It all comes down to this.
The Warsaw girls basketball team will face off against Lawrence North at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to play for the IHSAA girls basketball state championship. The Lady Tigers will be hanging a banner no matter what happens. All that’s left is to determine what it says.
Warsaw comes into this game after one of the most remarkable basketball games you’ll ever see last weekend, as they defeated No. 1 undefeated Hamilton Southeastern 67-61 with a big fourth quarter. They did so after going down eight in the third.
To the people who have followed this team all season long, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. These girls don’t blink in the big moments. They stay connected and bring each other up when faced with adversity. Even when the Royals were in the midst of the 16-0 run they used to go up by eight, the Lady Tigers looked unfazed.
“They’re glued together. You look at their connectivity and that’s what makes them special,” head coach Lenny Krebs said. “They’ve always been super talented, but their love for each other is what has made this happen.”
Krebs is right. Warsaw heads into the state finals with a 26-1 record and an average margin of victory above 30. In the last two weeks, they’ve taken down the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in the state on their way to the first championship appearance for the program in 21 years. Four of the team’s five tournament wins have come by double figures. This is a team that is rolling at the right time.
The same can be said of their opponent.
Lawrence North enters the state finals with the most losses, eight, of any of the eight teams participating. That number is deceiving. While it says that the Lady Wildcats have struggled at times this season, the point also can be made that this team has flipped a switch and is playing its best ball when it matters most.
This is most apparent when you look at the team’s 47-42 sectional championship victory over No. 2 Lawrence Central.
“That game was the fork in the road for us. That game was what led to the conversations from the seniors and the energy in our building completely changing,” head coach Stephen Thomas said. “They’ve continued to grow from that moment and have really learned from all the lessons this season taught us.”
The win over the Lady Bears avenged a loss that was a part of four straight in January. Since then, the Lady ‘Cats have rattled off nine straight victories and find themselves one win away from a championship.
Lawrence North has three players that average double figures scoring, led by Keadriah Butler and her 13.7 PPG. Seniors Kya Hurt (13.0) and Jamaya Thomas (12.3) round out the top three scorers. Naja Winston leads the team with 5.5 boards a night. Hurt is tops on the team in both assists (3.6) and steals (3.5).
Interestingly enough, this won’t be the first time Warsaw and Lawrence North will have played each other in the last calendar year. The two teams met last summer at the Charlie Hughes classic in a game that the Lady ‘Cats won.
“They probably don’t get the respect for being as good as they are because they have Lawrence Central in the same area occupying that attention,” Krebs said. “But they are a very good ball club that’s playing their best basketball right now.”
Warsaw’s players are ready to avenge that preseason loss on the biggest stage possible.
“I think we matchup well against them. We didn’t play super well over the summer so wanting to get them back is even more motivation for us,” junior Joslyn Bricker said. “We’re very excited to play them. They’re a good team, but so are we.”
The Lady Tigers will look to Bricker to continue her scalding hot stretch of basketball. No stranger to delivering in big games, Bricker has been on fire in the state tournament, scoring 30+ in both the sectional championship win against Northridge and semi-state opener against McCutcheon. She also came up big with double-doubles in the regional victory over South Bend Washington and the semi-state finale against HSE.
“She doesn’t miss. It’s so cool playing with her, I think we balance each other out pretty well,” fellow junior Brooke Zartman said of her teammate. “She’s an amazing basketball player and an even better person and that’s what makes her so special. Her continuing to step up for us in these big moments over the past few weeks has been the difference for us.”
Zartman is coming off of her best playoff game of the run, as she scored 25 and made six threes in the win over Hamilton Southeastern. She also came up big at the free throw line to close out the game.
Free throw shooting is one of the big strengths of this Warsaw team, and is just one of the little things that they do each and every night. Senior captain Brooke Winchester says those little things are going to be key to taking home the title.
“We have to hustle, box out. We have to do everything it takes. Obviously you have to score and play defense, but it’s so much more than that,” she said. “We do our huddles at the free throw line. We stand up on the bench and cheer our teammates on. We have to stay together.”
Winchester is one of four seniors who will put on the uniform for the final time at Gainbridge. The Ball State commit wants to end her career with a bang.
“It’s a dream come true to play in the state championship game. I’ve been looking forward to this moment since fourth grade,” she said. “To be here with my teammates, we all want to go out on a high note.”
Playing on the biggest stage against the toughest test yet, Saturday night will show us exactly what this team is made of. If it’s anything like what they’ve shown us so far, there’s a good chance it’ll be a night of celebration in Kosciusko County.