Grose, Miller lead Lady Tigers to 64-42 victory over Whitko
Posted
Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
In search of an inside presence and its first win of the season, Warsaw’s varsity girls basketball team found both Friday night. Led by dominating performances in the paint by senior Nikki Grose and junior Pam Miller, the Lady Tigers muscled their way to a 64-42 win over the visiting Whitko Lady Wildcats. Grose finished the game with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Miller added 14 points and eight boards. Warsaw, playing its first home game of the season, improved to 1-3, while Whitko fell to 3-2. “We talked all week about needing a post presence,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. “We didn’t have one in our first three games. We needed to establish ourselves inside.” With Grose and Miller, Warsaw did just that. The Lady Tigers also outrebounded the Lady Wildcats 33-24. “We got shut down,” said Whitko coach Brandon Bradley. “We got soft with the ball. We weren’t aggressive. We got soft. We got bullied around. We let ourselves get bullied.” With the 22-point victory, Warsaw has won the last six meetings with Whitko and now holds a 29-3 mark in the all-time series. The Lady Wildcats’ last win over Warsaw was in 2007. Since then, however, the Lady Tigers have won the last five meetings by an average of 23 points. With Warsaw graduating a number of players, including three starters, from last year’s 24-2 squad, Bradley believed his team would leave the Tiger Den with a win Friday night. The third-year Whitko coach said his players may have even overlooked the Lady Tigers because of their record. “I think so,” said Bradley when asked about his players looking past Warsaw, which struggled in losses at Huntington North, Fort Wayne Luers and Tippecanoe Valley. “They were 0-3, and they lost to Huntington North, who we beat. I think the players overlooked Warsaw, and they found out the hard way.” Following a first half that saw big runs by both teams, the Lady Tigers completely took control in the third and fourth quarters. After leading 46-36 at the end of the third quarter, Warsaw outscored the Lady Wildcats 18-6 in the final frame. In all, Warsaw outscored Whitko 32-14 in the second half. “We talked all week long about coming out in practice with intensity,” said Harter. “We had both mental and phyiscal practices (in the week since a 57-50 loss at Valley) and it paid off.” Senior Eryn Leek and freshman Page Desenberg scored eight points each for the Lady Tigers, while freshman Kilee Slone and junior Jodie Carlson finished with seven and five points, respectively. Desenberg scored all of her points in the fourth quarter, outscoring Whitko 8-6 in the final frame by herself. The Lady Tigers were 24 of 48 (50 percent) from the field overall, 4 of 14 from the arc, and 12 of 14 at the charity stripe. Whitko was 16 of 42 (38 percent) overall, 4 of 15 from the arc, and 6 of 12 at the free throw line. Freshman Brianna Cumberland led the Lady Wildcats with 12 points, while classmate Aly Reiff scored 11 points and senior Jordan Hall finished with 10. Hall led Whitko on the boards with six rebounds. Reiff, the Lady Wildcats’ leading scorer at 18 points per game, was held to two points in the second half. “The big difference was we played disciplined tonight,” said Harter. “This was a huge win confidence-wise. The girls understand when they do the little things good things are gonna happen.” Friday’s win was the 600th victory in program history. Now in their 39th season, the Lady Tigers own a career record of 600-224. Warsaw is in action again Dec. 7 at Michigan City, while the Lady Wildcats travel to Fort Wayne Northrop Wednesday.
