Unhappy with his team’s intensity in practice the day before, Warsaw girls basketball coach Lenny Krebs said he was concerned about Saturday night’s Northern Lakes Conference opener with Plymouth.
After all, the Lady Pilgrims were 9-1 overall, 1-0 in the NLC, and had won seven of their games by double-digit margins.
The Lady Tigers, however, put their second-year coach at ease, building a 23-2 lead in the first quarter and cruising to a 57-27 victory at the Tiger Den.
Warsaw, a 68-60 winner in triple overtime at Plymouth last season, improved to 8-4 and 1-0 with its fifth straight win and sixth in the last seven games.
The Lady Tigers upped their record in the series with Plymouth to 38-9.
“I have to be honest, I was extremely concerned with how we prepared the last two days,” Krebs said Saturday night after his team matched the largest margin of victory in the series with Plymouth.
“We tried to go a little easier physically because I thought we were a little beat up after the Carroll game. We came in on Thursday and just got some shots up, and tried to physically rest our bodies. And then we came in (Friday) and tried to get a short but intense practice in, and I didn’t like our intensity yesterday.
“I was concerned coming in, but by golly they came out and they brought the focus and intensity. Not too often do you jump out to a 20 or 21-point lead against a team like Plymouth. I thought we were as intense and focused as I’ve seen this team. I’m proud of these kids.”
Warsaw led 23-2 after one quarter of play, 38-11 at halftime and 48-21 going into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Tigers shot 61 percent from the field in the 30-point win, and held Plymouth to 24 percent.
Senior Halle Reichard, the Lady Pilgrims’ leading scorer, was 0 of 10 from the field and made just one free throw in the game.
Senior Cassidy Holiday led Plymouth with 10 points, while senior Cece Robinson and juniors Alaina Clady and Sydni Weir scored four points each.
“I wish I could find what it was, because if I find it I’m gonna put it in a bottle and I’m gonna sell it,” Krebs said when asked about what his team did to dominate Plymouth on both ends of the floor.
“We hit a shot early, we got a couple stops defensively, and we just started to feed off that confidence. We saw how good we’re capable of being when we play with that intensity and that confidence. I guess I can’t tell you how, other than the fact we went out and did what we have been trained to do.
“I thought we did a nice job of pushing the basketball up the floor. Kaylee Patton and Kensie Ryman were looking up the floor and made some nice passes to give us some easy looks. Anytime you can play a defensive possession and end up with the basketball and shoot a layup on the other end, that’s an ideal possession.”
Warsaw scored 24 points off Plymouth turnovers, and outscored the Lady Pilgrims in the paint 22-8.
The Lady Tigers finished the game 22 of 36 from the field, with a 3-of-11 performance from three-point range the only thing that brought their shooting percentage down.
Freshman Abby Sanner was 8 of 9 from the field and 2 of 2 from the charity stripe en rout to a game-high 18 points. She also pulled down five rebounds.
Kensie Ryman dished out six assists and Patton had five of her own, with many of them going to Sanner.
“Abby continues to develop and come along,” said Krebs. “She manages to rescue a lot of our guards at times because all you have to do is throw it up and she’s gonna go get it.
“She’s a work in progress, and I’ve got to give her credit because she’s come a long way. I’m sure over the last two or three weeks she’s getting tired of me telling her to get her butt down because she plays so tall at times. That’s something we’re gonna work on, but she’s got a ton of upside, and we’re looking forward to continuing to use her. She gives us that mismatch, and between Abby, Brielle (Harrison) and Kaylee (Patton) we’ve got a size advantage somewhere.”
Harrison, a junior, finished with eight points and eight rebounds, while senior Maddie Ryman added eight points, three assists and three steals.
To go along with their 11 combined assists, Kensie Ryman and Patton scored seven points each.
Sophomores Kendall Wayne and Audrey Grimm tallied four points each, and freshman Kacilyn Krebs rounded out Warsaw’s scoring with a free throw.
In the JV game, Bailie Stephens scored 16 points and Adin Um added 10, as Warsaw cruised to a 47-23 win.
The Lady Tigers are in action again Tuesday when they host Columbia City.
