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In last Tuesday's jamboree, Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst thought his Tigers allowed Tippecanoe Valley too many good shots at the basket in the one quarter the two teams met.
He did not want that to happen for four quarters in their regular season opener against the Vikings Friday at the Tiger Den.
So, Warsaw flexed its defensive muscle early and rolled to a 61-43 win over a young Valley squad.
"We shut them down," Wienhorst said. "In the jamboree, they got the open shots. They did not get those open shots that they had in the jamboree."
Mixing it up with a zone and a man-to-man, the Warsaw defense held Valley to 14 of 39 (36 percent) from the field for the game, including a dismal 4 of 18 performance in the first half.
"Until we really threw a lot of different lineups out there, our defense was awfully strong," Wienhorst said. "We limited Tippy to very few good shots."
As the Vikings were struggling to put the ball in the basket, Warsaw was using its inside advantage in the first half.
Tiffany Ross scored 8 of the Tigers' first 9 points of the game as Warsaw jumped out to the 9-0 lead. The Vikings didn't get their first basket of the game until the 3:00 mark of the first quarter on a layup by Sondrea Hamilton.
Warsaw led 13-2 after the first quarter, but two 3-pointers by Valley's Kara Tucker helped cut the lead to 17-10 early in the second quarter.
That was when the Tigers laid down the law defensively and went on a 16-0 run to take a lead it would never come close to letting go of.
The lead would reach 30 points, 53-23, but the Vikings stayed right with things in the second half against the Tiger subs and trimmed the margin by outscoring Warsaw 20-8 in the final quarter.
"I was proud of the girls," Valley coach Mike Walters said. "We talked at halftime. We wanted to try and go out and outscore them in the second half. Our girls never gave up. We took a good beating in that first half, and they could have folded. But they didn't.
"We can't base the season on one game," he said. "Hopefully tonight will educate us a little bit and make us stronger for future games."
Valley tried a variety of defensive schemes against the Tigers, but the hosts seemed to have an answer for each and every one of them. The Tigers hit on 21 of 42 shots for the game and outrebounded Valley, 33-22.
"We didn't have a lot of defensive pressure inside," Walters said. "Warsaw really shot the ball well.
"Everything was going for them, and we were missing easy ones," he said. "As young as our team is, this is the kind of things that will happen to us all year."
This kind of performance was exactly what Wienhorst is looking for out of his Tigers early in the season. As he sorts through some players and sees who is going to fit where, different combinations will be on the floor. The offensive mistakes will come; Wienhorst is looking for the defense to be the saving grace.
"Offensively, you are going to make mistakes early (in the season)," Wienhorst said. "But one of our goals is to play good, solid defense."
Against the Vikings, Wienhorst started Sherri Ross at the point guard, Holli Murphy at the 2-guard, with Tiffany Ross, Katie Elliott and Sheila Whitaker inside. For at least a while, it won't be a stable lineup.
"I just want to see what people can do at different positions," Wienhorst said. "Quite frankly, I have seen some of these girls for 4 days. I just want to see what they can do under pressure. It is a learning process, and they will improve."
One of the areas Wienhorst is most concerned with is his point guard, where Sherri Ross did most of the early work at. She ended with 5 points and 4 assists.
"We are looking for someone who can handle the ball and handle the pressure," Wienhorst said.
Tiffany Ross dominated the inside for the Tigers, hitting for 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting. Sheila Whitaker showed a spark offensively, getting 17 points.
"Sheila had not shot well in practice because she hadn't gotten her repetitions in after transferring from one sport to another," Wienhorst said. "A few times up and down the court, she got into a rhythm.
"Tiffany scored well, but the girls got the ball where it needed to go," he said.
Julie Shaw came off the bench to lead the Vikings with 10 points, including 8 in the fourth quarter.
"Shaw played an extremely good second half," Walters said. "As a coach, you have to get her more minutes. Her offensive skills are pretty good, but her defense lacks a little bit. Tonight I thought she did both well."
It was quite a departure for the Vikings, who opened up the season last week by rolling over Bremen, 44-33. But as these ups and downs come this season for the Vikings, Walters just hopes each game will be another learning experience for a team that just needs time on the court in game conditions.
"We are playing our nine players and trying to get them as many quality minutes as we can," Walters said. "That is why we stayed with that group at the end.
"We have to get a mixture out there of the girls that are used to playing with each other," he said. "For lot of them, it is the first time they have spent much time with one another."
Warsaw (1-0) is at Bremen tonight, while Valley (1-1) hosts its annual Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 30.
WARSAW 61,
VALLEY 43
Valley 2 10 11 20 - 43
Warsaw 13 22 18 8 - 61
Tippecanoe Valley
Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta A S R Pts
Doud 2-2 0-1 1 2 1 4
Ba.Fisher 1-7 1-2 1 2 2 3
Walters 2-4 0-0 1 1 1 5
Wilcox 0-3 2-2 0 0 1 2
Bickel 1-3 0-0 0 0 1 2
Bo.Fisher 0-3 0-0 0 0 5 0
Shaw 3-6 4-4 0 0 5 10
Tucker 3-10 0-0 3 2 1 8
Hamilton 2-3 5-10 1 1 5 9
Totals 14-39 12-19 7 8 22 43
Warsaw
Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta A S RPts
Smith 0-0 2-4 0 0 0 2
Wildman 0-0 0-3 1 1 0 0
S.Ross 2-7 0-0 4 2 3 5
Niemier 1-5 0-0 3 0 2 2
Edwards 1-2 2-3 0 2 8 4
Albertson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Murphy 0-2 2-2 1 1 4 2
Elliott 2-4 0-0 2 1 5 4
Whitaker 6-9 3-5 3 1 1 17
T.Ross 9-12 5-6 1 4 5 23
Barger 0-1 0-0 0 0 3 0
Raphael 0-0 2-2 0 0 2 2
Totals 21-42 16-25 15 12 33 61
Three-point goals - Tippecanoe Valley 3 (Tucker 2, Walters), Warsaw 3 (Whitaker 2, S.Ross). Turnovers - Tippecanoe Valley 20, Warsaw 19. Fouled out - Hamilton. Total fouls - Tippecanoe Valley 18, Warsaw 19.
JV: Warsaw 43,
Tippecanoe Valley 30
Valley - Malinda Parker 2, Carrie Whetstone 2, Jenny Sanders 8, Amy Nellans 7, Brenda Rose 11
Warsaw -ÊCheyenne Albertson 9, Alyssa Raphael 4, Shanna Smith 4, Brooke Sutton 4, Jessica Zaugg 8, Laura Overton 2, Sara Parker 2, Jenna Rooney 10
