Undefeated No More: Warsaw Defeats HSE To Clinch State Finals Berth
February 22, 2025 at 9:55 p.m.
The only thing standing in the way of the Warsaw Lady Tigers and an appearance in the state championship was their biggest challenge yet: Hamilton Southeastern, the undefeated No. 1 team in the state. Like every other challenge the ladies have faced this season, they were more than up for the task. In what ended up being one of the most intense back-and-forth games you’ll ever see, the Lady Tigers used a big fourth quarter to punch their ticket to Indianapolis with a 67-61 win.
“27 teams have tried to take them down, and my message to the girls this afternoon was ‘why not us?” Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs said after the monumental win. “We felt like if this group just kept on loving each other, anything was possible. We have six more days together, and we’re not satisfied.”
After pulling off the upset, Krebs’ players were emotional.
“There’s just so many emotions, we’ve known we’re the best team in the state all season long and tonight, we showed it,” junior Brooke Zartman said.
“I’m so blessed to get another week with my best friends. I just wanted more time with them and that’s what drove us to this win.”
With the raucous gym almost shaking with the noise level so high, both teams took a few minutes to fully get settled into the game. The first points of the contest came a little over two minutes in on a three by Zartman. It was immediately answered on the other side.
Most of the shots early on came from distance, and each side was having difficulty converting on them. It remained a 3-3 deadlock for the next few minutes as both teams continued to play some tough defense.
A pair of triples for HSE around the three minute mark put the home team on the scoreboard ahead for the first time. It didn’t last long, as Zartman connected on her third three in the first quarter to tie things up moments later.
“You tell a player like Zartman that they’re not going to face guard her and they’re going to let her shoot, you know she’s going to take advantage of that,” Krebs said.
“If they were going to let me, I was just going to keep letting them fly all night,” Zartman said. “Shooters shoot. They were falling so I was just going to keep letting them go.”
Brooke Winchester put the Lady Tigers back in front with a minute left in the first by hitting a triple in the corner. It was clear from these opening minutes that this was not going to be an easy game for either team. The margins were razor thin, the talent was too strong. It was going to take everything in the tank to get the job done on this night.
A pair of free throws for IU commit Maya Makalusky put Hamilton Southeastern back in front in the final seconds of the first, and they led 13-12 after eight minutes of action.
Zartman continued her hot start with a steal and a pair of free throws to begin the second quarter, resulting in yet another lead change early on. She’d add her fourth three of the first half on the ensuing possession, extending the lead to four, the largest for either team thus far.
Joslyn Bricker, who had been getting a ton of attention thus far, finally got onto the scoreboard a possession later with a corner three of her own. With a ton of attention now shifting over to the hot handed Zartman, it freed up Bricker to make a layup a possession later, resulting in a seven-point lead and a timeout called by HSE with five minutes until halftime.
The Royals had some answers following the break, scoring five straight points to get right back to within two in under a minute. To add insult to injury, Bricker picked up her third foul of the half with three minutes to go. HSE was able to take advantage, making it a one-point game with two minutes until the break.
A point of emphasis all season long, the Lady Tigers were able to employ “scorebacks” to their advantage here, matching buckets by the home side almost immediately on the other end. Because of this, Warsaw was able to stifle any momentum created by Hamilton, allowing them to stick in front.
With the last possession of the half, Bricker returned to the game and hit a miraculous buzzer beater falling away from the basket with two hands in her face. Heading into the locker room, the Lady Tigers led 30-23.
The pace continued to be rapid to begin the second half, as HSE scored four quick points before Bricker was able to answer. Unfortunately for the Lady Tigers though, she’d pick up her fourth foul just two minutes into the second half and was forced back to the bench. While she’d much rather be on the court, she knew her team would still find success without her.
“It shows how connected we are, how tough we are,” Bricker said. “We knew things were going to be tough, we knew they weren’t going to go our way at times but we never blinked, never stopped fighting.”
Her teammates had her back though, as Zartman hit yet another three to give Warsaw some separation. Once again, the Royals were able to come up with an answer, scoring six straight points to shrink the deficit from eight to two in the blink of an eye. After a Lady Tiger turnover, a three point play for Hamilton Southeastern put them back in front with three minutes left in the third.
The pressure kept on coming from the home team, which was now fully rolling. Another and-one for the Royals led to Krebs needing to call timeout and the lead now being extended to six. After seeming to be in control of the contest, Warsaw had been hit by an avalanche and now needed to find some answers.
A layup by Braylie Chastain finally stopped the bleeding and ended a 16-0 run by HSE. With less than a minute to go in the third, the Lady Tigers had cut the deficit down to four, but now needed to start stringing some stops together. They were unable to get one on the final possession of the period, as the Royals led 47-41 with eight minutes left to decide who would be making the trip down to Indy.
With seasons and careers on the line, Warsaw came out guns blazing. Zartman cut the HSE lead in half in the opening seconds of the fourth by making a layup and absorbing the contact for the three point play. Winchester would do the exact same thing a possession later to tie things up with 6:30 to play.
“They know how to stay the course. They’ve been through too many battles to not know how to stay the course,” Krebs said. “We knew there were going to be some challenges, but if any group was going to get it done it was going to be us.”
The Royals responded with four straight themselves to go back in front. That’s where things remained as the halfway point of the quarter was reached. Bricker was able to get three of those points back on a hoop plus the harm. She’d draw a foul on the following possession too, the fifth on the Royals, meaning Warsaw was shooting free throws the rest of the way.
It didn’t take long for that to be a factor, as a loose ball foul all the way at the other rim allowed Winchester to go to the line and give the Lady Tigers their first lead since midway through the third. It wasn’t known at the time, but that would be the game’s final lead change.
With two minutes left, a layup by Bricker made it a three-point lead. The charity stripe continued to be Warsaw’s friend, as Alexis Neely was able to make a pair to make it a five-point game with 1:41 left.
Kyra Kiser forced a big turnover on the following Royal possession, giving the ball back to Warsaw with 1:23 left. This led to two free throws for Bricker, and all of a sudden it was a seven-point game. The Royals caught a huge break here, as Winchester was called for a technical foul, her fifth during a scrum for the ball. With two shots and the ball, HSE was only able to get one point on the possession before Abbey Peterson was followed and made two free throws to make it an eight-point game.
“It was so hard to watch the end on the bench but I knew my teammates were going to step up. Brooke Zartman is a player that lives for these moments,” Winchester said. “I knew she was going to finish the job.”
With 30 seconds left, the Royals hit a massive three pointer that got them to within five. Needing to milk possession and make their free throws, they committed a crucial turnover that allowed HSE to make it a three-point game. Zartman was only able to split the free throws that followed, and the Royals hit another shot to make it a two-point game.
Zartman would go back to the line with 13 seconds left and a chance to make it a four-point game. That’s exactly what she did. With one last shot, HSE was unable to get anything to go. Zartman went back to the line, iced the game, and sent her team to state.
She led all scorers with 25 points. Winchester had a double-double, 16 points and eleven rebounds. Bricker had 18 points in 23 minutes.
Warsaw (26-1) will have a chance to win the state championship as well as set the school record for wins next Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against Lawrence North (18-8)
The only thing standing in the way of the Warsaw Lady Tigers and an appearance in the state championship was their biggest challenge yet: Hamilton Southeastern, the undefeated No. 1 team in the state. Like every other challenge the ladies have faced this season, they were more than up for the task. In what ended up being one of the most intense back-and-forth games you’ll ever see, the Lady Tigers used a big fourth quarter to punch their ticket to Indianapolis with a 67-61 win.
“27 teams have tried to take them down, and my message to the girls this afternoon was ‘why not us?” Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs said after the monumental win. “We felt like if this group just kept on loving each other, anything was possible. We have six more days together, and we’re not satisfied.”
After pulling off the upset, Krebs’ players were emotional.
“There’s just so many emotions, we’ve known we’re the best team in the state all season long and tonight, we showed it,” junior Brooke Zartman said.
“I’m so blessed to get another week with my best friends. I just wanted more time with them and that’s what drove us to this win.”
With the raucous gym almost shaking with the noise level so high, both teams took a few minutes to fully get settled into the game. The first points of the contest came a little over two minutes in on a three by Zartman. It was immediately answered on the other side.
Most of the shots early on came from distance, and each side was having difficulty converting on them. It remained a 3-3 deadlock for the next few minutes as both teams continued to play some tough defense.
A pair of triples for HSE around the three minute mark put the home team on the scoreboard ahead for the first time. It didn’t last long, as Zartman connected on her third three in the first quarter to tie things up moments later.
“You tell a player like Zartman that they’re not going to face guard her and they’re going to let her shoot, you know she’s going to take advantage of that,” Krebs said.
“If they were going to let me, I was just going to keep letting them fly all night,” Zartman said. “Shooters shoot. They were falling so I was just going to keep letting them go.”
Brooke Winchester put the Lady Tigers back in front with a minute left in the first by hitting a triple in the corner. It was clear from these opening minutes that this was not going to be an easy game for either team. The margins were razor thin, the talent was too strong. It was going to take everything in the tank to get the job done on this night.
A pair of free throws for IU commit Maya Makalusky put Hamilton Southeastern back in front in the final seconds of the first, and they led 13-12 after eight minutes of action.
Zartman continued her hot start with a steal and a pair of free throws to begin the second quarter, resulting in yet another lead change early on. She’d add her fourth three of the first half on the ensuing possession, extending the lead to four, the largest for either team thus far.
Joslyn Bricker, who had been getting a ton of attention thus far, finally got onto the scoreboard a possession later with a corner three of her own. With a ton of attention now shifting over to the hot handed Zartman, it freed up Bricker to make a layup a possession later, resulting in a seven-point lead and a timeout called by HSE with five minutes until halftime.
The Royals had some answers following the break, scoring five straight points to get right back to within two in under a minute. To add insult to injury, Bricker picked up her third foul of the half with three minutes to go. HSE was able to take advantage, making it a one-point game with two minutes until the break.
A point of emphasis all season long, the Lady Tigers were able to employ “scorebacks” to their advantage here, matching buckets by the home side almost immediately on the other end. Because of this, Warsaw was able to stifle any momentum created by Hamilton, allowing them to stick in front.
With the last possession of the half, Bricker returned to the game and hit a miraculous buzzer beater falling away from the basket with two hands in her face. Heading into the locker room, the Lady Tigers led 30-23.
The pace continued to be rapid to begin the second half, as HSE scored four quick points before Bricker was able to answer. Unfortunately for the Lady Tigers though, she’d pick up her fourth foul just two minutes into the second half and was forced back to the bench. While she’d much rather be on the court, she knew her team would still find success without her.
“It shows how connected we are, how tough we are,” Bricker said. “We knew things were going to be tough, we knew they weren’t going to go our way at times but we never blinked, never stopped fighting.”
Her teammates had her back though, as Zartman hit yet another three to give Warsaw some separation. Once again, the Royals were able to come up with an answer, scoring six straight points to shrink the deficit from eight to two in the blink of an eye. After a Lady Tiger turnover, a three point play for Hamilton Southeastern put them back in front with three minutes left in the third.
The pressure kept on coming from the home team, which was now fully rolling. Another and-one for the Royals led to Krebs needing to call timeout and the lead now being extended to six. After seeming to be in control of the contest, Warsaw had been hit by an avalanche and now needed to find some answers.
A layup by Braylie Chastain finally stopped the bleeding and ended a 16-0 run by HSE. With less than a minute to go in the third, the Lady Tigers had cut the deficit down to four, but now needed to start stringing some stops together. They were unable to get one on the final possession of the period, as the Royals led 47-41 with eight minutes left to decide who would be making the trip down to Indy.
With seasons and careers on the line, Warsaw came out guns blazing. Zartman cut the HSE lead in half in the opening seconds of the fourth by making a layup and absorbing the contact for the three point play. Winchester would do the exact same thing a possession later to tie things up with 6:30 to play.
“They know how to stay the course. They’ve been through too many battles to not know how to stay the course,” Krebs said. “We knew there were going to be some challenges, but if any group was going to get it done it was going to be us.”
The Royals responded with four straight themselves to go back in front. That’s where things remained as the halfway point of the quarter was reached. Bricker was able to get three of those points back on a hoop plus the harm. She’d draw a foul on the following possession too, the fifth on the Royals, meaning Warsaw was shooting free throws the rest of the way.
It didn’t take long for that to be a factor, as a loose ball foul all the way at the other rim allowed Winchester to go to the line and give the Lady Tigers their first lead since midway through the third. It wasn’t known at the time, but that would be the game’s final lead change.
With two minutes left, a layup by Bricker made it a three-point lead. The charity stripe continued to be Warsaw’s friend, as Alexis Neely was able to make a pair to make it a five-point game with 1:41 left.
Kyra Kiser forced a big turnover on the following Royal possession, giving the ball back to Warsaw with 1:23 left. This led to two free throws for Bricker, and all of a sudden it was a seven-point game. The Royals caught a huge break here, as Winchester was called for a technical foul, her fifth during a scrum for the ball. With two shots and the ball, HSE was only able to get one point on the possession before Abbey Peterson was followed and made two free throws to make it an eight-point game.
“It was so hard to watch the end on the bench but I knew my teammates were going to step up. Brooke Zartman is a player that lives for these moments,” Winchester said. “I knew she was going to finish the job.”
With 30 seconds left, the Royals hit a massive three pointer that got them to within five. Needing to milk possession and make their free throws, they committed a crucial turnover that allowed HSE to make it a three-point game. Zartman was only able to split the free throws that followed, and the Royals hit another shot to make it a two-point game.
Zartman would go back to the line with 13 seconds left and a chance to make it a four-point game. That’s exactly what she did. With one last shot, HSE was unable to get anything to go. Zartman went back to the line, iced the game, and sent her team to state.
She led all scorers with 25 points. Winchester had a double-double, 16 points and eleven rebounds. Bricker had 18 points in 23 minutes.
Warsaw (26-1) will have a chance to win the state championship as well as set the school record for wins next Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against Lawrence North (18-8)