Despite going nearly 10 minutes without a point, the Warsaw girls basketball team managed to open its Northern Lakes Conference season with a home win Saturday.
Between the 5:53 point of the third quarter and 3:56 mark of the fourth, the Warsaw Lady Tigers (3-3, 1-0 NLC) were outscored 9-0 by the Plymouth Lady Pilgrims (6-2, 0-1 NLC). However, the tide turned when Warsaw outscored Plymouth 8-1 down the stretch for the 38-35 victory."Give Warsaw credit," Plymouth coach Dave Cox said. "They came in and really attacked us. It was a nice game, but we didn't execute at the end. Bottom line is, on the road you have to execute."
The 9-0 run may have been nice for the Lady Pilgrims, but Cox wanted a few more points during that span, but Plymouth was playing with sophomore Amber Redinger.
While battling for a loose ball, Redinger, who had seven points and five rebounds in the first half, suffered a bloody nose midway through the third quarter. The injury kept her off the floor until four-and-a-half minutes remained in the game.
"She's a good inside kid that can finish," Cox said about Redinger. "When we didn't have her on the floor, we struggled to finish."
After going on top 34-30 with 4:32 to play, Plymouth began to play a little keep-away, but turned the ball over on two-straight possessions while holding a 35-34 lead in the closing minutes.
"We just got ourselves all out of the shape, and basically, gave the game away," he added. "I thought we had control with about 2:30 to go, and then bingo, we let is slip away."
Given the opportunity, Warsaw capitalized, first with senior Kayla Stout converting two free throws to take the lead with 27 seconds, then freshman Eryn Leek stepping up to give her team the 38-35 lead with two made free throws with just 12 seconds left.
"Eryn's been practicing with us all year long," Warsaw coach Michelle Harter said about the freshman, who started the game. "She's been running the point on the (junior varsity) and doing such a great job. That was one area we were really lacking, which was a true point guard and someone who would run the floor. I talked to Eryn this week, saying, 'I really want you to step up and be a leader, because we need somebody out there to lead for us.' That helps some of the other girls relax."
The made free throws were Leek's only points, while Stout led the way with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.
"She's been playing well, but this game, she really stepped up," Harter said about Stout. "She was disappointed in the way we played at Wabash, so she wanted to come out and prove we could take it to a tough Plymouth team."
Warsaw's previous game had been a 71-41 loss at Class 2A No. 10 Wabash, so coming back against their rival to open the NLC season was a welcomed challenge.
"This was a big game, especially for our confidence level - being such a young team and not playing well at Wabash," Harter said. "We had three hard practices. The girls responded real well by coming out against a tough Plymouth team."
Accompanying Stout's production, were sophomore Lindsay Baker's eight points and six rebounds and sophomore Jennifer Walker-Crawford's six points and five boards.
Warsaw welcomes the Columbia City Lady Eagles to the Tiger Den Tuesday before returning back to NLC play Saturday at home against Wawasee.
