Penn girls ease way into 4A sectional semifinals; Northridge stuns Warsaw
MIDDLEBURY — Penn scored a first-round knockout over Concord after Northern Lakes Conference giants Warsaw and Northridge went 15 rounds toe-to-toe as the Indiana High School Athletic Association Class 4A-Sectional 4 girls basketball tournament got underway Tuesday night at Northridge Middle School.
Coach Kristi Ulrich’s Kingsmen didn’t allow Concord any field goals in the first and final quarters while forcing 29 turnovers in a 51-19 rout of the Minutemen in Tuesday’s second game.
“At sectional time, everyone is going to give you their best punch because everyone is starting 0-0,” said Ulrich, in her 15th season in front of the Penn bench with a 2016 state title and two other semistate titles on her impressive résumé. “You’re going to be absolutely fighting and duking it out.”
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Which is what No. 7 Northridge and No. 16 Warsaw did in the opener. Coach Doug Springer’s Raiders, who only had the lead twice in the game, got their third and final one with 2.1 seconds remaining when Morgan Cross found fellow senior Gaby Gates for an easy layup and a 57-55 victory over coach Lenny Krebs’ NLC champion Tigers.
In Friday’s semifinals at the Northridge Middle School gymnasium, the Raiders (22-3) will meet Elkhart (13-9) in the opening game at 6 p.m. Then Penn (17-6) meets Goshen (11-11) in the second game. The two winners meet Saturday night at 6 p.m. for the championship.
Penn 51, Concord 19
Senior guard Lauren Walsh scored a game-high 13 points and classmate Kristlynn Minor came off the bench to add 10 points to lead the Kingsmen, runners-up in the Northern Indiana Conference to Washington. One of Penn’s victories this season came on Dec. 16 at home against Goshen, 38-26.
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“Tonight was all about coming out and taking care of business,” Ulrich continued. Penn did just that, shooting 38 percent from the field (19 of 50) while holding Concord to just 25-percent shooting (six of 24) and dominating the boards 38-29. Coach Brandel Abel’s Minutemen (9-13) were led by sophomore Shelby Emerick’s eight points.
“No question about it — tonight our defense did it for us,” Ulrich said. “Our bench did a great job tonight, giving us a lift offensively and defensively.”
Penn led 13-2 after the first quarter and then 21-10 at halftime as Concord made nine turnovers. It was 39-18 after three quarters before Penn forced another 12 turnovers in the fourth quarter.
“Lauren is very savvy and very creative,” Ulrich said of Walsh. “She’s also a great defender.”
On a night when the Kingsmen struggled finding their offense, Walsh showed her teammates the way defensively. Four of her six baskets came after midcourt steals. “Defense is what saved us tonight” Walsh said.
PENN 51, CONCORD 19
At Northridge Junior High School, Middlebury
CONCORD (19): Shelby Emerick 8, Kambrya Zilm 0, Hayden Casey 4, Mileah McKain 0, Dominique Stilley 1, Claire Campanello 2, Halle Ganger 2, Annika Troyer 2, Viv Casey 0, Chelsee Huffman 0, ZaZa Zilm 0, Shiloh Smith 0, TOTALS 6 5-10 19.
PENN (51): Lauren Walsh 13, Karleisha Echols 5, Jessa Troy 6, Anna McCullough 6, Anna Sachire 2, Macy Little 7, Kate Noonan 0, Kristlynn Minor 10, Ava Stebbins 2, Alivia Dawson 0, Lizzy Green 0, Mila Obradovic 0, TOTALS 19 10-17 51
Concord | 2 | 10 | 18 | 19
Penn | 13 | 21 | 39 | 51
3-point goals: Concord 2 (Emerick 2), Penn 3 (Troy 2, Minor 1). Field-goal shooting: Concord 6 of 24 for 25.0 percent, Penn 19 of 50 for 38.0 percent. Rebounds: Concord 27 (Casey 7), Penn 38 (McCullough 7, Little 7). Turnovers: Concord 29, Penn 13. Total fouls (fouled out): Concord 14 (none), Penn 14 (none). Records: Concord 9-13, Penn 17-6.
Northridge 57, Warsaw 55
Cross, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, had a team-high 20 points, four steals and just one assist —on the game-winning basket by Gates, who finished with 10 points, five fewer than teammate Rielyn Goodwin.
During a summer travel basketball game, Cross had the ball in her hands for the final shot, missed it and was devastated. Springer told her if the Raiders ever were in that position again, the basketball would still be in her hands.
“We put the ball in her hands the last play,” Springer said, “and Morgan broke down (Warsaw’s Alexis) Neely and (Warsaw center Brooke) Winchester doubled off because she was headed to the rim.”
Gates, a 5-foot-10 senior, was in the corner and saw two players going to Cross. “I made a back-cut,” Gates said. “Morgan always knows where I’m at.”
Cross wasn’t surprised that Gates came through. “I believe anyone on the team can make that shot,” Cross said, “and Gaby did.”
When Gates’ basket went into the hoop, the clock ran down to 0.7 second but officials put 2.1 seconds back on the scoreboard to give the Tigers a chance. On the inbounds, Sabrina Miller stole the pass at midcourt and was fouled by Winchester with less than a second remaining. The Raiders then inbounded the ball and ran out the clock, giving Northridge is first victory over Warsaw since a 44-37 triumph on Jan. 5, 2019. In between, the Tigers won six straight, including 65-52 on Jan. 6 in Warsaw.
“Not being able to beat Warsaw in our career, I thought it was amazing we could tonight,” Cross said.
It looked like Warsaw would make it seven straight victories at the start, running to an 8-0 lead as Brooke Zartman and Winchester hit early 3-pointers. But that was the biggest lead of the night for either team. Warsaw led 13-9 after the first quarter and 28-24 at halftime behind the 6-foot sophomore Winchester, who had 15 of her game-high 22 points and nine of her game-high 19 rebounds at the break.
Despite Goodwin scoring eight points in the third quarter, Warsaw still led 44-38 going into the fourth quarter before Northridge started to claw its way back. The Raiders held Winchester without a basket in the final quarter while Cross scored seven points. She, Cam Conley and Miller hit crucial 3-pointers to help Northridge outscore Warsaw 19-11 in the final quarter.
“We didn’t give Winchester in the fourth quarter,” Springer said. “We just didn’t give up. We just kept fighting. This team keeps believing in itself.”
NORTHRIDGE 57, WARSAW 55
At Northridge High School, Middlebury
WARSAW (55): Brooke Zartman 6, Joslyn Bricker 16, Brooke Winchester 22, Alexis Neely 4, Braylie Chastain 4, Kelsey Wrenn 3, Dalaney Vilamaa 0, TOTALS 21 6-9 55.
NORTHRIDGE (57): Morgan Cross 20, Sabrina Miller 7, Rielyn Goodwin 15, Gaby Gates 10, Ella Mohamed 0, Cam Conley 5, Lily Scholl 0, TOTALS 21 10-15 57.
Warsaw | 13 | 28 | 44 | 55
Northridge | 9 | 24 | 38 | 57
3-point goals: Warsaw 7 (Zartman 2, Bricker 2, Winchester 2, Wrenn 1), Northridge 5 (Cross 2, Miller 1, Goodwin 1, Conley 1). Field-goal shooting: Warsaw 21 of 52 for 40.4 percent, Northridge 21 of 45 for 46.7 percent. Rebounds: Warsaw 30 (Winchester 19, Chastain 5), Northridge 23 (Miller 9, Goodwin 5). Turnovers: Warsaw 6, Northridge 9. Total fouls (fouled out): Warsaw 10 (none), Northridge 11 (none). Records: Warsaw 14-8, Northridge 22-3.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA girls basketball sectional 4A at Northridge. Penn, Northridge win
