Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The Warsaw Tiger girls basketball team had a lot riding against 5-10 Concord Saturday night in a Northern Lakes Conference tilt.
Not only would a loss essentially eliminate Warsaw from the NLC title race, but also the Tigers were playing without senior guard Julie Seiss.
Seiss injured her surgically repaired right shoulder in a 51-36 loss to East Chicago Central Friday night.
So not only did the Tigers need to win for a chance at a conference crown, but also to prove they aren't a one-player team. Warsaw did just that in a 54-50 win over the Minutemen.
"I think there's a real sense of togetherness, " said Warsaw head coach John Snyder of his team's attitude in the absence of Seiss. "Lady Tiger basketball is bigger than one person and we will overcome."
Some missed free throws down the stretch nearly turned a total-team effort from a win into a loss.
The Tigers were just 3 of 7 from the charity stripe in the final minute of regulation as Concord trimmed a 10-point deficit to four.
After Amy Abbit went 1 of 5 from the line for the Tigers, Megan Wood hit both of her free throw tries with 33.3 seconds left to keep the Tigers lead at three possessions, 54-46.
It was Abbitt who got rolling first for Warsaw in the opening period.
Abbitt hit two three-pointers in the first quarter to keep Warsaw within a basket at 17-15 after the first quarter.
The second quarter was sophomore Carlye Snider's as the 5-foot-6 guard hit two three-pointers of her own as Warsaw built a three-point halftime lead at 29-24.
Senior forward Jennifer Scherer then took over in the second half. Scherer scored Warsaw's first eight points of the second half as she showed flashes of intensity on both offense and defense.
"There was a point where she was clearly the most dominant player on the floor," said Snyder of Scherer.
Scherer finished with a game-high 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Five of her rebounds came in the fourth quarter to including an offensive rebound after an Abbitt missed free throw that led to Wood's two free throws.
The Tigers outrebounded the Minutemen 41-27 for the evening.
Danielle DeGeeter scored four of her eight points in the fourth quarter to cap a balanced effort by the junior guard. DeGeeter finished with nine rebounds and four steals to go along with her eight points.
Snider also finished with eight points while Tasia Smith and Kate Denlinger each scored four points.
Smith missed much of the game after taking an elbow to the nose. While Snyder wasn't sure of Smith's status the possibility of a broken nose loomed.
As for Seiss, her status remains uncertain but she will travel to Indianapolis this week for further evaluation. The Butler-bound guard may sit out the final three games of the regular season.
Seiss will almost certainly sit out Thursday's game at South Bend Adams.
Prior to Saturday night, Seiss started 90 of 91 varsity games in her high school career. The lone exception was last season's senior night against Carroll in a 45-40 loss.
Jessica Dooley, Tracy Swain and Kelsey Eldridge each scored 11 points for Concord as the Minutemen dropped to 5-11 on the season.
Warsaw ups it record to 11-6 on the year and 4-1 in the NLC. The Tigers were nearly given a gift by county rival Wawasee as the Warriors took undefeated Plymouth to double overtime before falling 32-29.
The JV tipoff time for Thursday's game against Adams is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.
WARSAW 54, CONCORD 50
Concord 17 7 9 17 - 54
Warsaw 15 14 12 13 - 50
Concord FG FT R S Pts.
*Dooley 3-16 3-4 1 2 11
*Emerson 3-8 1-2 4 2 9
*Swain 3-8 4-4 4 0 11
*Clark 2-5 0-0 5 0 4
*Eldridge 4-8 2-2 5 3 11
Harnish 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Hartman 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
Fioritto 0-1 0-0 3 0 0
Draus 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Team 0-0 0-0 4 0 0
Totals 16-47 12-15 27 8 50
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
*DeGeeter 3-6 2-5 9 4 8
*Abbitt 3-11 1-5 2 1 9
*Scherer 4-9 7-8 10 0 15
*Clay 0-3 1-2 6 0 1
*Smith 1-3 2-2 4 2 4
Denlinger 2-5 0-0 3 0 4
Snider 3-6 0-0 1 0 8
Conley 1-3 0-2 2 2 2
Wood 0-1 3-4 0 0 3
Totals 11-41 6-10 17 7 31
Three-point goals - Concord 6-23 (Dooley 2-12, Emerson 2-4, Swain 1-3, Eldridge 1-2), Warsaw 4-16 (Abbitt 2-7, Snider 2-4). Turnovers - Concord 13, Warsaw 11. Fouls - Concord 22, Warsaw 16. Fouled out - Eldridge (Concord).
JV -ÊWarsaw 47, Concord 15
Warsaw scoring -ÊAlexis Albertson 13, Sara VanDeWater 9, Tera Clark 8
Ashlie Montel 6, Allison Reichard 5
Megan Davis 3, Liz Tat 2, Courtney Ogle 1
