Playing for the state championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Saturday night, the Warsaw girls basketball team dealt with adversity all night long, going down as many as 18 early in the third quarter. The Lady Tigers showed fight until the very end, nearly erasing that deficit in the fourth quarter before eventually falling 65-59 to champion Lawrence North.
“These girls are still champions in my eyes. This season and run is going to make them better people, better mothers, better daughters,” head coach Lenny Krebs said. “I just hope I’ve taught them a fraction of what they’ve taught me.”

    Junior Joslyn Bricker fights to get to the basket as Ke'Adriah Butler of Lawrence North defends...Nieter

The Lady ‘Cats got off to an awfully quick start, scoring seven points of the game on their first three possessions. The Lady Tigers were quick to match them on two of them, with Braylie Chastain and Joslyn Bricker scoring the first four points of the night for Warsaw. Two minutes in, Lawrence North still hadn’t missed and the home team on the scoreboard was up 9-5.
Brooke Zartman’s first triple of the night made it a one-point game with five minutes to go in the first. The home side was starting to miss some shots at this point, but the work that they were doing on the offensive glass was creating a ton of extra opportunities that they were capitalizing on. At the media timeout, the Lady ‘Cats still led by one.
Both teams continued to play great offense as the opening period wore on. The Lady Tigers took their first lead of the night with 90 seconds left in the first on a triple by Brooke Winchester, who made it a one-possession game with an and-one the trip down the floor prior. After getting fouled at the other end of the floor, the senior made the most of her freebies due to the bonus to give her 10 points in the first eight minutes.

    Senior Brooke Winchester sets her sights on the basket during the third quarter...Nieter

“She played herself into an Indiana All-Star spot during this tournament. That kid is an absolute warrior,” Krebs said. “You look at what she did in the biggest game of the year, we couldn’t ask for more than that.”
Those would be the final points of the quarter, as after weathering the opening storm by Lawrence North, Warsaw was able to settle in and take a three-point lead at 19-16.
Four straight points by the home side put the Lady ‘Cats back in front, but it was fleeting, as Winchester’s second triple put Warsaw right back in the lead. The Lady Tiger captain continued to be the main source of offense for the visitors as time wore on in the first half, while Lawrence North’s Ke’Adriah Butler had the hot hand early with 12, including a massive triple that put the home side back on top midway through the second.
The rebounding advantage was only getting bigger for the team from the South, as they were now outrebounding Warsaw 16-4, including 8-0 on offensive boards. This allowed the team to attempt 10 more shots to this point, something the Lady Tigers could not continue to allow.

    Coach Lenny Krebs talks with Alexix Neely during a break in the action...Nieter

Going nearly two and a half minutes without a point, Warsaw needed to get something going and fast. Winchester split a pair at the line to end the drought, but the Lady ‘Cats still led by five. That lead only grew in the final minutes of the first half, as Lawrence North hit the Lady Tigers with another avalanche of points to go up by eight. That’s exactly where things sat as the halftime buzzer sounded, with the Lady ‘Cats up 35-27.
That lead was extended to double figures early in the third. Joslyn Bricker, who was relegated to the bench for much of the first half in foul trouble was able to stop the bleeding momentarily, but Lawrence North just kept coming. Two minutes into the quarter, the home side had extended their lead to 13 and showed no signs of slowing down.

    Players look on anxiously from the bench during the closing minutes of the game...Nieter
The defensive pressure that the Lady ‘Cats were putting was having an obvious effect on Warsaw, as the Lady Tigers looked out of sorts on the offensive end to begin the second half. After the Bricker make, Warsaw missed its next six shots while Lawrence North continued to extend its lead.
A single free throw by Bricker ended a nearly four-minute drought without any points for Warsaw, but the Lady Tigers were going to need a lot more than that to make a dent in what was now a 17-point lead for Lawrence North.
Warsaw was able to get the deficit down to 13 momentarily, but another great stretch by the Lady ‘Cats erased all of that progress in a hurry. With just eight minutes left in the season, the Lady Tigers needed to erase a 15-point Lawrence North lead.
Back-to-back threes by Zartman and Abbey Peterson gave Warsaw some life, making it an eleven-point game, but a big and-one for Jamaya Thomas on the other end quickly swung momentum back the other way.

    Junior Brooke Zartman pulls up for a three-pointer during the fourth quarter...Nieter

With a little over six minutes to go in the game, the Lady Tigers finally made their move. Another three by Zartman followed by Alexis Neely’s second triple of the night brought the visitors to within seven, causing the sea of orange in the crowd to erupt.
“They handled hard well. They battled back and were eventually able to make it a one-possession game,” Krebs said. “You just can’t give a team as good as Lawrence North an 18-point cushion.”
At the media timeout with 3:39 left in the game, the situation remained the same. Sensing the momentum heading in the way of Warsaw, Lawrence North was taking a lot more time with its possessions. Soon, less than three minutes remained and it was still the same deficit. Time was quickly running out, and Warsaw had gone cold again.
With 90 seconds left, the Lady ‘Cats were back up by nine and things were beginning to get dire. With 54 seconds to go, a big three by Zartman off of a steal by Winchester cut the deficit down to six. This game was going to come down to whether or not Lawrence North could ice the game at the free throw line.

    The post-game ceremony was tough to watch for Waraw's (L-R) Joslyn Bricker, Kyra Kiser, Leila Knepp and Brooke Winchester...Nieter

Two missed freebies would give more life to the Lady Tigers, and they’d take advantage. An and-one for Bricker made it a one-possession game with just 30 seconds left. After another quick foul, the home team got a big pair to fall to make it a five point-game once again. Bricker was able to draw a foul just a few seconds afterwards, and she’d get those two points back to make it a three-point game yet again.
Another trip to the line for the Lady ‘Cats paid dividends, as two more free throws made it a two-possession game yet again. A miss on the other end by Warsaw gave the ball back to Lawrence North with less than 10 seconds to go, icing the game.
Winchester finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Bricker finished with 13, while Zartman had 12. Neely finished with six, Peterson five and Braylie Chastain three. Peterson was named the Mental Attitude award winner.

    Senior Abbey Peeterson is joined by her parents after accepting the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award...Nieter

“We are not where we are today without Abbey Peterson. She was a calming presence in our locker room,” Krebs said.
Warsaw (26-2) will return next season.