Warsaw Community High School's varsity girls basketball team will open the season with a new coach Saturday.
It's a coach, however, the Lady Tigers are very familiar with.After serving as Warsaw's junior varsity coach for 17 years - directing the JV Lady Tigers to a 238-79 record in that time - Michelle Harter makes her varsity coaching debut Saturday when her team hosts Huntington North.
Huntington North also enters Saturday's season opener with a new coach, as Don Burton resigned last spring and was replaced by Kelly Jones.
"We're going to use a team concept," said Harter, who was a member of Wawasee's 1985 state runner-up team. "All the players are going to get involved. It's much more difficult to stop five players than it is one. That doesn't mean I won't run plays if I had an outstanding individual, but we're going to play within a team concept."
Her record as the JV coach certainly prove that her methods work.
Those who have seen Harter coach the junior varsity Tigers over the years know that she is intense and very in to the game.
She said that's how she expects the Lady Tigers to play defense on the court.
"I'm very intense during the games," said Harter, who replaces John Snyder and becomes the fifth head coach in Lady Tiger Basketball history. "I'm very defense-minded, and I expect us to play tough defense."
Warsaw returns three players - Kelci Freds, Liz Tat and Alex Glenn - that started a majority of the games for last year's team that finished with a 12-10 record and as the sectional runner-up to Elkhart Memorial.
Freds, a junior, averaged eight points per game last year, while Glenn averaged seven points and Tat chipped in with six points per contest.
"Kelci Freds was our second-leading scorer last year," said Harter. "She's going to have to do some more things offensively. Alex and Liz are two kids that we're counting on to lead us on and off the court, and they've been doing that. We're going to rely on Alex to clean up the boards and really help us replace Kate Denlinger. Liz is continuing to improve her offensive mindset."
Denlinger, who graduated in the spring, is now playing volleyball at Indiana Wesleyan University. She led Warsaw in scoring (11 ppg) and rebounding (9 rpg) last season.
Warsaw's starting five will likely be Cendall Ogle, Freds and Tat at the guard positions and Kayla Stout and Glenn in the frontcourt.
Ogle, a junior, will assume the majority of the ball-handling duties.
"Cendall will be the main ball-handler," Harter said of the 5-foot-3 Ogle. "She's not very tell, but she plays like she's 6-1. She's very scrappy and very competitive."
Other players on Warsaw's varsity roster are juniors Kaitlin Reichard, Kaelee Sands, Danielle Tat, Beth Plummer, Amber Plummer and Sarah Shilling, and sophomores Madison Long and Annie Holderman.
"I'm very intense and I have high expectations," said Harter. "I think it helps that the parents and the players know who I am. They know what to expect. The No. 1 thing, I want to see improvement from day one through the end of the season. I want to make sure we're peaking at the right time."
Harter said winning the Northern Lakes Conference was a goal of this team. Harter said she'd also like to see the Lady Tigers experience some more state tournament success.
Warsaw's last sectional championship came in 2004.
Harter and the Lady Tiger will grow up fast together, as Warsaw plays its first five games in a span of just 13 days.
Following Saturday's game with Huntington North, Warsaw hosts Valley Nov. 21, plays at Crown Point Nov. 22, plays at DeKalb Nov. 25 and plays at Whitko Nov. 28.
