Warsaw girls basketball coach Michelle Harter believes in her seniors. Tuesday night against Fort Wayne Bishop Luers it was evident why, as Jennifer Walker-Crawford, Melanie Holladay and Lindsay Baker led the Lady Tigers to a 61-44 win. “I can’t say enought about these seniors,” said Harter, whose team is 2-0 and has won those games by 22 and 17 points. “They really stepped up tonight.” The talented trio combined to score 43 of Warsaw’s 61 points and grab 21 of the Lady Tigers’ 41 rebounds. After scoring a career-high 21 points against Huntington North Saturday, Walker-Crawford scored a game-high 17 points against the Lady Knights and pulled down a team-high nine boards. Holladay added career-highs of 17 points and seven rebounds, and Baker chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. “Melanie Holladay picked up two quick fouls, and she came back and had a great game,” said Harter. “Tonight you saw what she’s capable of. She’s a hard-nosed kid. She gets after it.” Junior Nikki Grose added nine points and four rebounds in the win, while junior Brooklyn Harrison added eight points and six rebounds. Sophomore Pam Miller rounded out the Lady Tigers’ offensive production with a free throw. Thanks to a 12-2 run, Warsaw led 16-9 after one quarter of play, then led 27-23 at halftime and 44-32 at the end of third quarter. After Luers closed the gap to four points at halftime, Warsaw outscored the Lady Knights 34-19 in the third and fourth quarters. Warsaw led by as many as 20 points, 59-39, in the final frame. “We could have got rattled when Luers made it close, but we didn’t,” said Harter. “The girls responded and played the way we’re capable of. They stuck to the game plan and got the ball inside, and we beat a great program tonight.” Luers has played in the Class 2A state championship game the past three seasons. A number of those players have graduated, however, and Tuesday night Warsaw handed the Lady Knights their third-straight loss already this season. Freshman Tashayla Sutorius led Luers with 15 points, while junior Addie Reimbold added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Juniors Allison Butler and Erin Butler chipped in with seven and six points, respetively. The Lady Tigers are in action again Friday when they host county rival Tippecanoe Valley (1-0). “They lost their leading scorer from last year, but they have some kids who are very capable,” Harter said of Valley. “They’re going to be quick. We can’t let them speed us up. We want to play our game – play solid defense and be patient on offense.”
