Coming off of their first loss of the season at Homestead Tuesday night, the Warsaw girls basketball team looked to right the ship on Thursday while hosting county rival Tippecanoe Valley at the Tiger Den. The Lady Tigers shook off the loss in a hurry, getting right down to business en route to a lopsided 70-25 victory.
“I was worried that a loss like that could take us down one of two paths, and I was confident that the girls would choose the right one,” Lenny Krebs said after the game. “It was good to see them come out with a great energy and kind of take over that game from the start.”
It took nearly a minute for the game’s first points to be put on the board, as both teams struggled turning the ball over in the first 60 seconds. Fresh off of her best game of the season at Homestead, Brooke Winchester sank two free throws at the line to open up the scoring. Not long after, Dalynne Bussard made a jumper from the free throw line to put Valley on the board as well.
Winchester stayed hot with back-to-back threes on the next two possessions to give her the first eight points for Warsaw in the game. After being held scoreless in the first half on Tuesday night, Brooke Zartman scored her first two of the night on a fastbreak layup moments later, leading to a Valley timeout.
Midway through the first quarter, the Lady Tigers had already opened up a double digit lead. Not only was the offense clicking, the defense, which was a problem in Tuesday’s loss, looked much improved. Rotations were perfect, the home side was trapping and making it incredibly difficult for the visitors to get any shots up at all.
With a minute and a half to go in the first, a layup by Bussard finally ended a 17-0 run for Warsaw. It didn’t take long for the Lady Tigers to get those points back and then some. A contested layup by Alexis Neely and a corner three by Abbey Peterson put the cap on a fantastic first eight minutes for Warsaw, as they held a commanding 23-4 lead.
Joslyn Bricker got onto the board early in the second with a pair of free throws. For the Lady Vikings, Carlee Snyder became the second player to get onto the scoreboard with a putback layup. While the shots weren’t falling for the visitors, Valley was doing a great job getting multiple opportunities per possession thanks to some good work on the offensive glass.
Even still, Warsaw was still able to remain in complete control of the game. A big part of this was the Lady Tigers getting a large chunk of their offense at the free throw line, where they were nearly flawless.
The big shot of the quarter came with around three minutes to go. Squaring up from the top of the key, Zartman launched a three and buried it. It was her 84th the season, a single season record for Warsaw girls basketball. A timeout was called not long after the make, and the junior was mobbed by her teammates.
Also continuing to dominate was Winchester, who kept making her opponent pay both at the perimeter and in the paint. The two Brookes continued to carry the offensive load throughout the first half as the Lady Tiger lead ballooned past 30. Neely, who was also putting together a great first half, picked up a steal and score to push the lead past 35, ensuring a running clock in the second half.
“[Winchester] is playing extremely dominantly right now. She’s crashing the boards at both ends, creating scoring opportunities,” Krebs said. “It’s great to see that, and we need to continue to put those pieces together.”
Winchester, Zartman and Neely were all in double figures as the buzzer sounded to end the first half, with Warsaw holding a 54-14 lead.
The status quo remained as the third quarter got going, with Warsaw using some stingy defense to create some easy offense, which allowed them to extend their lead even further. The Lady Vikings were able to make a shot here and there, but were unable to put together any sort of rhythm on the offensive end.

    Junior Lucy Hayden of Vallley works under the basket as Brooke Winchester of Warsaw goes for the block...Nieter

With the clock continuously running, the third quarter went by in a flash. With just eight minutes to go in the contest, the game had already been decided long ago. All that was left was to determine a final score, with the Lady Tigers up 65-21 after three.
Bricker, who had put together a quiet night for her standards thus far, reached double figures early in the fourth. Winchester checked back into the game with about six minutes to go and inched closer to 30 points with her third three of the night to give her 27.
Being the final home game of the season, all four Warsaw seniors: Winchester, Peterson, Braylie Chastain and Leila Knepp took the floor together as the action winded down. With about four minutes to go, they were all subbed out and given a standing ovation and curtain call from the fans.
Winchester finished with a career-high 27 points and 15 rebounds. Zartman scored 14, while Neely and Bricker each had 10. Neely added five steals. Gaby Gonzalez and Lucy Hayden each scored six to lead Valley. Snyder and Bussard each had eight rebounds.
Warsaw (19-1) is at Concord Saturday with a chance to win the Northern Lakes Conference, while Valley (9-10) is at Kokomo Saturday.