NorthWood Dominates Boards, Downs Lady TigersOn a night where the opposition grabbed more offensive rebounds than they grabbed total rebounds, the Warsaw Lady Tigers basketball team fell to NorthWood 38-43. The loss was their fifth straight, pushing them a game under .500 on the season.
In the opening quarter, Warsaw struggled to contain six-foot-tall NorthWood senior Kate Rulli, who scored six of her team’s nine points in the period. Rulli would go on to grab 14 rebounds – 10 offensive – and score 17 points, leading both teams in each statistic.
Warsaw shot only 30 percent from the field in the quarter, scoring eight points. Senior Kaylee Patton kept the team afloat, scoring five for the Lady Tigers.
After briefly taking the lead in the second quarter, Warsaw faced a 15-12 deficit with a minute to go in the half. With 10 seconds remaining, however, junior Kendall Wayne drove to the hoop for a score to cut the lead to one point at the half.
The game-defining run came in the third quarter, when the game slipped away from the Lady Warriors. NorthWood junior Alea Minnich scored five points on consecutive shots to open the quarter; the Lady Panthers ended up outscoring Warsaw 12-3 by the end of the period.
Despite being dominated in the third, Warsaw staged a valiant comeback effort in the final quarter to make a game of it. Utilizing a high-pressure defensive press, they made NorthWood look visibly uncomfortable with the ball throughout the entire fourth.
Sophomore Kacilyn Krebs started the comeback effort with a three-pointer, followed by four made free throws by herself and sophomore Bailey Stephens to cut the lead to only two. The teams then continued to trade baskets until the score stood at 40-38 with just over a minute to go.
After missing several decent looks at the basket that would have tied the game, Warsaw committed two crucial turnovers. Then, continuing another dominant quarter in which she scored 7 points and grabbed multiple crucial rebounds, Rulli hit a putback and a free throw to put the game on ice, 38-43.
Overall, Warsaw shot 33 percent from the field and was led in scoring by Wayne, who had nine points. Krebs and Stephens each chipped in with eight.
Sophomore Abby Sanner led the team with four total rebounds.
“Defensively, we were alright in the first half,” said Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs. “We had too many squandered opportunities in the second half, though. They would miss shots, and we didn’t grab the boards.”
Krebs stated that practice this week would include a high emphasis on rebounding, considering NorthWood grabbed 21 offensive rebounds alone, compared to his team’s 18 total boards.
“Rebounding like that isn’t acceptable,” Krebs continued. “To paraphrase Charles Barkley, we have to just go get the doggone ball. I take the blame for that, and this game. We have to be tougher, and that starts in practice.”
Warsaw (4-5, 0-0 NLC) will play Saturday against Fort Wayne Snider at Grace College.
