Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
After winning the first two games of the Lady Tiger Tournament by a combined 126 points, the Warsaw girls basketball team set its sights on a rematch with Columbia City in Saturday’s championship game. That contest was not much closer, as the Lady Tigers won their home tournament for the second straight season with an 80-36 win.
“This is a group of girls that has gotten so used to winning, so I hope that they still take the time to appreciate their successes,” Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs said after the game. “They know they’re going to get a team’s best shot every single night, and I’m proud of them for staying consistent.”
Outside of a breakdown that led to a wide-open three for Brooke Zartman, the Columbia City defense did a great job of making the Lady Tigers work for their points early on in the game. Through four minutes of the opening quarter, Warsaw had managed just six points.
On the other end, the hosts were doing just as good a job defensively, holding their opponents to just three points over that stretch. More importantly, the Lady Tigers were winning the battle on the boards quite convincingly. The ladies in orange and black were consistently holding the Lady Eagles to just one shot per possession while earning multiple extras on the other end.
The defensive battle continued as back-to-back baskets by the Holler sisters, Torah and Sola, tied things up for Columbia City with 90 seconds left in the first. It wasn’t until a three pointer by Joslyn Bricker, the Lady Tigers’ newest all time leading scorer, put her team back on top and ended a nearly three minute drought. After eight minutes, Warsaw led 11-8.
The second quarter was a bit kinder to the Lady Tiger offense, as the home side was able to build a seven-point lead midway through the quarter as Bricker was starting to get it going. A possession after reaching the 10-point threshold, the Butler commit used an acrobatic layup to draw a foul. She’d convert the free throw to extend the lead to double digits.
After finding a bit of separation, the Lady Tigers began to play a bit more freely, and it was paying dividends on the scoreboard. Now in a pretty good rhythm, the home side was making all of the right cuts, passes and screens. Eventually, that well-oiled machine would start churning and back-to-back threes by Zartman and Reagan Huss made it an 18-point game in a flash.
“We tell our group to always keep the pressure on, whether that’s on offense or defense,” Krebs said. “We knew eventually the floodgates would open. These kids are incredible offensively.”
Junior Reagan Huss of Warsaw finds herself with an open shot under the basket during Saturday's game with Columbia City...Nieter
Warsaw continued to play strongly until the halftime buzzer sounded, and led by 17 first-half points from Bricker, the team had blown things open and led by 22.
The first few minutes of the third quarter resembled the first quarter much more than the second. The Lady Eagles were finding a bit more success offensively, but the Lady Tigers were doing just enough to keep the margin where it was.
Kyra Kiser scored her first four points of the game late in the period off of a couple of nice passes inside by her guards. Warsaw was fully in control of this game, and its advantage was slowly creeping towards 30 as the quarter ticked away. They’d have to settle for 25, as the outcome was all but decided as just one quarter separated the home side from yet another tournament win.
A day after setting a new school record with 10 in a game, Zartman hit her fifth three of the contest to get the fourth started off. That got the party started, as it began another avalanche for the orange and black. A beautiful behind-the-back pass by Bricker to Kiser brought the home crowd to its feet. A possession later, a steal by Alexis Neely turned into two points on the other end that initiated the running clock with a 36-point lead now on the scoreboard.
Following a brief timeout, Huss kept the good times rolling with a three pointer that put her in double figures as well. Bricker was still getting hers as well, and was inching closer to yet another 30-point night. She wouldn’t get the chance, as with just over three minutes left, four of the five Warsaw starters were replaced.
Even with substitutes making a majority of the lineup, the Lady Tigers stayed hot from the field and continued to grow their lead. Erin McManus came in and buried her only shot of the game. Cayleigh Goheen, who had done most of her damage on the boards thus far, added four points down the stretch. It was a complete team effort for the Lady Tiger Tournament champs.
Bricker finished with 26 points, while Zartman added 18 on six made threes. Huss finished with 12, while Kiser had eight points and eight rebounds, seven of them coming on the offensive end.
Warsaw (17-1) will host rival Northridge on Saturday.
“We’ve got quite a few days to prepare for this one, essentially a conference championship,” Krebs said. “These seniors have a lot of goals. They’ve never lost a conference game so keeping that streak alive is a big one.”
