BOURBON – It wasn't overly aggressive or in your face. But what Warsaw's defense was Wednesday night against the host Triton Lady Trojans, however, was effective. In a 49-32 win at the Trojan Trench, the Lady Tigers held Triton to just 32 percent from the field and to six or fewer points in three of the quarters. “We've been saying all year defense is the key for us,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter, whose team entered the game giving up just 35 points per contest. “When we come out aggressive on defense, good things happen.” Triton, which finished the game 11 of 34 from the field overall and 6 of 17 from the arc, scored three points in the first quarter, five in the third quarter and six in the fourth. In that 24-minute stretch, Warsaw outscored the Lady Trojans 35-14. As a result, Warsaw improved to 9-0 on the season, while Triton fell to 8-3. “They're not overly aggressive, but they play their zone and full-court press very well,” Triton coach Adam Heckaman said of the Lady Tigers. “We made some poor decisions. Warsaw is a great team, but we really hurt ourselves with some poor decisions.” Some of those poor decisions led to 23 turovers, 16 of which were steals by the Lady Tigers. Junior Brooklyn Harrison alone had seven steals. “We're not in your face, but we do a nice job of getting teams out of their rhythm,” said Harter. “When we get teams out of their rhythm, that's when we're at our best.” Warsaw, which made 17 of 38 (44 percent) field goal attempts, led 11-3 at the end of the first quarter, 25-21 at halftime and 35-26 heading into the final frame. The majority of Triton's offense came in the second quarter, as the hosts put 18 points on the board behind sophomore Kylie Mason's 4-of-5 effort from the arc. “We're a team of spurts," said Heckaman. “We can shoot the ball, we're not a team that's gonna be in the paint banging, but we didn't shoot well tonight.” The Lady Trojans shot just 23 percent from the field in the second half, and they were outrebounded 32-20 over the course of the game. Senior Jennifer Walker-Crawford and junior Nikki Grose grabbed nine rebounds each for for Warsaw. Walker-Crawford also led the Lady Tigers with a game-high 18 points, while Harrison added nine points, Grose scored eight and senior Lindsay Baker finished with seven points. For Triton, Mason scored 15 points, while senior Shana Anderson and junior Taylor Hatfield finished with seven and five points, respectively. Senior Breanna Lemler pulled down eight boards for the Lady Trojans. Warsaw is in action again Dec. 27 when it plays South Bend St. Joe in the 10 a.m. in the Lady Tiger Tournament. Triton is off until Jan. 2 when it hosts Oregon-Davis.
