re capable of doing, and that’s a state championship,” Zartman said. “There’s still some work to do, so head down, keep pushing, and we’re excited to keep this going.”
No stranger to playing against fellow top five teams in the state, the No. 5 Warsaw girls basketball team took on its biggest test yet at LaPorte High School on Saturday evening. Facing off against No. 4 South Bend Washington, the Lady Tigers had their hands full for all 32 minutes, but were able to hold onto a lead they had nearly the entire game. For the first time in 12 years, Warsaw took home a regional championship with a 53-43 win.
“Like last week, it won’t sink in until we’re practicing on Monday,” Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs said. “Obviously it’s very rewarding right now to stand here watching these young ladies who have gone through so much together. I’m excited to be able to continue to watch them play.”
The first bucket of the game for the Lady Tigers was a monumental one, as Brooke Winchester hit a three from the corner to reach 1,000 points for her career. The bucket ended a 4-0 start for Washington, who began the game with a ton of energy.
Outside of the make by Winchester, Warsaw struggled to get anything going offensively early on. The defense of the Lady Panthers was suffocating, creating a series of turnovers that kept the Lady Tigers from getting any shots up at all. Luckily for Warsaw, Washington was having a hard time getting into a rhythm as well, keeping things close.
A second bucket from Winchester gave the visitors on the scoreboard their first lead of the night. Those would be the last points to go on the board for quite some time, as the offensive drought continued for both teams. The Lady Tigers caught a break late in the first as Washington’s star player Kira Reynolds picked up her second offensive foul of the night and was relegated to the bench.
Warsaw added the final two points of the first quarter in the final seconds on a midrange jumper by Bricker, which gave the visitors a 7-4 lead after eight minutes of action. Bricker had the tough task of playing as the team’s primary ball handler while being guarded by Washington’s Ryiah Wilson, one of the best defenders in the state.
“The coaches put a lot of trust in me, as did my teammates, and I didn’t want to let them down,” Bricker said. “She’s tough to work against, it was messy at times but we got the win and that’s all that matters.”
With Reynolds still on the bench to begin the second, the Lady Tigers were able to get a little something going in the paint, with Winchester and Bricker each getting a shot to go down low. This extended the team’s run to 11-0 and forced a timeout for Washington.
After the break, Reynolds returned to the court and made her impact felt immediately, scoring three quick points. This led to Krebs burning a timeout of his own as the Warsaw lead had been shrunk down to four.
The offense started flowing in the middle portion of the second, as Alexis Neely and Abbey Peterson were able to hit a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions with a triple for the Lady Panthers sandwiched in between. Peterson added a second triple moments later to temporarily extend the Warsaw lead to double digits at 20-10.
A third offensive foul on Reynolds put her back on the bench with two minutes left in the half, giving the visitors a big opportunity to find some separation before the break. The Lady Tigers had a couple of chances to bury Washington here, but the Lady Panthers did well defensively to keep them from doing so. At the half, Warsaw led 23-14.
Winchester drew all three offensive fouls on Reynolds in the first half.
Teammates eagerly await Warsaw senior Brooke Winchester to finish her interview to share the Regional trophy with her...Nieter“I knew coming in that she was going to have the size advantage on me but I was not going to let her go off tonight and let my teammates down,” she said. “I knew I was going to have to box out and keep her off of the glass and it wasn’t just me that did that, it was a total team effort.”
“Winchester just has a knack at being in the right place at the right time to take charges,” Krebs said. “Offensively, [Reynolds being out] allowed us to do more things.”
The third quarter of the game could have gone one of two ways. Washington began the second half on fire, scoring five straight points in the first 80 seconds to tighten things up significantly. A midrange jumper by Bricker finally ended the run following a timeout and kept Warsaw up by six.
The Lady Tigers continued to weather the storm, seeing the Lady Panthers cut their lead back down to four before getting it back up to eight on a putback layup by Winchester. But Washington kept the pressure on, consistently getting back into striking distance.
“We knew going into the game that they’re a great team, they can light up the scoreboard,” Winchester said. “We had to stay resilient. If they were going to go on runs we had to go on runs too.”
With a little over two minutes to go in the third, a huge momentum shift went in favor of the Lady Tigers, as Brooke Zartman hit her first triple of the night, which was followed promptly by a three by Winchester to get the lead back up to 10.
Zartman, a player who does not need much space at all to let one fly, stayed ready for her moment despite a faceguard that kept her out of the game offensively for a majority of the contest.
“If we’re scoring, I don’t need to be pushing for the ball as much, I can let my teammates go to work and they will take advantage of their defenders,” the junior said. “They switched to more of a zone in the second half which allowed me to get the space I needed for some good looks.”
A key offensive rebound by Joslyn Bricker led to a hoop plus the harm with a minute left in the quarter, which extended the Lady Tiger lead to 13, its largest of the night thus far. A blown assignment on the next trip down the floor gave Bricker a wide open look that made it a 15-point game. Washington added one final basket at the end of the third, but Warsaw still held onto a 42-29 lead just eight minutes away from a semi-state appearance.
Senior Abbey Peterson of Warsaw spins to the basket around Kira Reynolds of Washington during the fourth quarter...NieterFour quick Lady Panther points made it a single-digit affair just moments into the fourth, leading to another timeout call by Krebs. Winchester’s third triple of the night helped right the ship after the break, extending the advantage back up to 12 with six minutes left. A couple of big steals for Washington allowed them to get back within eight with five minutes left, making way for an exciting finish.
A highlight reel triple for Zartman brought the lead back up to eleven with just four minutes left. With time becoming more and more of a factor by the second, the Lady Tigers began taking their time offensively, draining the clock and milking each possession. Things were not over yet though, as another Washington spurt brought the home side within seven with 2:22 left. This was due to the fact that on a couple of occasions, Warsaw was a little too trigger happy shooting the ball in situations in which more time could have come off of the clock.
“We will work on our end of game situations, we had a nice lead at the end and were still taking some quick shots,” Krebs said. “We need to continue to get better in those situations and at what we do.”
The Lady Tiger defense came up with a pair of key stops, leaving the difference at seven with just 90 seconds left. Now forced to foul, the game would be decided at the charity stripe. Bricker was able to sink a huge pair to extend the lead back up to nine with 1:23 remaining.
It remained that way as time continued to tick down. With less than a minute to go in the game and Winchester at the line up nine, the crowd began to sense it. With the Warsaw faithful giving them a standing ovation, the Lady Tigers were able to close things out and take home the regional title.
Bricker and Winchester both had double-doubles for Warsaw in the victory, with Bricker scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, while Winchester put together 16 and 10. Zartman scored eight points in support.
Warsaw (24-1) will play in the Semi-State round next weekend. Their opponent will be revealed in the IHSAA Pairings Show on Sunday afternoon. The three other teams in the pool are No. 1 Hamilton Southeastern (26-0), No. 17 McCutcheon (24-3) and Valparaiso (19-7).
“There’s still a lot more basketball left to be played. The fact that we’re one of the last eight teams standing in the state is an honor,” Krebs said. “We’ll enjoy this win tonight and then turn our focus back to being one of the final four and then final two.”
“We know what we’re capable of doing, and that’s a state championship,” Zartman said. “There’s still some work to do, so head down, keep pushing, and we’re excited to keep this going.”