COLUMBIA CITY – Warsaw’s winning streak over Columbia City didn’t just end Tuesday night, it came to a screeching halt. In a high school girls basketball game at Donald S. Weeks Gymansium, the Lady Tigers struggled handling and shooting the ball, as they fell 38-24 to the host Lady Eagles. Warsaw had won 13 of its last 14 meetings with Columbia City, including 11 straight. Tuesday night, however, the Lady Tigers flirted with their lowest point total in program history, scoring one more point than the 1982 team did in a sectional game against Wawasee. “Defensively, I thought we did a good job on them,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. “Offensively, we just couldn’t put it in the basket. We wanted to establish our inside game, and we just missed too many layups and shots in the paint.” The Lady Tigers, who are now 2-5 on the season, committed 20 turnovers and were just 9 of 38 (23 percent) from the field overall. Warsaw, which finished the game 1 of 11 from the arc, only trailed 16-14 at halftime but made just 4 of 22 shots from the field in the third and fourth quarters. “We have to be able to hit shots,” said Harter. “You can’t shoot 23 percent and expect to win.” Leading by just two points at halftime, the Lady Eagles, who are now 7-2 on the season, outscored Warsaw 11-3 in the third quarter and 22-10 in the second half overall. “I’m disappointed with the start (of our season),” said Harter. “We haven’t really played Lady Tiger Basketball yet. We’ve done some things we don’t normally do, and we’ve struggled shooting. We have to step up and hit some shots.” Senior Nikki Grose, who missed Warsaw’s previous two games because of a concussion, came off the bench Tuesday and led the Lady Tigers with eight points and five rebounds. Senior Eryn Leek scored five points, while senior Brooklyn Harrison and freshman Page Desenberg scored four points each. The Lady Eagles, who also struggled shooting (12 of 31 from the field) and handling the ball (18 turnovers) got 11 points and six rebounds from 6-foot-2 senior Emily Whiteleather. All of Whiteleather’s points came in the second half. She scored nine of them in the third quarter as Columbia City pulled away from the Lady Tigers. Juniors Aubrey Wright and Macie Hinen scored nine and eight points, respectively, for the Lady Eagles, while freshman Alyssa Hansen chipped in with seven. Warsaw has little time to feel sorry for itself, as it opens Northern Lakes Conference play Thursday at Plymouth, and then travels to Wawasee Saturday. “We’re going to get right back at it,” said Harter. “Plymouth is a good team. They play very good defense. We’re going to have to knock down some shots.” Columbia City hosts Northeast Hoosier Conference foe East Noble Saturday.
COLUMBIA CITY 38, WARSAW 24 W 4 10 3 7 – 24 CC 7 9 11 11 – 38 Warsaw – Page Desenberg 1-3 2-2 4, Kilee Slone 0-2 0-0 0, Vickie Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Jodie Carlson 0-3 1-2 1, Eryn Leek 2-4 0-0 5, Pam Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Brooklyn Harrison 2-7 0-0 4, Erin Clemens 0-2 2-2 2, Nikki Grose 4-13 0-1 8. Totals 9-38 5-7 24. Col. City – Elise Cormany 0-3 0-0 0, Aubrey Wright 2-7 4-6 9, Chelsea Pettigrew 0-3 1-2 1, Alyssa Hansen 2-4 3-4 7, Holly Martinez 1-2 0-0 2, Macie Hinen 3-7 2-2 8, Natalia Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Whiteleather 4-5 3-5 11. Totals 12-31 13-19 38. Three-pointers – Warsaw 1 (Leek), Col. City 1 (Wright); Rebounds – Warsaw 23 (Grose 5), Col. City 30 (Whiteleather 6, Hinen 6); Turnovers – Warsaw 20, Col. City 18; Fouls – Warsaw 17, Col. City 12; Fouled out – none. Records: Warsaw 2-5, Col. City 7-2 JV – Warsaw 40, Col. City 22 Warsaw (7-0) – Madi Graham 14, Dayton Groninger 13, Tahya Bruce 4, Courtney Steffensmeier 3, Page Desenberg 2, Alexis Devenney 2
