Second-Half surge pushes Warsaw to 62-43 victory over Carroll
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Anthony Gadson-agadson@timesuniononline.com
The Class 4A No. 10 Warsaw Lady Tigers only needed to play about three-and-a-half quarters to get a 62-43 home win over the Carroll Lady Chargers Wednesday night. On a night in which the Lady Tigers donned pink uniforms to celebrate a Pink Out, raising money and awareness for breast cancer research, they were outscored 18-4 over the last 4:28 of the first half. Outside of that hiccup, Warsaw (14-0) outscored Carroll (5-9) by a dominating 58-25 margin. So what was up with that stretch to close the first half? “We were slow defensively,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. “We were allowing them to just pass the ball wherever they wanted to, and once they caught it, then we were reacting. We talked about them having three-point shooters that can hit, and when you leave somebody wide open, they’re going to capitalize. That’s exactly what they did.” Carroll did make 3 of 4 three-pointers during that stretch, but only netted seven points in the third quarter and 10 in the fourth. Along with stiffening up on defense, Warsaw also picked it up on offense, scoring 20 in the third and 21 in the fourth. Down 26-21 at the half, the Lady Tigers opened the second half on a 12-0 run, as senior Lindsay Baker nailed two treys and converted a three-point play and junior Nikki Grose had a three-point play of her own. Attacking the basket, the team seemed to have gotten a stern talking to at intermission. “I did raise my voice, the whole time at halftime, until the very end before we came out,” Harter said. “Then, we just focused on what we needed to do in the second half. I was not pleased with our effort in the first half, and I know the girls weren’t pleased with the way we played.” Things quickly changed in the second half, led by Warsaw’s top three players, Baker, Grose and senior Jennifer Walker-Crawford. Baker finished with a game-high 20 points, while Grose went for 18 points and 11 rebounds and Walker-Crawford posted 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. With the normal three leading the way, Harter was impressed with the play of another starter on the team. “The one person that played the entire game and just did an excellent job was Melanie Holladay,” she said of the senior who had eight rebounds and four steals. “Being in there, being scrappy, creating problems defensively, getting on the boards. That’s what you have to have.” The win pushes Warsaw’s win streak to 14 to open the season, but after having a target on their backs lately, that role will be a little reversed Saturday at home against Goshen. Along with the game being a Northern Lakes Conference contest, it also gives the Lady Tigers a chance to avenge last season’s 62-58 loss in Goshen, snapping a 32-game winning streak over the Lady Redskins that dated back to 1982. “We were very disappointed with our effort at Goshen last year,” Harter said. “We did not come out and play well. We struggled the entire game. Goshen has a great program. (Goshen head coach) Lenny (Krebs) has done a great job turning that program around. They’re going to come out and be scrappy against us Saturday. We have to come out with the same effort and fire we showed in the second half tonight. The Goshen game will be the last time Warsaw plays at home until its regular season finale Jan. 31 against South Bend Riley. In-between the home games are four-straight road games, all of which will be big. First will be Penn Wednesday, followed by NLC games against Concord (Jan. 19), Elkhart Memorial (Jan. 22) and Class 3A No. 5 NorthWood (Jan. 26). If they can maneuver through those games, Warsaw would have its first undefeated regular season since Mary Hurley coached the Lady Tigers to a 17-0 mark in the 1979-80 regular season. That team ran its record to 21-0 before falling to Fort Wayne Bishop Luers at semistate. Before thinking of any other historical marks, Harter wants her team to be aware that it could lose to anyone, evidenced by Carroll’s 18-4 run Thursday. “Any team on any given night can be hot and knock down some shots,” Harter said.
