By winning the Lady Tiger Tournament and the Northern Lakes Conference, Warsaw’s varsity girls basketball team has been able to cross some things off its to-do list. Next on the Lady Tigers’ agenda is a sectional championship, something they haven’t won since 2004. “Winning the sectional would mean a lot for our program,” said coach Michelle Harter, whose team enters Class 4A Sectional 4 at Concord High School with a 19-1 record. “It’s been a while since we’ve won the sectional. Winning it would help put Lady Tiger Basketball back where it used to be.” Warsaw opens tournament play Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Elkhart Memorial – a program that has won nine straight sectional titles and ousted the Lady Tigers from postseason play in each of the past five seasons. Goshen and Elkhart Central play in Tuesday’s second game at approximately 7:30 p.m. At 6 p.m. Friday, Concord will play either Warsaw or Memorial, and Northridge will then play Goshen or Central. Friday’s winners will meet Saturday evening for a berth in the Valparaiso Regional. Despite being ranked in the top 10, owning a 19-1 record and having a 4-0 mark this season against the rest of the sectional field, Harter doesn’t believe the Lady Tigers are the team with a target on their back. “I don’t think we have a target on our back,” said Harter. “Elkhart Memorial has won nine straight sectional titles. I think that’s who has a target on their back. They’re ready to pay every year in the sectional. Yeah, we have the best record in the sectional and we won the conference, but every team has a clean slate now.” Prior to a 39-32 win in Elkhart on Jan. 22, the Lady Tigers had lost 13-straight games to Memorial. Harter believes that win was a huge confidence builder for her team. “That win was huge for our confidence,” said Harter. “Memorial is a great program, and we have to be ready to play Tuesday, but our girls have worked very hard and they’re starting to see their work play off. We just need to be focused and remember to do the little things.” Doing the little things, like playing unselfishly, diving for loose balls and being active on defense, have led the Lady Tigers to their best season in nearly a decade. Warsaw won its first 18 games and flirted with its first undefeated regular season since the 1989-90 campaign. A 34-30 loss at NorthWood, however, brought the Lady Tigers back down to earth. While an undefeated season would be nice, winning the sectional is more important to Harter and her team. And the loss in Nappanee, well, that may be just what Harter needed to get her team’s attention heading into postseason play. “It wasn’t just that we lost, but it was the way we lost,” said Harter. “We got away from doing the things that made us good. We played as individuals instead of as a team. We didn’t do all the little things that we had all season. The girls came to practice Monday and were completely refocused. Not that they haven’t worked hard all season, but that was the best practice we’ve had. This team has a great group of leaders, and I’m confident they’ll be ready to play Tuesday.” Senior Jennifer Walker-Crawford leads Warsaw’s scoring attack with 14 points per game. She’s second on the team with six rebounds per contest. Senior Lindsay Baker averages 12 points and four boards per game, and leads the team in both assists and steals. Junior Nikki Grose averages 11 points and nine rebounds per game. The heart and soul of the Lady Tigers may be their defense, as they give up just 35 points per game. As a team, Warsaw has 225 steals this season, while the opposition has just 122. Seven Lady Tigers have at least 17 steals this season. Five of them have at least 29.
