SYRACUSE - The Northern Lakes Conference opener between the Wawasee and Goshen girls basketball teams started slow, but turned into a good one Friday in Syracuse.
After holding a 15-13 halftime lead, the Wawasee Lady Warriors (6-1, 1-0 NLC) netted 22 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 47-40 win over the Goshen Lady Redskins (5-3, 0-1 NLC).The point total may have picked up down the stretch, but it definitely didn't start that way, as each team mustered just five point in the first quarter.
"I think it was because it was the first (Northern Lakes Conference) game for each team," Wawasee coach Kem Zolman said about the slow start. "NLC games are always played a little bit differently. So, anything you had done to that point, kind of goes out the door. You have to get a feel for how NLC games will be played."
One thing that didn't go out the door was the scoring prowess of Wawasee sophomore KiLee Knafel.
Entering the game averaging 18 points per game, Knafel finished the game with 24, including 14 of the Lady Warriors' 15 first-half points.
"She's so worried about people thinking she's a ball hog," Zolman said about Knafel, who got her 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, making her first five. "I say, 'Sweetheart, the only person you need to worry about pleasing is me, and I'm saying shoot the dang ball.' That's the bottom line. When you're a shooter, you shoot first and think pass later. That's what she is. She just has to keep playing and not worry about who's saying what."
Through seven games, Knafel is averaging just 11 shots per game and is hitting 59 percent of them, including 11 of 21 from behind the three-point arc.
Being face-guarded after her hot start, other Lady Warriors needed to step up in the second half and senior Jonna Wiggs provided a big spark in the fourth quarter.
With Wawasee trailing 35-33, Wiggs nailed her first three-pointer of the night with 5:04 remaining after missing her previous five from beyond the arc. Wiggs' shot was followed by a Knafel bucket before she converted a trey, extending the Wawasee lead to 41-35 with 3:54 remaining in the game.
"Jonna hit those two threes, and that gave us our second wind," Zolman said.
Goshen did climb back, getting the ball while trailing 43-40 with 47 seconds remaining. However, a three-pointer by senior Natalie Newell was off the mark and hauled in by Wawasee senior Amy Walker.
From there, Wawasee went 4 of 4 from the free-throw line, sealing the win.
"Any time you play schools in the NLC, you have to do the little things well," Goshen coach Lenny Krebs said. "All the little travels, knowing where Wiggs is at - all those little things pile up."
Despite missing a game-tying three-pointer, Newell did finish the game with 14 points and seven rebounds, and had the talent to make Zolman nervous.
"I didn't know about this game," the Wawasee coach said. "This is one of the best offensive teams that Goshen has had in a few years. I really wasn't sure, but the kids seemed to find a way."
The Lady Warriors travel to South Bend Adams tonight before playing at rival Warsaw on Dec. 18.
