Graham Leads Warsaw Over WawaseeIn an act of selflessness, Warsaw senior Madi Graham wasn’t on the court to start Thursday night’s Northern?Lakes Conference girls basketball game against Wawasee. She was, however, there at the end. Graham, who voluntarily gave up her spot in the starting lineup for classmate Abby Glass on a night Warsaw honored its six seniors, scored a game-high 14 points, including two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to seal the Lady Tigers’ 47-43 win. Warsaw improved to 17-3 overall and 3-2 in the NLC, while the Lady Warriors fell to 8-11 and 2-3. “When you have six seniors, it’s really hard to decide who you want to start,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. “Madi came to me this week during practice and said ‘Coach, I’d like to give my starting spot to Abby.’ “That just says a lot about how much these girls care about each other, and it’s more than just a game. What maturity ... to give someone whose been here at practice every single day, getting the opportunity when we get a chance to put her in, having a great attitude ... that was just a special moment. As a coach that’s what you work for, having the girls care about each other and wanting to see everyone succeed. “It was just touching. We told Abby at practice that she was going to be starting, and the tears started to roll, and it was from everybody, coaching staff and players. This has just been a special group.” Thursday’s game was originally scheduled to be played Dec. 17 in Knightstown at the gym used in the movie “Hoosiers” but was postponed because of the weather. The Lady Tigers led 7-5 after one quarter of play, 23-18 at halftime and 31-28 heading into the final frame. Warsaw’s largest lead of the contest was seven points, 18-11. The Lady Tigers held a 45-40 lead with 1:11 left when Wawasee junior Aubrey Kuhn hit a three-pointer. Warsaw turned the ball over on its next possession. And on Wawasee’s next possession Kuhn was called for an offensive foul while driving to the basket against Warsaw senior Page Desenberg. Ten seconds later, Graham was fouled, and she made both attempts. To go with Graham’s 14 points, the Lady Tigers got 13 from senior Dayton Groninger, six each from seniors Desenberg and Kenzie Welk, five from freshman Kaylee Patton and three from sophomore Kacy Bragg. In all, seniors scored 39 of Warsaw’s 47 points. “This group (of seniors) has been with me on the varsity for three years,” said Harter. “It’s a special group of young ladies, and I can’t say enough about their work ethic. They epitomize what Lady Tiger Basketball is about. We struggled last year and never gave up, never got on each other as far as being negative. We continued to battle through adversity, continued to play. We knew we had a brutal schedule, and I think that helped us this year.” For Wawasee, senior Hannah Haines led the way with 13 points, while Kuhn scored 12 and senior Aubrey Schmeltz chipped in with eight. The Lady Warriors entered Thursday’s contest on the heels of a 48-46 win over Class 2A No. 1 Whitko. In their first season with coach Matt Carpenter, the Lady Warriors are definitely making progress. “We’re to the point in the season that we know we can compete with anybody, and we’ve shown that,” said Carpenter. “The growth that these girls have shown throughout the season has been tremendous. I knew I had a group of fighters, I figured that out right away in the summer, but the adjustments they’re able to make in basketball games, both mentally and Xs and Os, has been impressive in the last couple weeks. “I’ve got a group of smart individuals and a group that’s starting gel together and play together. That’s making a difference, because I can’t draw up everything, but I know they’re going to play with each other, read each other. “We’re not perfect. We lost to a very good Warsaw team tonight, but we hung in there through some adversity in the first half, and I felt like our mentality in the second half was much better and kept us in the basketball game.” Both Warsaw and Wawasee are in action again Saturday in NLC games on the road, as the Lady Tigers go to Concord and Wawasee travels to Plymouth.
