SYRACUSE – Opening action of Class 3A Sectional 21 saw the host Wawasee Lady Warriors and the Fairfield Lady Falcons post wins Tuesday night and advance to Friday's semifinals. The first game of the night pitted Wawasee (6-15) against Lakeland (5-16), and in a low-scoring affair, the Lady Warriors held on for a 38-34 victory. Wawasee will now square off against West Noble (12-9) Friday at 6 p.m. In the nightcap, the Lady Falcons (16-5) held the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings (15-6) to 23-percent shooting, leading to a 52-43 win and a date with the No. 3 NorthWood Lady Panthers Friday, following the Wawasee/West Noble contest.
Wawasee 38, Lakeland 34 In the second game of the regular season, the Lady Warriors defeated the Lady Lakers 66-25 on Nov. 15 in Syracuse, but their latest matchup proved to be much closer, which Wawasee coach Kem Zolman figured it would be. "This is the second season," Zolman said about the sectional. "So, it's like starting a whole new season. This is the way sectional basketball is going to be. (The earlier game) doesn't matter. You have to claw to the end and execute to the very end." This time around, Wawasee got off to a good start, going in front 22-6 with four minutes remaining in the opening half. The 16-point advantage was as big as Wawasee's lead would get, as the Lady Lakers held court with them the rest of the way, even getting to within 36-34 with just 30 seconds remaining in the game. Holding a two-point lead, Wawasee senior Kelsey Hunter missed the first of a one-and-one situation, but 5-foot-5 junior Cassie Martinez managed to get the rebound off the missed free throw. "That was key for us," Zolman said about Martinez's offensive rebound. The second opportunity led to Wawasee junior Alexis Blunk being sent to the line, where she made one of two, and after getting a defensive stop, junior KiLee Knafel made one of two free throws with 11 seconds remaining. Knafel's made free throw was the last point of the game and sent Wawasee into the semifinals. "For this team, I was real proud of how they withstood adversity and was able to hold on at the end," Zolman said. "That's not normally how we do things. I was real happy for them and, maybe, shows a little growth." Helping Wawasee was the fact it had the best player on the court in Knafel, who posted 22 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Despite her game-high stats, Zolman would still like to see a little bit of the offensive load taken off the 5-foot-7 guard's shoulders. "They just depend on her a lot," Zolman said about his squad. "KiLee's young enough yet, where she's just going too fast and not setting people up on screens and wanting to get the ball. I remember a lot of our players being that way - just being attracted to the ball and just needing to come get it. There'll be a day when she becomes patient and relies on her teammates to get her open. That will open up a lot of other things for us too." Like Tuesday's game, Friday's semifinal will also be a rematch from earlier in the season, as West Noble defeated Wawasee 63-59 on Dec. 13 in Ligonier.
Fairfield 52, Tippecanoe Valley 43 In a game featuring two 15-5 teams, Tuesday night's second sectional contest saw Tippecanoe Valley get off to a slow start and never hold a lead in the 52-43 loss. "With all the information I had, and when I saw them against (NorthWood), they start fast," Fairfield coach Steve Proctor said about Valley. "So, it was our game plan to, hopefully, keep them from a fast start. Our first-half defense was tremendous. I was so proud of our kids." The game plan worked, as the Lady Falcons' defense relegated the Lady Vikings to just five first-quarter points on 1-of-5 shooting. "I thought we came out a little bit tight, but I think that's natural," Valley coach Chris Kindig said. Through the first three quarters, neither team was necessarily lighting up the scoreboard, as Fairfield held a 28-21 lead going into the final quarter. The seven-point lead proved too much for Valley to overcome, as Fairfield converted 16 of 19 fourth-quarter free throws, propelling them into Friday night's semifinal against NorthWood. "I thought, defensively in the first half, we did a pretty nice job," Kindig said. "And, really, through three quarters we did a nice job. It's just, with a team like that, you can't get behind. It's really tough to make up six, seven points, because they're so good defensively." With Fairfield entering the game as the state's 13th-ranked defensive squad, giving up just 34 points a game, Kindig knew the Lady Falcons could play some defense, he just wasn't prepared for the offensive production of 5-10 senior guard Haley Bechtel. After tearing her ACL during the volleyball season, Bechtel was sidelined for most of the basketball season, but recently returned and tallied 16 points in the win over Valley. "You add 16 points to your lineup that hasn't been there all year, that makes a huge difference," Kindig said about the addition of Bechtel to the Lady Falcons' lineup. "She hit some big shots, in the second half particularly. I didn't anticipate her starting, but obviously, it was a good move on (Proctor's) part, because she played well." Another Lady Falcon that gave Valley fits was 6-1 sophomore Haley Brown, who had 12 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots. "Her hamstring isn't perfect, but she showed a lot of toughness," Proctor said of Brown, who had 10 first-half boards. "She missed a game (because of the hamstring), and has been nursing that thing for a while. She played through some pain tonight." Valley senior Staci Groom led her squad with 19 points, but she had to work to get it, making just 4 of 25 field goals, but converting 9 of 13 free throws. "She got going a little bit in the fourth quarter, but that's not something we haven't seen all year, in terms of types of defenses," Kindig said of Groom, who also had 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. "Overall, Fairfield is excellent in their half-court, especially their half-court defense. They put a lot of pressure on the ball an do a nice job with their help-side defense. They're just a well-coached team." Getting the job of guarding Groom was Fairfield senior Becca Kropf, who followed her around all night and made things tough on the scorer. "Kropf's one of the best defenders in the state," Proctor said about his speedy 5-6 point guard. "Especially if she stays out of foul trouble. But even in foul trouble, she was able to keep her hands off her. Staci's a real nice player." Proctor was also concerned about Valley senior Tory Keirn, but like Groom, she was bottled up, scoring five points on 1-of-5 shooting. Despite the tough final game for Valley's senior class, the group did help turn around a program that finished 5-15 last season. "We were very proud of them this year," the Valley coach said. "The seniors had a lot to do with this season's turnaround. It started last spring, with this year's senior class - Groom, Keirn, (Brooke) O'Connor and (Megan) Bibler - being very good leaders. They showed up for all the stuff in the summer. We kind of gelled as a team. They're really the main reason we turned things around this year. So, were obviously going to miss them a lot."
