Lady Tigers Win Sectional OpenerDUNLAP – Though ugly at times on the offensive end, Wednesday's night's Class 4A Sectional 4 matchup with Concord had a beautiful outcome for the Warsaw Lady Tigers.
Despite making just 17 of 41 shot attempts, Warsaw never trailed and led by as many as 24 points in a 44-27 win over the host Minutemen at McCuen Gymnasium.
With the 17-point win, which game a week and a half after they beat Concord 46-29, the Lady Tigers improved to 15-8 and advanced to Friday night's 7:30 p.m. semifinal game against Elkhart Memorial.
Memorial (13-9) advanced with a 40-26 win over Goshen (12-11) in Wednesday's second game.
Defending sectional champion Northridge (21-3) and Elkhart Central (15-8) square off in Friday's first semifinal game at 6 p.m.
First-year Warsaw coach Lenny Krebs, whose squad beat Memorial 57-35 on Jan. 10, said it was important to get off to a great start against a much-improved Concord team.
The Lady Tigers did just that.
After the Minutemen knotted the game at 2, the only time the game was tied, Warsaw went on an 11-0 run that bridged the first and second quarters.
The Lady Tigers led 25-14 at halftime and 38-18 heading into the final frame.
“It’s always nice to get that first win out of the way,” Krebs said of the sectional opener. “I know before the game the girls were nervous as heck. For many of these girls it’s their first opportunity to play in a sectional game, and nerves were running high.
“Our concern was getting off to a good start against a team like Concord that is much-improved. Coach (Cassie) Cepeda has made Concord a team you have to bring your “A game” against. I totally respect what she’s done.
“We knew it was going to be important to get off to a good start and not give Concord confidence right off the bat on their home floor. I thought defensively we did that, but I was a little disappointed on the offensive end ... I thought we could have been a little more efficient.”
Warsaw shot 50 percent in the first half, compared to 33 percent in the second half.
Concord made just 9 of 36 attempts in the first half and 5 of 22 after the intermission.
When the Lady Tigers played the Minutemen during the regular season they trailed 17-16 at halftime.
After holding an 11-point lead at halftime Wednesday, Warsaw’s advantage never got smaller than seven points at any time in the second half.
The Lady Tigers have won 42 consecutive meetings with Concord and own a 50-2 record in the all-time series. Concord’s wins were in 1981 and 1983.
Senior Emma Bohnenkamper led Warsaw with a game-high 14 points to go along with six rebounds, while junior Kacy Bragg tallied nine points and six boards, and classmate Maddie Ryman finished with nine points.
Sophomores Kaylee Patton and Brielle Harrison scored six and four points, respectively, with Harrison adding six rebounds to her stat line.
“We strive for some balance on the offensive end,” said Krebs. “We want to be difficult to defend, and we want five people on the floor who are going to be difficult to defend. I think we’re slowly working our way to that point where we have five people on the floor that can score, depending on matchups.
“I thought we did a better job in the second half of finding mismatches in order for some penetration.
“Emma ... there’s been some times this year we’ve hooked ourselves on to her coat tails and we rode her. She has that leadership about her. Same thing with Maddie Ryman at times. We rode Kacy Bragg at times, and Kaylee Patton at times. The goal for us is to make sure we’re doing that together and not just relying on one person to carry the load.”
Alexa Porter led Concord with eight points and 11 rebounds, while Chandyn Redmond added seven points and four boards, and Riley Mathewson tallied five points and four rebounds.
