GOSHEN - At times this season, said third-year coach Michelle Harter, Warsaw's varsity girls basketball team has struggled to make free throws down the stretch.
That wasn't the case Friday night, however.In a 52-41 win over the eighth-ranked Northridge Lady Raiders, Warsaw converted 16 of 20 free throws in the fourth quarter and 24 of 30 overall in Class 4A Sectional 4 action at Goshen High School.
Cashing in at the charity stripe helped the Lady Tigers improve their season record to 11-9 and allowed them to advance to tonight's 7:30 p.m. sectional championship game against second-ranked Elkhart Memorial (22-1).
"There's been times we've struggled with hitting free throws down the stretch," said Harter. "Hitting foul shots is something that wins games, and it was huge for us tonight."
Elkhart Memorial advanced to the sectional final by beating city rival Elkhart Central 63-12 in Friday's second semifinal game.
Northridge was 7 of 11 at the free throw line in the loss to Warsaw, and the Lady Raiders saw their season end with a program-best 18-3 record.
Prior to Friday, the Lady Raiders had only lost games to Elkhart Memorial and Penn, teams that are currently ranked second and third, respectively, in Class 4A and sport a combined record of 41-2.
"I thought we were aggressive, and we came out and put pressure on their guards," said Harter, whose team lost 48-39 at Northridge on Jan. 31. "The first time we played them we allowed them to attack the middle. We didn't look to attack the basket the first time we played them. Tonight we were aggressive, and we got to the basket, and we got to the free throw line."
Kayla Stout led Warsaw with 19 points and six rebounds. The 6-foot senior converted 11 of 12 free throws, including 7 of 8 in the fourth quarter.
Stout scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, helping the Lady Tigers outscore Northridge 36-23 in the final 16 minutes of play.
"We didn't want our season to end," said Harter. "That's something we talked about, playing hard, playing together and getting a chance to play for a sectional championship. They're really learning what it is we want out of them and we're playing as a family, that's what you want this time of the season."
Junior Sarah Heagy added 11 points and four rebounds for the Lady Tigers, while sophomore Lindsay Baker chipped in with 10 points and three steals.
Baker hit a three-pointer with 2:41 remaining in the game, capping off a 7-0 Warsaw run and pushing the Lady Tigers' advantage to nine, 42-33.
Warsaw used a 13-0 run moments earlier to build a 10-point lead at 35-25, but the Lady Raiders scored the game's next eight points in a span of just 41 seconds.
Down the stretch, however, it was a Warsaw team that started two sophomores, a freshman, a junior and a senior that pulled away from a Northridge team that started four seniors and a sophomore.
"I'm very proud of the girls," said Harter. "This was a team effort."
Warsaw led 9-8 after the first quarter and trailed 18-16 at halftime.
The Lady Tigers outscored Northridge 15-7 in the third and 21-16 in the fourth.
Senior Emily Peppers-VanNamee and sophomore Haley Schrock led Northridge with nine points each, while senior Sydney Sample and sophomore Madison Schrock chipped in with eight points each.
WARSAW 52, NORTHRIDGE 41
W 9 7 15 21 - 52
N 8 10 7 16 - 41
Warsaw - Kayla Stout 4-10 11-12 19, Sarah Heagy 3-4 5-9 11, Lindsay Baker 2-6 5-6 10, Jennifer Walker-Crawford 2-4 1-1 5, Lauren Burish 1-2 2-2 4, Eryn Leek 1-2 0-0 3, Madison Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Harrison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-28 24-30 52.
Northridge - Haley Schrock 2-7 3-6 9, Emily Peppers-VanNamee 4-9 1-1 9, Sydney Sample 3-5 0-0 8, Madison Schrock 2-10 2-2 8, Emylee Smith 2-3 1-2 5, Tori Roberts 1-5 0-0 2, Brianne O'Dell 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 7-11 41.
