WINONA LAKE - Following the Warsaw girls basketball team's loss to rival Wawasee Saturday, head coach Michelle Harter called out her post players. Tuesday, against Triton, they responded.
Senior Kayla Stout's 21 points and junior Sarah Heagy's nine helped the Warsaw Lady Tigers (5-4) get a 41-28 win over the Triton Lady Trojans (6-5) in the inaugural Mid-Winter Classic at the Orthopaedic Capital Center on the campus of Grace College."They just rush their shots sometimes," Harter said about her post players. "They try to get it off too quick. They just need to relax and go up strong. They're wondering if they're going to get their shot blocked, and I just said, 'Hey, don't worry about that. If you get your shot blocked, you get it blocked. Then, you do something different the next time.' We did relax a little bit."
Stout scored five of her team's seven first-quarter points, enabling the Lady Tigers to lead from start to finish.
"That's a good team," Triton coach Adam Heckaman said about Warsaw. "The girls have nothing to hang their heads about. I told them, 'We hung with them and we did that without even playing good offense."
Triton scored just two points in the first quarter and another three in the third quarter. The three points in the third quarter helped Warsaw extend a 21-15 halftime lead into a commanding 33-18 advantage going into the final quarter.
"I think we were a little nervous in the beginning," Heckaman said. "We missed some shots that we typically make. That just put us in a hole, but that's to Warsaw's credit. They played some really good defense. Their zone - it's tough, because they have a couple guards who are six-foot and quick. That makes it tough to find those seams to attack."
The only Lady Trojan who had any success against the Warsaw defense was sophomore Shana Anderson, who scored 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting and also had a team-high five rebounds and two blocked shots.
"We did a much better job of communicating where their shooters were," Harter said. "Saturday night (against Wawasee) we were quiet and not saying where the shooters were and rotating. Our man-to-man did a good job of setting a tone in the beginning."
"Triton has a nice team," Harter added. "I thought our girls did a good job of finding their shooters, blocking them out and keeping them off the boards for second-chance opportunities."
Warsaw was led by Stout's nine rebounds, while Heagy posted six boards and three steals. Sophomore Lindsay Baker scored four points, hauled in five rebounds and dished out five assists.
Along with Anderson's production, Triton junior Megan Howdeshell finished with six points and four rebounds, while senior Allison Thacker had five points and three rebounds.
Playing at the OCC was a new experience for each team, and playing right before the matchup between the (Class 4A No. 3) Warsaw and (Class 1A No. 2) Triton boys teams presented a large crowd.
"It's a great atmosphere for the girls to come out and have this many people," Harter said. "A little bit different with the floor being 10 feet longer than you're used to, but I thought the girls did a nice job."
Warsaw hosts its holiday tournament Dec. 29, taking on South Bend Washington at 10 a.m. Perry Meridian and Hamilton Southeastern play at noon. The consolation game will be at 6 p.m., followed by the championship at 8 p.m.
Triton's next contest isn't until Jan. 7, when the the Trojans host John Glenn in Northern State Conference action.
