GOSHEN - Warsaw's Kayla Stout tried to extend her senior season, but in the end, the second-ranked Elkhart Memorial Lady Crimson Chargers had too much firepower and athleticism.
Stout, the lone senior on the Lady Tigers' varsity basketball roster, put together game-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds, but it was Elkhart Memorial that came away with the sectional championship after beating Warsaw 60-43 in Class 4A action Saturday evening at Goshen High School.Elkhart Memorial, which has ended Warsaw's season the past four years now, improved to 22-1, while the Lady Tigers' campaign came to a close with an 11-9 mark.
"Kayla Stout did a great job of leading this team," said third-year Warsaw coach Michelle Harter, whose young team upset No. 8 Northridge Friday night to advance to the sectional final. "This isn't how we wanted our season to end, and we know we have big shoes to fill. Kayla Stout has done a lot for this program."
Stout was the only Warsaw player to score in double figures, while the Lady Crimson Chargers got 19 points from sophomore Monica Jones, 15 from junior Brionna Barnett and 11 from senior Akyah Taylor.
"Memorial has a lot of weapons and they're deserving of their state ranking," said Harter. "They stepped up tonight and hit some outside shots that they haven't typically hit this season."
Junior Sarah Heagy scored nine points for Warsaw, while sophomore Lindsay Burish added five points and juniors Madison Davis and Lauren Burish and sophomore Jennifer Walker-Crawford chipped in with two points each.
With the 17-point win, Elkhart Memorial earned its eighth-straight sectional championship and advanced to Saturday's Valparaiso Regional, where it will square off with No. 3 Penn (20-1) in the first semifinal game.
Chesterton (15-8) and Lake Central (13-10) will do battle in the second semifinal game at Valpo.
"We're pretty blessed with some great kids," said eighth-year Memorial coach Larry Fielstra, who sports a record of 161-39 with the Lady Crimson Chargers. "We came out a little slow, but we were able to speed them up and wear them down."
The Lady Tigers led 11-4 before Elkhart Memorial's Alyssa Wagner hit a three-pointer as time expired in the first quarter.
Elkhart Memorial took its first lead at 17-15 on another three-pointer from Wagner midway through the second stanza.
A trey from freshman Khadijah Moore just before the halftime buzzer sounded pushed the Lady Crimson Chargers' lead to 27-22.
Elkhart Memoria made five three-pointers in the first half and finished the game 10 of 17 from the arc, while Warsaw was 1 of 5 from three-point range.
Jones, Barnett and Wagner hit three treys each.
Already leading by 10, 43-33, Elkhart Memorial took complete control of the game with a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter.
Turovers by the Lady Tigers, who turned the ball over 22 times in the loss, helped Elkhart Memorial build its lead.
The Michigan State-bound Taylor led the Lady Crimson Chargers with six steals and also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
"We definitely played harder tonight than we did against Penn," said Fielstra, whose team lost 45-37 to Penn in the regular-season finale. "We've just got to work on the little things and stay healthy. I think they're going to be excited to play Saturday."
ELKHART MEMORIAL 60, WARSAW 43
W 11 11 8 13 - 43
EM 7 20 13 20 - 60
Warsaw - Kayla Stout 10-19 23, Sarah Heagy 3-6 3-6 9, Lindsay Baker 2-6 0-0 5, Lauren Burish 0-1 2-2 2, Madison Davis 1-1 0-0 2, Jennifer Walker-Crawford 1-3 0-0 2, Eryn Leek 0-0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Harrison 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-37 8-14 43.
Elk. Memorial - Monica Jones 8-13 0-0 19, Brionna Barnett 5-11 2-2 15, Akyah Taylor 5-14 1-3 11, Alyssa Wagner 3-5 0-0 9, Khadijah Moore 2-2 1-2 6, Haleigh Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Haley King 0-0 0-0 0, Victoria Kyle 0-0 0-0 0, Lisa Parsons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-46 4-7 60.
Three-pointers - Warsaw 1 (Baker), Memorial 10 (Jones 3, Barnett 3, Wagner 3, Moore); Rebounds - Warsaw 24 (Stout 10), Memorial 23 (Taylor 8); Turnovers - Warsaw 22, Memorial 17; Fouls - Warsaw 12, Memorial 15; Records: Warsaw 11-9, Memorial 22-1.
