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Participating in the prestigious Hall of Fame Classic at New Castle Fieldhouse on Monday morning, the Warsaw girls basketball team took full advantage of the big stage. Defeating Evansville Central 79-41 in the opening contest of the tournament, the Lady Tigers used their lightning-quick offense and tenacious defense to make a statement and advance to the championship game.
“The girls came out sharp today, they recognized the opportunity they had in front of them,” Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs said after the win. “We have a group of seniors that have set lofty goals and I think they did a great job showcasing their leadership today.”
The first few minutes of the game served as a feeling-out process for both teams, as each side familiarized itself with both its opponent and the monstrous gym in which they were playing. Brooke Zartman contributed most of the offense in the first four minutes, scoring seven of Warsaw’s first nine points.
On the defensive end, the Lady Tiger intensity was making it difficult for the home team on the scoreboard to get into any type of rhythm. The ladies in orange and black were playing extremely aggressively, forcing a ton of turnovers and tough shots. After six minutes of play, Warsaw had doubled up their opponent and led 14-7.
A Zartman three following a timeout by the Lady Bears extended the advantage to double digits late in the period. That opened up the floodgates, as Reagan Huss and Joslyn Bricker each added another make from deep to really start to open things up. After a quarter, the Lady Tigers were up by 14.
Things only got even more lopsided as the second period got going, as the pesky Lady Tiger defense was causing so many problems that Evansville Central was struggling to make it past midcourt while dealing with the press the guests were putting on. Just over a minute into the quarter, Warsaw had created a 20-point separation.
Zartman continued to lead the charge as halftime drew closer, getting it done on both ends. More times than not, a steal by the Miami of Ohio commit led directly to her scoring on the other end. If she wasn’t the one putting the ball in the hoop, all four of her teammates were hustling back with her and making tough cuts to the basket.
Warsaw sophomore Reagan Robinson looks to score during the second half of the morning game with Evanville...Nieter
“We thrive when we’re able to create some chaos. We challenged our kids to take their belief on the defensive end,” Krebs said. “When people talk about playing with confidence, they’re talking about the offensive side. I think today we played some really confident defense.”
After easing up a bit in the middle stages of the period, the Lady Tigers finished the half with one last surge. Two more steals by Zartman in addition to seven points in the final minute of the second allowed Warsaw to extend its lead to 35 just before the break, ensuring a running clock for the entirety of the second half.
Three Lady Tigers finished the first half in double figures, led by Zartman’s 20 points and five steals.
Warsaw continued to do exactly what put them up by 35 in the first half when the third quarter began. The team’s aggressive defense continued to fuel the offense, and it wasn’t long until the lead had cracked 40 points. Alexis Neely, who was doing a great job on the boards all day long, became the fourth Lady Tiger to reach 10 points late in the quarter on a corner three.
“We’re going to need to keep being able to spread things around if we want to be able to continue competing at the highest level,” Krebs said.
The fourth quarter moved just as briskly as the third with the outcome already decided long ago. Even still, the guests remained the aggressor, continuing to push the action and play aggressive defense. With a little over four minutes left and the lead at 49, Zartman and Bricker checked out of the game to a loud ovation from the Tiger faithful that made the trip.
The final minutes of the game slowed down dramatically as the Lady Tiger bench finished things off. Outside of a triple by senior Erin McManus, Warsaw did not do much scoring with the reserve unit.
Zartman finished with 28 points and six steals. Bricker added 19 and five steals. Neely had 14 and a team-high seven rebounds. Huss rounded things out with 10.
Warsaw will play in the championship game of the Hall of Fame Classic later tonight at 8 p.m. against Norwell.
