DUNLAP – As a third-grader, Lindsay Baker watched as Jaclyn Leininger, Michelle DeGeeter and Julie Seiss led Warsaw’s girls basketball team on a magical run through the postseason. Now a senior, Baker and her teammates are enjoying some success of their own. With a 46-35 win over Northridge Saturday night at Concord High School, the Class 4A No. 8 Lady Tigers won the program’s first sectional championship since 2004 – the year Leininger and Co. advanced to the state finals. “I remember sitting in the gym and watching Jaclyn and Michelle and that great team,” said Baker, who scored a team-high 13 points against Northridge. “I loved basketball, and I looked up to those players. And for Jaclyn to be Miss Basketball, that was a huge thing in Warsaw. I remember how exciting it was, and to experience a sectional championship of our own, I can’t put it into words.” Warsaw is now 22-1 on the season and will play Penn (19-4) Saturday at 12:30 ET in the second semifinal game of the Valparaiso Regional. Fifth-ranked Merrillville (22-1) and Lake Central (16-7) will play in the first game at 10:30 a.m. ET. The championship game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET, with the winner advancing to a one-game semistate at either Crown Point or Warsaw. “I wanted this so much for these girls,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter, whose team captured the program’s 16th sectional crown. “It means so much to see these seniors be sectional champs, they’ve worked so hard for this.” They certainly had to work for it Saturday night. The Northridge Lady Raiders, who finished the season with a 19-5 record, trailed just 12-10 after one quarter of play and led Warsaw 15-14 at halftime. A night after they held Concord scoreless in the second quarter of a sectional semifinal game, they Lady Tigers themselves scored just two points in the second stanza against Northridge. Warsaw, however, came out of the halftime break on a mission, outscoring the Lady Raiders 14-3 in the third quarter and 32-20 in the second half overall. “We’re such an experienced group,” said senior Jennifer Walker-Crawford. “Our poise and patience paid off. We didn’t play that well in the first half, but when it got to crunch time we knew what to do.” Trailing 28-18 at the end of the third quarter, Northridge refused to lay down and die. The Lady Raiders cut the deficit to four, 32-28, but a 10-1 run by Warsaw certainly gave the Lady Tigers and their fans reason to cheer. “We kept our composure and let the game come to us in the second half,” said Baker. “At crunch time, we made plays. We focused on possession at a time and doing the little things. It was get a stop, get a score.” Warsaw had just four turnovers in the game, while Northridge turned it over 12 times. In what was a low-possession, defensive battle, the Lady Tigers outscored Northridge 9-2 in points off turnovers. “The defensive end was the key for us,” said Harter. “We made (Northridge) work hard and we wore them down. We’ve talked about being poised all year long, and at crunch time we got baskets when we needed them. We attacked the basket and we hit some key free throws.” Though they struggled at the free throw line at times, the Lady Tigers finished the game 13 of 24 at the charity stripe, while Northridge was 5 of 8. To go with her 13 points, Baker also grabbed five rebounds in the win. Nikki Grose led Warsaw on the glass with a game-high 12 boards. Walker-Crawford scored nine points, while Grose and Eryn Leek added six points each, Melanie Holladay chipped in with five, Brooklyn Harrison scored four and Sarah Ray finished with three. Haley Schrock led Northridge with a game-high 15 points, while Taylor Miller and Madison Schrock added eight and five points, respectively.
WARSAW 46, NORTHRIDGE 35 War 12 2 14 18 – 46 NR 10 5 3 17 – 35 Warsaw – Sarah Ray 1-3 0-0 3, Melanie Holladay 2-8 1-3 5, Eryn Leek 1-4 3-4 6, Jennifer Walker-Crawford 3-5 3-4 9, Lindsay Baker 5-12 2-2 9, Brooklyn Harrison 1-3 2-5 4, Nikki Grose 2-4 2-6 6. Totals 15-39 13-24 46. Northridge – Brianne O’Dell 0-3 0-0 0, Morgan Miller 2-3 0-0 4, Haley Schrock 5-11 2-2 15, Madison Schrock 2-10 0-0 5, Ellie Lengacher 0-2 0-0 0, Mikela Zook 1-1 1-2 3, Taylor Miller 2-7 2-4 8, Molly Bontrager 0-0 0-0 0, Kim Swank 0-0 0-0 0, Keianna Yoder 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-37 5-8 35. Three-pointers – Warsaw 3 (Ray, Leek, Baker), Northridge 6 (H. Schrock 3, T. Miller 2, M. Schrock); Rebounds – Warsaw 29 (Grose 12), Northridge 27 (H. Schrock 6, M. Schrock 6); Turnovers – Warsaw 4, Northridge 12; Fouls – Warsaw 12, Northridge 20; Fouled out – M. Miller; Records: Warsaw 22-1, Northridge 19-5
