Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Fielding a young and inexperienced team, Wawasee girls basketball coach Kem Zolman said he knew the possibilty of rough times was there.
He says he just didn't know when it would happen.
He knows now.
Scoring just two points in the second quarter and trailing by 20 at halftime, the host Warriors couldn't handle a more experienced East Noble team and fell 64-44 Friday evening at the Hardwood Teepee.
"East Noble played pretty well," said Zolman. "They took advantage of our youth. You gotta give them credit, they knocked their shots down. They did a nice job taking us out early."
A team that returned four starters, East Noble showed its experience, leaving a Wawasee squad with just one junior and one senior digging out of a huge hole all night.
Unfortunately for Zolman and Wawasee, the Warriors didn't have a big enough shovel.
The Knights led 20-11 after the first eight minutes of action and then really poured it on in the second quarter.
After Warrior junior Rachel Canen scored the first two points of the second quarter, East Noble went on a 13-0 run the remainder of the first half in building a convincing 33-13 halftime lead.
East Noble hit three three-pointers in the second quarter and was 5 of 7 from the arc in the first half, shooting 12 of 23 (52.2 percent) from the field overall through 16 minutes of action.
Wawasee, on the other hand, was 4 of 18 (22.2 percent) from the floor in the first half and converted just 4 of 10 free throw attempts in the first and second quarters.
"I was excited about tonight," Zolman said. "We had a great week of practice and I was really anxious to see what we had. East Noble has all it takes to be a great team. When I heard what was going on in the locker room (before the game)tonight I turned sick. I didn't think we competed at all. That comes with youth."
After completely putting Wawasee's back to the wall in the first half, the visiting Knights came out of the locker room and started the third quarter with a 6-0 run on baskets from seniors Laura Thiem and Amanda Drerup and junior Darci Adams to take a 39-13 lead.
The trio of Thiem, Drerup and Adams hurt Wawasee all night long, with the three of them combining for more points than the Warriors scored as a team.
Thiem, fresh off a 28-point performance, scored a game-high 20-points Friday on 7-of-11 shooting. She was 4 of 6 from three-point range and hit both free throws she took.
Adams was also 7 of 11 from the field and finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Drerup was 5 of 11 from the field, 2 of 2 from the line, and scored 12 points.
"East Noble has got a good team," Zolman said. "We just didn't come out and compete."
The Knights finished the game 25 of 49 (51 percent) from the field overall, and 5 of 10 from three point range.
Wawasee, which trailed by as much as 27 (55-28) in the fourth quarter, finished the game 15 of 45 from the floor, 3 of 6 from three-point range, and 11 of 17 at the charity stripe.
Canen led the Warriors in scoring with 15 points, while sophomore post player Tiffany Fick finished with 10 points, all of which came in the second half.
Freshman frontlinter Jessie Wolf scored nine for the Warriors, while senior Mistie Hershberger added eight.
Both East Noble and Wawasee are now 2-2 on the season.
The Warriors play West Noble Tuesday.
EAST NOBLE 64, WAWASEE 44
East Noble 20 13 14 17 - 64
Wawasee 11 2 11 20 - 44
East Noble FG FT R S Pts.
* L. Hankins 1-2 0-0 1 0 3
* Cochard 0-4 2-2 2 2 2
* Thiem 7-11 2-2 3 1 20
* Drerup 5-11 2-2 5 0 12
* Adams 7-11 0-2 7 0 14
K. Hankins 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sanders 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
Jones 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Sparks 1-2 0-2 1 1 2
Blotkamp 1-3 3-4 4 2 5
Gilliam 2-2 0-0 2 1 4
Totals 25-49 9-14 26 7 64
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
* Rensberger 0-3 0-0 3 1 0
* Canen 5-10 3-3 4 0 15
* Hershberger 2-4 3-4 5 1 8
* Wolf 2-5 5-6 4 0 9
* Fick 5-15 0-4 8 1 10
Walker 0-3 0-0 2 0 0
Schmucker 0-3 0-0 1 1 0
Olson 1-2 0-0 2 0 2
Totals 15-45 11-17 29 4 44
Three-point goals - East Noble 5-10 (Thiem 4-6, L. Hankins 1-2, Cochard 0-2), Wawasee 3-6 (Canen 2-3, Hershberger 1-1, Rensberger 0-1). Fouls - East Noble 13, Wawasee 8. Fouled out - none. Turnovers - East Noble 18, Wawasee 8.
JV - East Noble 31, Wawasee 12
Wawasee scoring - Smith 4, Walker 2, Thompson 2, Mark 2, Owen 2
