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Still boasting a perfect record after defeating Valparaiso on the road last Saturday, the Warsaw girls basketball team returned to the Tiger Den on Tuesday night for a meeting with South Bend Riley. The game belonged to the Lady Tigers from the jump, as the team cruised to its fifth straight win to start the season with a 67-10 victory.
“We got the type of game that we needed after four tough games,” Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs said. “We were able to play relaxed, do what we do and work on some things.”
Warsaw wasted no time at all taking an early lead, scoring the first eight points of the contest in the first 90 seconds. Brooke Zartman led the early charge, hitting on her first two attempts from distance to give her six early points. Joslyn Bricker added four points at the free throw line, but also picked up a pair of fouls in the first four minutes of the game.
Following the hot start, the Lady Tigers spent the next few minutes in a dry spell. The home side was getting plenty of open looks from beyond the arc, but just were not able to get them to fall. Their opponents were not doing much better, sitting on just one made field goal six minutes into the game.
With the shots not falling from deep, Warsaw began to attack the rim a bit more aggressively, and found success doing so. Junior Cayleigh Goheen came off the bench for some strong minutes at the end of the period, scoring four points to help her team take a 24-4 lead into the second.
A pair of threes by Alexis Neely got the outside shooting back on track early in the ensuing quarter as the Lady Tiger lead grew closer to 30. In full control of the game, Warsaw did not seem content to begin coasting just yet. The home side continued to play aggressive defense and pushed the pace offensively as their opponents struggled to keep up.
The usual suspects, Bricker, Neely and Zartman, continued to lead the way as the Lady Tiger lead continued to grow and grow. Bricker was doing an especially good job of controlling the pace of the game from the guard spot while also staying aggressive by driving to the line and turning her opportunities into points more times than not.
Warsaw junior Reagan Huss positions herself for a three-point shot attempt during Tuesday night's home game against Riley...Nieter
At the break, this one had already been decided long ago. With the home side up 48-6, there would be a running clock for the entirety of the second half.
“It’s hard to play a game with a 40-50 point lead and compete for the entire time, but I thought the girls did a great job giving effort for all 32 minutes,” Krebs said.
Even with a lead of over 40 points, the Warsaw starting five returned to the court to begin the expedited second half. The only starter to not score in the first half, Reagan Huss,picked up her first points of the game here in the third.
Eventually, the starters began being phased out one by one. Sophomore Reagan Robinson made the most of some extended minutes, pushing her team’s lead over 50 in the final minute of the third.
“Credit to Reagan for the game she played off the bench tonight,” Krebs said. She did a little bit of everything for us and I like the way she’s coming along.”
The fourth quarter went by just as quickly as the third did. Bricker and Zartman began the period still on the court, but were subbed out midway through the period. Erin McManus scored her first points of the evening on a corner triple with time winding down, much to the delight of the crowd. Those were the final points of the game.
Bricker finished with a double-double of 22 points and 20 rebounds. Zartman scored 17 in support. Alexis Neely added eight while Goheen scored seven.
Warsaw (5-0) is at Brownsberg for the Sneakers for Santa event on Saturday.
