Shooting Woes Doom Lady WarriorsLIGONIER – In an otherwise even game statistically, Wawasee couldn’t knock shots and fell 40-29 to NorthWood in Class 3A sectional action at West Noble High School. The Lady Warriors made just three field goals in the first half, trailing 12-2 after one period and 22-10 at halftime, and NorthWood’s defense never allowed Wawasee to make a run to get significantly closer the rest of the way. Wawasee head coach Matt Carpenter said NorthWood was able to dictate the pace of the game, which caused problems for Wawasee early on. “You have to give credit to NorthWood, they came out and were able to rattle us a little bit and played a tempo that was their style and not quite our style,” he said. “We just couldn’t get into a flow offensively, and that led to missed shots. And a lot of missed shots makes defensive transition to get back difficult against a team that likes to push the ball like they did. “It was not the start we wanted by any means, and give credit to NorthWood. My girls were prepared. We didn’t come out and execute like we wanted to and it came back to haunt us in the end.” Statistically speaking, the game was even in terms of rebounds (27 for each team), turnovers (12 each) and fouls (NorthWood had 18, Wawasee 17). The Lady Warriors made five more free throws, but NorthWood made six more field goals, including four from beyond the arc. Wawasee didn’t hit a three-pointer in the game. Carpenter felt like after the first quarter, the sectional game resembled the Jan. 7 Northern Lakes Conference game, which Wawasee won 52-46. But by that point, the deficit was too much to overcome. “We lost a couple of people from time-to-time defensively, but we settled in. When we can set up our defense in half-court, we can be tough,” he said. “The problem is when offensively you’re missing so many shots, or not getting in a flow or you’re taking quick shots, then they can get out and run against us. They scored in transition early on us, that’s how they built their lead, and their momentum kept carrying them.” Hannah-Marie Lamle led Wawasee with 10 points, with Hannah Haines adding eight. NorthWood’s Nicole Flickinger had 11 points to lead all scorers, with Savannah Feenstra and Madison Payne scoring eight points each. NorthWood (16-9) advanced to take on 3A No. 8 Tippecanoe Valley (20-4) in the second semifinal Friday night. The Lady Panthers beat Valley 50-41 on Jan. 10, which was the last time the Lady Vikings lost. The first semifinal has West Noble, a 63-51 winner over Lakeland, taking on Fairfield. The first game Friday starts at 6 p.m. Wawasee finished its season with a 10-13 record.
