Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Tuesday was a historic night at the Tiger Den for multiple reasons. During the Warsaw girls basketball team’s Northern Lakes Conference opener against NorthWood, senior Joslyn Bricker moved up to second all time on the Lady Tiger scoring list. The game, which ended up 84-15 in favor of the home side, was the 800th win in program history.
“I thought these girls came out and played with joy tonight,” head coach Lenny Krebs said. “They didn’t care who scored, they didn’t care who was taking shots. They were just having fun playing the game, which we want to see from them more.”
It didn’t take long for Warsaw to take control of the contest, as the home side scored five points in a little over a minute and a half. The Lady Panthers, still scoreless, were having a tough time moving the ball past midcourt due to the suffocating press of the Lady Tigers and called an early timeout to try and draw up some solutions.
Not many points were scored over the next few minutes as both defenses were dictating the action. With their opponents having only managed four points through the first seven minutes of the game, the home side had plenty of opportunities to put together a large lead. However, the shots just weren’t falling.
It wasn’t until the final minute of the opening quarter that a three pointer by Brooke Zartman extended the Warsaw lead to double figures. After eight minutes of action, the team held a 17-6 edge.
It seemed as if the first triple was all Zartman needed to get going, as she began the second quarter by hitting two more of them. After an and-one layup by Bricker, the Lady Tiger lead had suddenly grown to 20.
A possession later, Bricker hit another layup to give her 10 points in the game. More importantly though, that layup put her career scoring total at 1,349, tying Julie Seiss for second most all time in Lady Tiger history. A few possessions later, she’d take the spot for herself on another shot inside.
“Joslyn is a tremendous basketball player. She does everything so well and has for her whole career,” Krebs said. “She’ll be the first to give all of the credit to her teammates for her success and that’s what makes her so successful.”
The lead continued to grow as Alexis Neely hit her second shot from deep to put her in double figures as well. NorthWood had managed just two points in the quarter at the very beginning, and was in the midst of a long drought. Warsaw was able to take advantage of this, and a last-second shot by Cayleigh Goheen put her team up by 30 heading into the break.
Zartman’s fourth three got the second half going while also making her the third Lady Tiger to reach double digits. A few possessions later, another layup by Bricker extended the lead to 35 and ensured the rest of the game was going to go by rather quickly.
Warsaw senior Brooke Zartman holds off a NorthWood defender while shooting during the second quarter...Nieter
The high-powered Warsaw offense was really in a rhythm now, seeming to make the right pass and turning it into the right shot on each trip down the court. The trio of Bricker, Neely and Zartman had taken full control of the game and it was showing on the scoreboard.
By the end of the period, Zartman and Bricker had each scored at least 20 points and the Lady Tiger lead now sat at 45 as the two Miss Basketball candidates were putting on a show.
The lightning-quick pace of the third quarter subsided for much slower action in the fourth. With the game well out of reach, both benches began to empty. Senior Erin McManus got in on the fun by hitting a pair of three pointers for her first points of the night.
The barrage continued as Reagan Robinson hit yet another triple to giver her team a very fitting total of 80 for just a moment. In the final minutes, the pace began to pick up steam once again, specifically on the Warsaw side of the court. A few final baskets put the exclamation point on the first conference win of the season.
Bricker led all scorers with 24 points. Zartman added 23, while Neely had 13. Robinson scored nine and Goheen and McManus each had six. The team made 16 three pointers in the game, including making 9-10 in the second half.
Warsaw (6-1, 1-0 NLC) travels to Syracuse on Saturday for a game against Wawasee.
“Every game we play from now until February is a chance to get better. This is another one,” Krebs said.
