SYRACUSE – The game itself had its share of ugly moments – turnovers, defensive breakdowns and poor shooting by both teams. The outcome, however, was beautiful for Wawasee High School's young varsity girls basketball team. In a Northern Lakes Conference clash with rival Warsaw Saturday night, the host Lady Warriors had three players score in double figures and did enough to hold off the Lady Tigers 39-35. Wawasee, a team with no seniors and just two juniors on its roster, improved to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play, while Warsaw fell to 2-7 and 0-2. “We're making progress each game,” said Wawasee coach Kem Zolman, whose team had lost its previous two meetings with the Lady Tigers. “Tonight it seemed like we were able to get an advantage of four or five points. We just want the girls to see that what we do in practice is helpful. I don't know that this year will be a standout year for progress, but we're seeing things ever-so-slightly.” Sophomore Kylee Rostochak led Wawasee with a game-high 13 points, while freshman Aubrey Schmeltz chipped in with 12 points and sophomore Allissa Flores finished with 10. The Lady Warriors, who led 9-5 after the first quarter, 20-19 at halftime and 29-24 at the end of the third, were 10 of 27 from the field overall, 1 of 5 from the arc, and 18 of 29 at the charity stripe. A three-pointer by Warsaw senior Eryn Leek tied the game at 29-29 with 5:02 remaining, but Wawasee was able to stretch things out with a 7-1 run – a spurt that was hard for the Lady Tigers to bounce back from in such a low-scoring affiar. Though Leek's fourth-quarter trey made things interesting, Warsaw struggled shooting the ball, to say the least. The Lady Tigers finished the game 10 of 38 from the field overall, 7 of 24 from the arc, and 8 of 19 from the free throw line. Warsaw, a team that entered Saturday's game averaging just three made three-pointers per game, connected on four treys in the second quarter alone. Because of that, the Lady Tigers continued to shoot from long range, though with little success as they were just 2 of 11 from the arc in the second half. Warsaw, which is now on a four-game losing streak and hasn't scored more than 35 points since putting up 59 at Michigan City on Dec. 7, made just three of its 14 two-point attempts – many of which were in the paint. “It's not something I'm comfortable with,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter when asked about her team's high number of three-point attempts. “We needed to establish an inside game in order to hit some more threes. When we establish an inside game it'll open things up for our shooters. But if our post players aren't going to catch the ball and go up for a shot, our guards won't want to throw it in there.” Leek, junior Vicki Harris and freshman Kilee Slone led warsaw with six points each, while junior Pam Miller and freshman Page Desenberg chipped in with five points each. Wawasee play doesn’t play again until Jan. 4 when it participates in the Plymouth Shootout. Warsaw is in action again Dec. 30 when it hosts the annual Lady Tiger Tournament. “We’re going to enjoy some time apart, and spend some time with our families for Christmas,” said Harter. “And then we’re going to get back to working on fundamentals.”
