Much like the overall series, Warsaw's varsity girls basketball team dominated Thursday night's game against Northern Lakes Conference foe Concord. Using a 7-0 run early in the first quarter and later holding the Lady Minutemen to just five points in the second and third quarters, the host Lady Tigers cruised to a 42-23 win on Senior Night. Warsaw, which improved to 8-9 overall and 3-2 in the NLC, has won 36-straight games over Concord and leads the series 44-2. The Lady Minutemen, who haven't topped Warsaw since 1983, fell to 6-9 overall and 1-4 in confernce play. “On paper, this is a game we should've won,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter, whose team has held Concord under 25 points in the last four meetings. “Senior Night is always emotional, and you never know how the kids are going to react, especially after the layoff we had because of the weather. “I thought we came out focused,” added Harter. “We missed some shots, but I thought we played well offensively, and defensivley we came out ready to go.” Concord made the first basket of the game, taking a 2-0 lead. The Lady Tigers responded with a 7-0 run and eventually led 15-7 after one quarter of play, 22-9 at halftime and 29-12 at the end of the third quarter. Despite playing their first game in eight days because of inclement weather, the Lady Tigers shot 43 percent from the field overall, and also outrebounded Concord 31-23. Concord, on the other hand, playing its first game in nine days, made just 22 percent of its shots from the field overall and scored nearly half of its points (11 of 23) in the fourth quarter when Warsaw had the game well in hand. “I wasn’t concerned about rust as much as I was conditioning,” said Harter. “We haven’t played in a week, and the kids haven’t been up and down the floor in a game situation. I thought we looked strong.” On Senior Night, 27 of Warsaw’s 42 points were scored by seniors. Nikki Grose led the way with 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while Eryn Leek scored seven points and classmates Brooklyn Harrison and Courtney Farling finished with five and our points, respectively. “That’s exactly what you want on Senior Night,” said Harter. “This is the first time the four of them have had a lengthy amount of time on the court together. They were leaders tonight. That’s something we talked about, leadership, and they’ve been leaders.” Juniors Vicki Harris scored and Pam Miller scored six and four points, respectively, while classmates Jodie Carlson and Erin Clemens finished with three and two points, respectively. Junior Mackenzie Rutter led Concord with nine points and six rebounds, while freshman Justyce Warren and senior Michelle Detwiler scored five and four points, respectively. After winning just two of their first nine games, the Lady Tigers have won six of their last eight. Warsaw is in action again Saturday when it hosts conference rival NorthWood. It will be the last time Hall of Fame coach Steve Neff coaches against the Lady Tigers, as he is retiring at the end of the season. “I’d love to send him out with a loss,” laughed Harter. “NorthWood is a very good team and a great programe. They have an inside game and an outside game. They’re long and athletic. We’re going to have to come out focused.” Concord, which has lost seven of its last nine games, hosts Wawasee Saturday.
