Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
FORT WAYNE -ÊGoing into the game against Homestead Saturday night, the Warsaw girls basketball team was expecting a challenge. But a challenge is one thing they didn't find.
Fueled by strong play from starters and bench players alike, Warsaw downed Homestead 82-53.
"Normally Homestead's defense is a lot stronger," said Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst. "I don't know what happened. I think they have a lot of new people."
Homestead got started on the right foot as the Spartans grabbed the first possession and sophomore Courtney Magley netted a three-pointer, giving Homestead a 3-0 lead.
After Tiger sparkplug Hilary O'Connell scored the first basket for the Tigers, Homestead still held the lead 3-2. But then junior Natalie Chabot gave the Tigers the first lead of the game, 4-3, with a basket of her own.
And from that point on, Tigers never looked back.
After Homestead scored that first three-pointer, Warsaw went on a 17-0 run. The Tigers held the Spartans to three points until the 2:34 mark when Homestead's Kendell Saylor broke the scoring drought with a basket that started a run.
By the end of the first quarter, Homestead cut Warsaw's lead to five, 19-14.
But Warsaw did not allow the Spartans to get any closer. Within the first 45 seconds of play in the second quarter, Kara Kesler scored two baskets and grabbed a steal to restore a 10-point Warsaw lead.
The Tigers continued to pummel the Spartans, and by the end of the first half built a 43-29 lead.
Warsaw started the third quarter much like the second. It started with a Kesler basket. After the Tigers built a 48-31 lead, Homestead went on a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 13, 48-35.
Warsaw returned the favor by going on a run of its own as Jaclyn Leininger and Michelle DeGeeter combined for six Tiger points.
At the end of three quarters of play, Warsaw held a 58-40 advantage.
The Tigers continued to pour it on in the fourth quarter, holding Homestead scoreless for the first 2:40. In that 2:40, O'Connell accounted for a steal and four of Warsaw's nine points.
Warsaw improves to 2-0 with the win, while Homestead drops to 0-3.
Three Tigers finished the game in double figured. O'Connell led the way with a career-high 26 points.
"Hilary O'Connell had a great night," said Wienhorst.
Kesler added 10 points and seven rebounds, and DeGeeter had 14 points. DeGeeter, in her second varsity contest, also led the Tigers by pulling down eight rebounds.
"Kara Kesler once again had a nice game with 10 points and seven rebounds," said Wienhorst. "And Michelle DeGeeter, a freshman, had a great game. With 14 points and eight rebounds, she almost had a double-double."
The Tigers will take their perfect record on the road again when they travel to Crown Point Friday.
WARSAW 82, HOMESTEAD 53
Warsaw 19 24 15 24 - 82
Homestead 14 15 11 13 - 53
Warsaw FG FT R A S Pts.
*Kesler 4-11 2-3 7 4 3 10
DeRenzo 0-3 2-2 0 1 1 0
Sumpter 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Wyatt 3-5 1-2 2 2 0 7
*Poling 2-3 2-5 6 1 1 7
*O'Connell 9-16 6-6 2 4 3 26
McGriff 1-2 0-0 3 2 1 2
*Chabot 1-1 1-4 3 0 1 3
Leininger 2-7 0-0 3 2 1 4
DeGeeter 5-6 4-5 8 1 0 14
Burner 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
*Knisely 3-5 0-0 6 3 1 7
Totals 30-62 18-27 40 19 11 40
Homestead FG FT R A S Pts.
*Gepfert 1-11 2-2 2 2 1 4
Lewis 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
*Gonterman 5-10 0-1 3 3 1 10
*Magley 4-9 1-1 5 0 2 10
Saylor 3-5 0-0 3 2 1 6
Jones 0-0 0-1 0 1 0 0
Dierckman 0-0 1-1 1 0 0 1
Marcuccilli 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
Hamilton 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 2
Stan 1-1 1-1 0 0 0 3
Kopecky 2-2 2-2 4 2 1 6
*A. Wilson 1-4 1-2 3 0 1 3
*K. Wilson 3-6 2-4 6 0 0 8
Totals 21-51 10-16 31 11 7 53
Three-point goals -ÊWarsaw 4-10 (Wyatt 0-1, Poling 1-1, O'Connell 2-5, Leininger 0-1), Homestead 1-9 (Gepfert 0-6, Magley 1-2, Gonterman 0-1). Turnovers -ÊWarsaw 21, Homestead 35. Fouls -ÊWarsaw 19, Homestead 35.
JV:ÊHOMESTEAD 32, WARSAW 25
Warsaw (2-0) scoring -ÊAbby Sumpter 0, Lindsay Patterson 5, Krystal Lesley 0, Rachael Franklin 5, Holly McGriff 2, Jessica Davis 5, Debbie Allen 2, Kayla Burner 2, Holly Durcholz 4.
Homestead scoring -ÊAmy Vachon 0, Kat Marcucci 5, Ashley Buck 2, Ashley Recker 0, Tasha Hamilton 8, Nikki Lewis 6, Monica Jones 4, Kate Lambert 4, Kari Beutler 0, Kelsey Jones 2, Cassidy Garton 0, Kathy Stanczak 1.
