Lady Tigers Rally, But Are Doomed By Offensive Woes
Posted
Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
LAPORTE - Warsaw never held a lead over No. 9 Merrillville in Saturday's Class 4A girls basketball regional semifinal game at LaPorte High School. The Lady Tigers, however, did make things interesting before falling 48-36, and did so despite slow starts to each half, 21 turnovers and a dismal 23 percent shooting from the field. If the Lady Tigers had started each half the way they ended them, who knows how different the game could have been. "That was one of the things we talked about, not coming out and playing scared," said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter, whose team finished the season with a 15-11 record, while Merrillville's 12-point win improved the Lady Pirates to 20-7 and advanced them to Saturday night's regional final against No. 7 Lake Central. Lake Central beat No. 5 Penn 49-45 in Saturday's first semifinal. "We came out and played too fast," continued Harter. "We let their athleticism bother us, and we turned the ball over. We came out in the third quarter and did the same thing." After turnovers on five of its first six possessions, Warsaw quickly found itself in a 13-1 hole. By halftime, though, the Lady Tigers were very much back in the game, trailing just 19-15 at the break despite 11 turnovers and a 3-of-19 performance from the field. More turnovers and erratic play to start the third quarter caused the Lady Tigers to lose all the ground they had made up, as Merrillville outscored them 11-2 in the frame and took a 30-17 lead into the fourth quarter. Warsaw cut the deficit to six, 35-29, on a three-pointer by sophomore Madi Graham with 3:56 remaining in the game, but when all was said and done the Lady Tigers' offensive woes in the first and third quarters doomed them. In the 16 minutes that made up the first and third quarters, the Lady Tigers were outscored 24-6 and committed 19 turnovers. In the other 16 minutes of action, Warsaw outscored Merrillville 30-24 and turned the ball over just twice. "We battled back and had a chance in the fourth quarter," said Harter. "I think we proved that the right team won the sectional and that we belonged here. We battled back, and I think we gave Merrillville a tougher game than they thought we would." The Lady Tigers, who held a 37-28 advantage on the boards, finished the game just 9 of 40 from the field overall, 3 of 11 from the arc, but did convert 15 of 21 free throw attempts. Sophomore Dayton Groninger led warsaw with 11 points and eight rebounds, while senior Vicki Harris and Graham scored eight points each. Seniors Pam Miller and Erin Clemens pulled down 11 and nine boards, respectively. Along with Harris, Miller and Clemens, the Lady Tigers will say goodbye to senior Jodie Carlson. "These four seniors have been amazing the entire year," said Harter. "They've battled adversity, and at times they weren't in the starting lineup. They didn't hang their heads or complain, they put the team first. I told them I'll take hard workers over athletes any day. They came out and worked hard and did everything we asked of them. That says a lot about them." Michigan State-bound Victoria Gaines led Merrillville with 14 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals, while Jasmine Wright and Jaz Talley scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Lady Pirates were 14 of 37 from the field overall, 4 of 11 from the arc, and 16 of 25 from the charity stripe. Merrillville had seven fewer turnovers than Warsaw.
