After losing to Warsaw twice last year, Penn High School’s varsity girls basketball team certainly proved it was the better squad Wednesday night. Playing like what Warsaw coach Michelle Harter described as sharks smelling blood in the water, the Class 4A No. 5 Lady Kingsmen used an active defense and a balanced offense to beat the host Lady Tigers 63-36. “They took advantage and attacked us,” Harter said of the Lady Kingsmen, who had beaten Warsaw just once in eight previous meetings. “They have weapons inside and outside. We were a step slow, and we just weren’t fundamental. We came out and played a little scared in the first half, and Penn could see that. They put more pressure on us. They were like sharks smelling blood in the water.” With the 27-point win, Penn improved to 15-1, while Warsaw fell to 7-9. The Lady Tigers’ final statline shows they shot 48 percent from the field, which isn’t bad at all. The problem was Warsaw didn’t get a lot of opportunities, as it turned the ball over 23 times, including 15 in the first half. The Lady Tigers’ turnover woes helped Penn to a 17-6 lead after one quarter of play and a 34-12 advantage by halfime. Of the Lady Kingsmen’s 34 points in the first half, 22 were scored off Warsaw turnovers. In all, Penn scored 37 points off Warsaw turnovers. “The first half killed us,” said Harter, whose team finished the game 15 of 31 from the field overall, 3 of 9 from the arc, and 3 of 7 at the free throw line. “We dug ourselves a huge hole in the first half.” The Lady Kingsmen, who were 24 of 49 overall, 5 of 10 from three-point range and 10 of 11 at the charity stripe, made 12 steals in the win, dished out 11 assists and committed just nine turnovers. “Penn is a very good team, and they took advantage of our turnovers,” said Harter. Senior Caroline Buhr and sophomores Kaitlyn Marenyi and Camryn Buhr scored 12 points each for the Lady Kingsmen, while sophomore Claire Carlton added 10 points and senior Jessica Alexander chipped in with eight points. Seniors Eryn Leek and Nikki Grose led the Lady Tigers with 10 points each, while classmate Brooklyn Harrison added seven points. Grose led all players with seven rebounds. Warsaw opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run but got no closer than 14 points at any point in the second half. “We played better in the second half, we just dug ourselves too deep of a hole,” said Harter. The Lady Tigers have just four games left until they try and defend their first sectional title in a decade. Warsaw is in action again Saturday when it hosts Northern Lakes Conference foe Concord (6-9), followed by a home game with league foe Elkhart Memorial (5-8) on Jan. 28. The Lady Tigers’ last two games of the regular season are against conference rival NorthWood (14-4) on Feb. 1 and at Homestead (15-1) on Feb. 4. “This is a big stretch for us,” Harter said of trying to play well and gain momentum going into the state tournament. “It’s important for us to play as a team, five players working together, not as individuals.”
PENN 63, WARSAW 36 P 17 17 12 17 – 63 W 6 6 12 12 – 36 Penn – Kaitlyn Marenyi 4-7 3-4 12, Lauren Ellenburger 1-7 2-2 4, Jessica Alexander 2-8 3-3 8, Caroline Buhr 5-7 2-2 12, Cassandra Morton 1-1 0-0 3, Claire Cartlon 4-4 0-0 10, Camryn Buhr 6-9 0-0 12, Lindsay Chrise 1-3 0-0 2, Kamra Solomon 0-3 0-0 0. Warsaw – Tahya Bruce 0-0 0-0 0, Page Desenberg 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Farling 1-1 0-0 3, Vicki Harris 0-0 0-2 0, Jodie Carlson 2-3 0-0 4, Eryn Leek 4-9 0-0 10, Pam Miller 1-3 0-1 2, Madi Graham 0-0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Harrison 3-6 1-1 7, Dayton Groninger 0-0 0-0 0, Erin Clemens 0-2 0-0 0, Nikki Grose 4-7 2-3 10. Totals 15-31 3-7 36. Three-pointers – Penn 5 (Carlton 2, Marenyi, Alexander, Morton), Warsaw 3 (Leek 2, Farling); Rebounds – Penn 21 (Cam. Buhr 6), Warsaw 22 (Grose 7); Turnovers – Penn 9, Warsaw 23; Fouls – Penn 14, Warsaw 12; Fouled out – none; Records: Penn 15-1, Warsaw 7-9 JV – Penn 44, Warsaw 42 Warsaw – Dayton Groninger 18, Tahya Bruce 11, Page Desenberg 7, Madi Graham 3, Courtney Steffensmeier 1
