Warsaw Seniors Ready To LeadCoach Michelle Harter knows the importance of senior leadership. It was missing from her Warsaw girls basketball team last year, as the Lady Tigers’ roster was completely void of any senior players. This season’s roster is chalk full of seniors, six of them to be exact, and they’ve played a big role in the program the last couple years. “Sometimes people don’t think senior leadership is that big of a deal, but it’s huge,” said Harter, whose team opens the season Saturday when it hosts Fort Wayne Bishop Luers. “They’ve been around for four years now. They understand what it takes. They’ve been put in different situations. They had always had a senior class to look up to, and they didn’t have that last year. It’s different when you’re not a senior and you’re asked to step up and lead the team. “Now we have six seniors, and they’ve all come into their own about what’s expected of them, and who’s gonna be the vocal leader, who’s gonna be the leader in the locker room. Those types of things worked themselves out last year, and I think that’s going to be huge for this group going into this year.” Warsaw’s varsity roster includes seniors Dayton Groninger, Madi Graham, Mariah Rivera, Page Desenberg, Abby Glass and Kenzie Welk; juniors Kennedy Patton, Jessie Kersey, Miah Holsclaw and Emma Bohnenkamper; sophomores Maddie Ryman and Kacy Bragg; and freshman Kaylee Patton. Groninger led the Lady Tigers last season in every major category, averaging 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and nearly two steals per game. Graham chipped in with nine points and nearly four boards per game, while Welk, Rivera and Desenberg averaged just under six points per game. “These are great kids,” Harter said of her players. “They know the game of basketball. They know what it takes to be a winner. We’re seeing that type of attitude in practice, wanting to get better, asking questions about what they need to be doing. “I think it was big for us to have a scrimmage this year, too. That was something we didn’t have last year, and it’s always good to get out there and play against somebody different. You do go a little faster, and you do get a little more excited. And I think that helped us see the things we need to work on.” Playing a schedule loaded with ranked teams, Warsaw lost its first nine games last season. The Lady Tigers rebounded to go 11-14 overall, and finished second in the Northern Lakes Conference with a 6-1 record. Harter believes her players have grown from experiencing that adversity. “I think that it was big for us to finish up strong in the second half of the season, we ended up going 11-5 after starting 0-9,” said Harter. “I think for the girls’ confidence, just understanding that it’s a process and continuing to battle and fight, is huge for us coming into the season. “They understand, talking to them in individual meetings, that it’s good to be humble when you come out and that you have to work every time you step on the floor. That’s one thing they’ve said they noticed this year, they’re coming out with a different attitude and mindset and focusing on the little things we need to do to get better.” Following Saturday’s opener against Luers, the Lady Tigers will travel to Manchester Wednesday, and then host Huntington North on Nov. 11 and Tippecanoe Valley on Nov. 18. Warsaw will play its first six games in a 20-day span. The Lady Tigers open conference play Dec. 10 when they host Plymouth.
