MIDDLEBURY – The cold weather limited the Warsaw girls basketball team’s practice time this week, but it didn’t keep the Lady Tigers from showcasing stellar defense Friday.
Warsaw held Elkhart Memorial to single-digit scoring in three quarters for a 40-20 victory in a Class 4A Sectional 4 game at Northridge Middle School.
The win comes after a week with just one practice, as school was canceled for several days because of extremely cold temperatures.
“I was proud of our energy,” said Warsaw coach Lenny Krebs. “I was concerned with where our energy was gonna be at after four or five days of laying around the house.”
Coach Krebs didn’t need to worry.
Freshman Kacilyn Krebs hit a three-pointer on Warsaw’s first possession, and classmate Abby Sanner followed that up with a bucket to give the Lady Tigers a 5-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Warsaw forced four turnovers early that limited the Lady Crimson Chargers to one field goal made in the first quarter.
“Tonight, we started down five and we never recovered, and I think it was mental for our team,” said Memorial coach Brent Curry.
Warsaw took a 10-4 lead into the second, and used stifling defense to hold Memorial to seven shots and just one more made basket before halftime.
“The second quarter was a key quarter for us, because we were able to pick up some defensive intensity and force some action,” Coach Krebs said.
Though Warsaw led 25-6 heading into the second half, Coach Krebs did not hesitate to get on his players for what he considered a lack of enthusiasm.
“We didn’t have the energy I wanted,” he said. “I had to burn a timeout to coach some effort, and that shouldn’t happen.”
The Lady Tigers picked up the pace – benefitting from five third-quarter points each from Maddie Ryman and Halle Shipp – to take a 29-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Warsaw rested its starters in the fourth quarter and gave its reserves valuable sectional minutes.
“We’ve got three games in four days here to win a championship,” Coach Krebs said. “Getting that lead was important so we could play some young kids.”
Shipp scored a game-high 13 points, while Brielle Harrison had seven points and nine rebounds and Sanner added seven points.
Warsaw will play Elkhart Central today at 7:30 p.m. in a sectional semifinal at Northridge Middle School.
“We’re gonna have to control the tempo a little bit more,” Coach Krebs said. “Making sure we’re getting a good shot ... it’s gonna be a good matchup for us.”
WARSAW 40,
ELKHART MEMORIAL 20
EM 4 2 3 11 – 20
W 10 15 13 2 – 40
Elkhart Memorial – Devine Johnson 2-4 0-0 6, Mya Reeves 1-9 0-2 3, Shelby Weldner 1-3 0-0 3, De’Mour Watson 1-5 0-0 2, Emma Jarrett 0-1 0-0 0, Madison Axsom 1-7 0-0 3, Taylor Rohm 0-1 0-0 0, Pasche Brady-Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Allison Kinzer 0-1 0-0 0, DeJanea Johnson 0-2 1-2 1, Alexis Leonard 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 7-35 1-6 20.
