Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw experienced a little deja vu against Fort Wayne Snider Saturday.
Just like their previous meeting this season with the Panthers, the Tigers fell behind early and had to scrap just to get back into the game only to have the tank run empty at the end. It was more of the same in the regional as the Panthers held off the Tigers 55-49 in the Warsaw Girls Basketball 4A Regional.
The first quarter again proved the downfall for the Tigers as Snider jumped out to a 17-4 lead. The Tigers turned the ball over 13 times in that opening frame, leading to several layup opportunities for the Panthers. On the other end, the turnovers prevented the Tigers from getting any looks at all at the basket as they made only 1 of 4 from the field, while Snider was 7 of 14.
"We had some of our best practices of the year this week," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said. "Never in a million years did I think we would come out and not be ready to play. When they got up 10-0, we said 'uh-oh,' and we started to play on our heels."
It was 30-12 before Warsaw finally got righted and trimmed the margin to 34-22 at halftime on a 7-0 run to end the half. The run came right after Snider looked as though it might take control of the game. After a technical foul on Wienhorst (his first in 12 years), the Panthers could only make 2 of 8 free throws in the sequence.
Julianne Chard was the big Tiger killer as she collected 19 points in the first half on 7 of 8 shooting from the field.
"They hit everything they threw up there," Wienhorst said. "They came out blazing. I have seen seven of their game films, and they never played like this."
Warsaw opened the third quarter strong and cut the lead to 37-31 with 5:07 to play. The Panthers then went almost five minutes without scoring. The Tigers, however, were not able to take advantage as they also went five minutes without scoring.
Warsaw would get more chances, though.
The Tigers cut the lead to 46-43 when Jackie Edwards converted on two free throws midway through the fourth. FW Snider still led by three, 48-45, when the Panthers got two big free throws each from Lakia Jones and Brooke Minniear to open up a 52-45 lead.
But with no time outs left, Warsaw was not able to stop the clock as Snider held onto the lead.
"What hurt us at the end was an accumulation of a lot of things," Wienhorst said. "All our energy and timeouts were burnt. You just don't know how much energy was burnt to come back within three points. We were a little timid and a little tired.
"Down 17-4 and down 30-12, that is a big hole to come back against a 20-4 team," he said. "These kids came to play. For us to come back and get it to within three, we did a lot of things right."
Chard burnt the Tigers' defense for those 19 first-half points en route to 22 points. Snider didn't have any other player in double figures.
Tiffany Ross led Warsaw with 22 points after going scoreless in the first quarter. Ross also added 10 boards as the Tigers dominated the rebounds 40-23. Despite early foul trouble, Jackie Edwards added 10 points and six rebounds. Katie Elliott added seven points and nine boards.
It was a roller coaster, injury-filled campaign as the Tigers finish the season at 15-9 with a Concord Sectional championship to their credit. Warsaw will lose seven seniors from this team in Tiffany and Sherri Ross, Edwards, Alyssa Raphael, Cheyenne Albertson, Shannon Barger and Sam Wideman.
"Right now, I am disappointed," Wienhorst said. "When you talk about this season and the injuries, these kids could have folded."
Fort Wayne Snider improves to 21-4.
