How do you overcome 25 turnovers against a team ranked 12th in the state? What do you do when your leading scorer has an off night? You fight and hope like crazy your opponent is having the same kind of night.

Penn came to the Tiger Den ranked #12 4A with a 12-2 record. Their only losses were to Elkhart Memorial and Chicago Von Steuben, IL. Penn has two girls that will play Division 1 basketball.

Warsaw Coach Michelle Harter knew the contest was going to be hard fought. She instilled 4 pre-game keys to her team before they took the floor:

1. Guard Penn's 3-point shooters.

2. Limit Penn's 2nd chance points

3. Handle the ball against Penn's trap defense

4. Pound the ball into the post on offense to Kayla Stout & Sarah Shilling

It took the first 3 minutes of the game before Warsaw established a lead of 5-0. Three of those points coming from Kayla Stout scoring inside while drawing a foul. Penn decided that was enough of a head start and started answering the challenge. By the time there was a minute left in the 1st, the score was tied at 10-10 and would stay that way until the 2nd.

End of Quarter 1: Penn 10 - Warsaw 10

Penn's Kathryn Hojara would give Penn the first basket and the lead to begin the 2nd quarter. Lady Kingsman Alexanderia Morton hit her only 3 point play of the night. She nailed it from about 8 feet beyond the arc to strike fear in the eyes of Warsaw fans. Now it looked like they had a WNBA shooter who could hit 40' shots.

Kelci Freds tried to answer with a 3 but it just wasn't her night. In fact, Freds connected on just 1 of 19 total shots for the evening. Freshman, Lindsay Baker got the rebound and the foul for the Lady Tigers. When Penn tried to pull away by 5 or more, Baker decided to carry the load and bring the Lady Tigers back to within 2 by scoring herself.

With Warsaw trailing 20-13 late in the 2nd Kelci Freds made a beautiful pass to senior Kaelee Sands for two points. Lindsay Baker then converted a reverse lay-up to make it 22-17 Penn. Junior Kayla Stout scored 3 points as the half came to an end to draw the Lady Tigers within 2.

End of First Half: Penn 22 - Warsaw 20

The 3rd period would turn out to be a defensive dream and a viewers nightmare. Penn managed just 8 points with Warsaw taking in just 9 of their own. Fouls, turnovers, missed shots, and other undesirable stats seemed to take over the game. It finally ended with Warsaw now only trailing by 1.

End of Quarter 1: Penn 30 - Warsaw 29

More points were scored by both teams in the 4th quarter than any other period of play as were elbows and knock downs. Fans from both teams would come out of their seats to express their opinion of officiating for the first time of the night. The game was getting real intense.

Coach Harter even tried to get the intentional foul (see picture) for a football style hit Kayla Stout took from Taylor Lutz. Check out the photo gallery on this game -- you can clearly see the look on the cheerleaders' faces on this hit. Also check out the position Stout landed in. This game was a battle.

Every time out available had been used by both teams. This game was going to be decided by the last team to score.

Unfortunately for Warsaw, Penn would be that last team on this night. The Lady Tigers had one last chance with 2 seconds remaining. Lindsay Baker threw a full court pass to Stout. The ball landed out of bounds which enabled Penn to run out the clock for the victory.

Final Score: Penn 45 - Warsaw 42

So how could it be a good-bad game?

The Lady Tigers executed 2 of the 4 pre-game keys from Coach Harter. They shut down Penn's 3-point shooting. Penn only hit 4 of 11 for the game beyond the arc for 36%.

On top of that, Warsaw played great defense forcing 15 Penn turnovers and holding Penn to their 3rd lowest offensive output on the season (45 points). Penn managed to shoot just 38% for the game (17 of 44). Great defense Lady Tigers!

Warsaw also fed the post in this game as Coach Harter emphasized. Kayla Stout and Sarah Shilling combined for 27 points on 9 of 16 shooting.

The Lady Tigers still control their own fate for a coveted NLC Title. Playing strong, physical teams like Penn makes a stronger Warsaw team down the stretch. Losing can be bitter and even demoralizing, but it can also exploit weaknesses and impress upon the minds of the players the need to drive, believe and execute. Losing a hard fought battle on a bad night when stats are low can be a very good thing.... later. Very often, those kinds of losses will be remembered and become a rally point.

Tiger Sports Nation caught up with Coach Harter after the game for a quick couple questions.

TSN: Coach Harter, obviously a heartbreak tonight, but where do you think things came apart for you?

Coach Harter: "Well, the big thing is we got the ball inside like we wanted to, but we didn't finish our shots there. We got to the foul line like we wanted to, but missed foul shots. Then when it came down defensively, we missed some key block outs and they got some second opportunities and those are some little things to keep getting better at."

TSN: Does this mean it's going to be a hard practice tomorrow?

Coach Harter: "Well, we're going to keep working on those little things, because that's what is going to get us to where we want to be, which is a conference championship. And we want to win the sectional. Those are our sites that we have set and if these tough games are going to help us get there, then I'll take them."

TSN: Thank you and Good Luck with the little things!

Coach Harter: "Thank you."

Posted In: Girl's Sports > Basketball

Want to see more pictures? Click Here