Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NAPPANEE - The NorthWood Lady Panther basketball team handed Wawasee its first loss of the season in December.
Now the Panthers handed them their last loss in February.
NorthWood beat Wawasee 42-32 in Thursday's NorthWood Sectional semifinals.
Wawasee made it a game this time, holding NorthWood to 11 points in the first quarter and even leading for a while. But turnovers in the second quarter allowed NorthWood to run and Wawasee to fall.
NorthWood went on a 14-2 run with four minutes left in the first half, and Wawasee never recovered.
The Warriors lost starting guard Aubrey Coy late in the second quarter after she was hit in the face with an elbow. Warrior trainer Amy Scott said afterward Coy lost one tooth and part of another.
Losing Coy meant the Warriors lost the high defensive pressure she puts on the opposing point guard, the same pressure that helped Wawasee lead early in the game.
NorthWood built its lead in the third quarter, outscoring Wawasee 2 to 1 to go up by 18 into the fourth.
Wawasee couldn't get anything going until the final three minutes of the game. By then it was too late.
"I thought, number one, our kids played extremely well defensively, and we rebounded," Wawasee coach Randy Aalbregtse said. "They didn't get a lot of second shots, and they're a very good offensive rebounding team. They didn't get very many transitions. They did get some steals, but they never really got it off the boards and ran.
"We did a lot of good things tonight. It's been a good season."
Wawasee finished the season 14-5.
NorthWood, 20-0, meets Fairfield in Saturday's sectional championship.
