Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
After his team's season opener Saturday night, third-year Warsaw girls basketball coach John Snyder said he was disappointed and encouraged.
He had reasons to be both.
Playing a much taller and more physical Huntington North team, the Tigers used an aggressive and unselfish style of play to build an 11-point lead in the first quarter.
Warsaw, which held the Vikings scoreless from the field for the first 7:42 of the game, couldn't sustain that level of play, however, and lost by 11 points, falling 47-36 in the Tiger Den.
Huntington North, which had five players rostered at 5-foot-10 or taller, turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter and didn't score a field goal until 6-2 junior Amber Clark scored a two-point basket with 18 seconds remaining in the frame to cut Warsaw's lead to 12-3.
The Tigers, whose 11-player varsity roster features just three players over 5-8 and none taller than 5-11, came out right away and showed their fans the type of team they could be.
It just didn't last long enough.
"The first six minutes of the game was about the best stretch of basketball we could have played," said Snyder, whose team will be in action again Friday when they host Kosciusko County rival Tippecanoe Valley. "We forced them to take bad shots. We ran our offense. We played great defense. We just weren't able to sustain it."
Huntington North - as if it had been a sleeping giant in the first quarter - outscored Warsaw 20-7 in the second quarter and held the Tigers to just 24 points over the final 25:19 of the game.
"We had them by the throat," said Snyder. "Then we started turning the ball and not making shots in transition. We missed a lot of open shots. We missed a lot of opportunities."
The Tigers finished the game 11 of 30 from the field, 2 of 6 from the three-point line, and were just 12 of 23 from the free throw line.
Huntington North was 16 of 21 from the charity stripe, including a 7-of-11 performance in the fourth quarter, and were 13 of 32 from the field overall.
The Vikings connected on 5 of 17 three-pointers.
The Tigers were as close as five points twice in the fourth quarter - 39-34 when senior starter Kacie Conley hit the first of two free throws with 4:29 remaining and 41-36 when freshman starter Kelci Freds hit the second of a two free throws with 1:10 to play.
While Snyder had his reasons to be disappointed - the 22-points swing that allowed Huntington North to win by double digits and Warsaw's struggles at the free throw line - he had reason to be excited about his young and inexperienced team.
Warsaw lost six players to graduation from last year's team, including Division I player and four-year starter Julie Seiss.
Saturday night, the Tigers played much better than they did in the preseason scrimmage against Penn.
In a preseason interview, Snyder called his team a "work in progress" and said the team's goal was to get better throughout the season and contend for the sectional championship.
"I'm disappointed and encouraged," said Snyder. "No masterpiece was painted in one night. We're not going to be the team we are going to be because of one game."
Five-foot-11 junior Kate Denlinger, who had the daunting task of defending the 6-2 Clark, led the Tigers with 14 points and nine rebounds.
"Kate Denlinger played her tail off," said Snyder. "We had good helpside defense all night long. Kate gave up a lot of height and weight. I'm very proud of the way she defended all night."
Clark finished the game with 10 points and eight rebounds for the Vikings. The talented junior was 1 of 1 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free throw line.
For Warsaw, senior Danielle DeGeeter chipped in with 12 points, while sophomore Liz Tat scored four points, senior Megan Wood hit a three-pointer to start the game, Conley scored two points and Freds hit a free throw.
Bench player Cassidy Parrett led Huntington North with 11 points. Emily Burnworth added seven points, while Chelsee Keplinger scored six points and Brandi Gower chipped in with five points and Mallory Burton and Katie Hackney scored four points each.
H. NORTH 47, WARSAW 36
H. North 3 20 12 12 - 47
Warsaw 12 7 10 17 - 36
H. North FG FT R S Pts.
* Burton 0-3 2-5 2 3 4
* Gower 1-3 2-2 1 0 5
* Hackney 1-4 2-2 4 1 4
* Brnwrth 2-5 2-4 1 0 7
* Clark 1-1 8-8 8 0 10
Willour 0-1 0-0 0 3 0
Parrett 4-11 0-0 3 1 11
Keplinger 3-4 0-0 3 1 6
Totals 13-32 16-21 22 9 47
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Denlinger 4-5 6-12 9 0 14
* DeGeeter 4-9 3-4 3 1 12
* Wood 1-2 0-1 1 0 3
* Freds 0-6 1-2 2 2 1
* Conley 0-2 2-4 6 1 2
Snider 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Tat 2-6 0-0 3 2 4
Ogle 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Albertson 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Davis 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 11-30 12-23 25 6 36
Three-point goals - H. North 5-17 (Parrett 3-10, Gower 1-3, Burnworth 1-2, Burton 0-1, Willour 0-1), Warsaw 2-6 (DeGeeter 1-1, Wood 1-1, Freds 0-4). Turnovers - H. North 18, Warsaw 19. Fouls - H. North 19, Warsaw 20. Fouled out - none.
JV - Warsaw 37, H. North 33
