The Warsaw girls basketball team trounced Carroll 50-24 Wednesday at the Tiger Den.
The win is Warsaw’s fourth straight and fifth in six games.
Even more impressively, the victory came against a 7-2 Carroll squad that was coming off a win over defending Northern Lakes Conference champion Northridge.
“We knew we were gonna have to respect them ... anybody who beats Northridge is a pretty good team,” said Warsaw coach Lenny?Krebs.
Warsaw (7-4) and Carroll (7-3) traded leads seven times in the first half before the Lady Tigers went into halftime ahead 22-18.
They had some adjustments to make in the locker room.
“The first half tonight, we were in panic mode,” Krebs said. “We turned the basketball over too much. We knocked that down a little in the second half. In the second half, we were much more composed.”
Freshman Kacilyn Krebs came out of the break firing. She hit two three-pointers and another bucket to score Warsaw’s first eight points of the second half.
Suddenly, it was a 12-point game.
“It was kind of that nothing to lose attitude,” Kacilyn Krebs said. “Just coming out, it was a tight game, and we had to do what we had to do to win.”
From there, freshman Abby Sanner shouldered the scoring load.
She scored all of her game-high 13 points in the second half, and was 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
“Abby’s one of those kids as a freshman, she doesn’t realize how much upside she has,” coach Krebs said. “When she finally figures out how big she is and what she’s capable of doing, it’s really gonna be a fun site to see.”
The Lady?Tigers held a 15-point lead after the third quarter, and cruised to victory in the fourth.
Warsaw’s Brielle Harrison scored eight of her 10 points in the first half, as the Lady Tigers attacked Carroll’s press defense.
“We talk about it all the time,” coach Krebs said. “The best way to get rid of the pressure is to puncture it.”
Warsaw’s offensive attack forced the Lady?Chargers to scale back on the press in the second half.
Meanwhile, Carroll shot 9 of 36 from the floor throughout the game, and scored just six points in the second half.
“We had some girls who played very well on Saturday (against Northridge),” said Carroll coach?Mark Redding. “Today, they didn’t do anything, that’s just the ups and downs you’re gonna have when you have a young team.”
Kaylee Patton and Krebs each scored eight points, while Maddie Ryman added seven.
The game marked the 20th time Warsaw and Carroll have faced each other. They’ve won 10 games each.
The Lady Tigers will host Plymouth Saturday in their Northern Lakes Conference opener.
