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NEW CASTLE - The prestigious Hall of Fame Classic at the world-famous New Castle Fieldhouse was nothing more than a business trip for the Warsaw girls basketball team.
Outscoring their two opponents by a combined total of 72 points, including a 71-37 drubbing of No. 1 Norwell in the championship game, the Lady Tigers made their case for being the best team in the state with a dominant showing in New Castle. It’s the third time the program has won the HOF Classic, the first team to accomplish that feat.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that game would have gone that way,” head coach Lenny Krebs said while his team cut down the nets. “They had a goal in mind today and you saw how this group can perform when they lock in on a goal. So many people performed, every time Norwell hit a shot we answered it, and it was a different person every time.”
Brooke Zartman was named the MVP of the tournament. She made eleven three pointers over the course of two games, scoring 47 points on the day. She was emotional after the victory.
“This means everything to me,” she said, fighting back tears “It’s my grandfather’s birthday today and he passed away a couple of weeks ago. It was a hard day, but I played for him today.”
Joslyn Bricker and Alexis Neely were each named to the all-tournament team after putting up double digits scoring in each contest.
The Lady Tigers couldn’t envision a more perfect start if they tried, as the guests on the scoreboard scored the first eleven points of the night over the course of the first four minutes of the game. Four different players scored during the run, and they happened to be the same four players that finished the opening game in double digits. After buckets by Reagan Huss, Zartman, Joslyn Bricker and Alexis Neely, Norwell was forced to call an early timeout.
It took five minutes before the Lady Knights finally put some points on the board. The home side was struggling to break through the Warsaw defense, but the Lady Tigers were having no such problem. The ladies in orange and black were playing picturesque team basketball, making the extra pass to break through the Norwell zone and find the open shot.
With the Lady Knights doing a whole bunch of double teaming around the perimeter, Warsaw was able to exploit it to the tune of five threes in the opening quarter. After the team’s second fast start of the day, the Lady Tigers took a 15-point lead into the second quarter.
That advantage only got bigger as halftime approached. Vanessa Rosswurm was doing all she could offensively for Norwell, but it was not enough to keep pace with the tireless Warsaw attack. With three minutes until the break, a turnaround jumper by Bricker extended the lead to 20 for the second time, while also giving her 15 for the first half.
“We talked earlier about playing with more confidence on defense and I think we really started to showcase that today,” Krebs said. “We’ll keep making progress in that department and see how much better we can get.
There was no let up in the final stretch before the half. If anything, the Lady Tiger intensity, especially on the defensive end, only increased. When the final buzzer sounded, Warsaw still led by 20, and they had held No. 1 team in the state, who came in averaging a touch over 63 points a game, to just 16 on 27% shooting.
The Lady Knight offense showed a little more life as the third quarter got going, but each time the home side got a shot to fall, the Lady Tigers went right down to the other end and hit their opponent with a patented scoreback. Huss was everywhere in the opening minutes of the second half, hitting a three on one end and diving into the media table to save a loose ball on the other.
Warsaw senior Reagan Huss goes up to score after a breakaway...Nieter
By the midway point of the quarter, the rout was on. Another triple for Zartman extended the advantage all the way to 27. Bricker finished the quarter strong with a couple more baskets inside, combined with some more lockdown defense, and with eight minutes left, the guests led 52-23.
It was Neely who made her mark on the game in the opening minutes of the fourth, as the senior scored eight straight points to give the team its second running clock of the day and balloon the advantage to 38.
The total domination continued even as more role players began filling spots on the court. With about two minutes left, the rest of starters exited to a standing ovation.
Rosswurm led all scorers with 26. Bricker led the Lady Tigers in the title game with 25. Zartman had 19, Neely scored 14, and Huss added eleven with a team-high seven rebounds.
Warsaw (12-1) plays its next game against Fairfield on Dec. 30 at the Hoosiers Gym in Knightstown.
“Ever since we lost to Jennings County we’ve been on an upward trend. We’re not slowing down. It doesn’t matter who we play,” Zartman said. “We’re all bought in and we want to keep getting better so we can make another deep run this year.”
