The Warsaw Lady Tigers took the floor for game 1 of the TCU Holiday Tournament Tuesday morning looking to remain perfect. Their opponent was the Hagerstown Lady Tigers. Warsaw knew it would take a strong performance to knock of Hagerstown and their strong outside shooting.

The 10:00 a.m. starting time led to a small crowd at game time and a lazy feel to the warm-up sessions for both squads. The Warsaw girls quickly turned the atmosphere into a sea of cheers from their faithful fans. After a lay-up to start the game by senior forward Sarah Shilling, fellow classmate Kelci Freds knocked down back-to-back 3 point field goals to give Warsaw an early 8-3 advantage.

The Lady Tigers from Hagerstown nailed two 3-point bombs of their own to cut the lead to 8-6 with 3:10 to go in the 1st quarter. Coach Michelle Harter used a strategic zone defense designed to eliminate quality 3 point attempts by Hagerstown. Hagerstown is known for their outside shooting and looks to score from long distance on almost every possession. As the game progressed, Warsaw began to frustrate Hagerstown with their defensive effort.

After Sarah Shilling scored inside, senior guard Kaelee Sands converted a lay-up that extended the Warsaw lead to six (14-8) with 1:26 remaining. Warsaw would get consecutive stops on defense before setting up the last shot of the quarter. Freshman guard Lindsay Baker drained a 19 ft. jumper from the right wing as time expired.

End of Quarter 1: Warsaw 17 - Hagerstown 8

Hagerstown rattled off the first four points of the second quarter to give their cheering section reason to hoot-n-holler a bit. Sarah Shilling quieted their crowd with 2 free throws and a lay-up to push the Warsaw lead back to nine.

Kaelee Sands then scored the next 5 points of the game by nailing a 3-point shot from the left baseline and converting a lay-in after she made a great steal. Warsaw led by twelve 26-14 with 1:46 to play in the half. Senior forward Beth Plummer made 1 of 2 free throws and Shilling scored her 9 and 10th points of the half with :30 seconds left to keep the lead at twelve after two quarters of action.

End of 1st Half: Warsaw 29 - Hagerstown 17

Coach Harter drew up a beautiful play to start the 3rd quarter as Kelci Freds found a wide open Sarah Shilling to extend the Warsaw lead. Kaelee Sands then made her 2nd steal of the game, of which Senior point guard Cendall Ogle converted into a Warsaw score. Freds then stole the ball and found Sands in the open court capping a Warsaw 8-0 run to open the quarter. Warsaw led by twenty 37-17.

Junior Kayla Stout, who sat out most of the 1st half with 2 fouls, began to find her groove. Stout scored 6 3rd quarter points for Warsaw as they took command of this contest on both ends of the floor. Freshman Lindsay Baker made 4-4 free throws as Warsaw took a 22 point lead into the final period. Warsaw outscored Hagerstown 18-8 in the 3rd.

End of Quarter 3: Warsaw 47 - Hagerstown 25

Senior forward Beth Plummer scored 6 fourth quarter points while controlling the glass for Warsaw. Hagerstown began to full court pressure Warsaw, but the back court combo of Cendall Ogle, Freds, and Sands easily broke the press leading to easy Warsaw points.

Warsaw's defensive effort on Hagerstown senior sharpshooter Katelyn Lakes was the difference in this basketball game. The Lady Tigers listened and executed Coach Harter's game plan to perfection as they frustrated Hagerstown's shooters the entire game. Offensively, Warsaw shared the basketball in a balanced scoring attack that saw 3 players score double-digits.

Final Score: Warsaw 59 - Hagerstown 39

Complete Scoring for Warsaw:

Sarah Shilling - 12, Kaelee Sands - 11, Kelci Freds - 10, Lindsay Baker - 9, Kayla Stout - 8, Beth Plummer - 7, Cendall Ogle - 2

Warsaw advances to the 8:00 p.m. TCU Championship Game. The Lady Tigers are now a perfect 9-0 on the season as they attempt to make it 10 consecutive wins to start the 2009/2010 year.

Come out and support this group of girls tonight. They are really good.

Complete coverage of tonight's championship game will be here at TigerSportsNation.com.

Posted In: Girl's Sports > Basketball

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