Though their fan section could be counted on two hands and the experts all predicted a Warsaw victory, the Perry Meridian Lady Falcons came to play in Tuesday night's championship game of the TCU Holiday Tournament. As good as the Warsaw Lady Tiger defense played in the morning victory over Hagerstown, Perry Meridian's defensive effort was even better in this finale.

From the opening tip, Perry Meridian played with a high level of intensity that the Lady Tigers could never match. Despite their leading scorer, senior Amanda Raker, picking up two 1st quarter fouls and her 3rd with 2 seconds left in the first half, the Lady Falcons played inspired team basketball to hand Warsaw its first loss of the 2009/2010 season.

The first quarter was an evenly matched battle for 7 minutes as seniors Sarah Shilling, Kayla Stout, and Beth Plummer all scored baskets to pace the Lady Tigers. Warsaw led 7-5 with 3:04 left in the period. Perry Meridian used a 6-1 run to take a 3 point advantage (11-8) with 1:05 left. Ali Gentry and Abby Lang connected from 3-point range to lead the Lady Falcon attack.

After a Lindsay Baker free throw, Beth Plummer made a free throw and then snagged an offensive rebound for the Tigers. Plummer converted the rebound into a lay-up to tie the score at 11-11 with .53 seconds left in the 1st. Perry Meridian proceeded to score the next 2 baskets en route to 5-0 run to close the quarter.

End of Quarter 1: Perry Meridian 16 - Warsaw 11

The second quarter began with both teams shooting and scoring from beyond the 3-point arc. Seniors Kaelee Sands and Kelci Freds both nailed long range jumpers for the Lady Tigers. Sophomore Ali Gentry connected twice for the Lady Falcons. Gentry scored 12 first half points as she came up huge for Perry Meridian as their leading scorer sat on the bench in foul trouble.

The Lady Falcons once again picked up the defensive intensity. The Lady Tigers began to panic instead of showing patience. The offense often looked rushed and out of sync as players ran to spots instead of setting quality screens for each other. Open looks became very rare for Warsaw.

After a one handed running basket by freshman Lindsay Baker, Lady Falcon's senior Carli Skaggs drilled the 5th Falcon first half three pointer to give Perry Meridian a 29-21 advantage with 2:55 left in the half. Coach Michelle Harter exploded off the Tiger bench to call a 30 second timeout. As her players formed a circle around her, Harter attempted to get them motivated with a (Bobby Knight/Pat Summit like) "in your face" speech on the lackadaisical defensive effort being displayed.

The Lady Tigers tried to respond. Beth Plummer connected on a pair of free throws, while Kayla Stout and Sarah Shilling each made 1 of 2 to round out the first half scoring. Plummer led the Lady Tiger scoring in the first half with seven points. Perry Meridian outscored Warsaw 15-14 in the quarter to take a 6 point lead into the locker room.

End of 1st Half: Perry Meridian 31 - Warsaw 25

Exactly like the morning game, Coach Harter drew up a beautiful play to start the 3rd quarter as Kelci Freds found a wide open Sarah Shilling under the basket. Perry Meridian's 6'1" inch star Amanda Raker erased Shilling's attempt with a blocked shot. The Lady Tigers would never recover.

Perry Meridian used the next 4:00 minutes to shut out Warsaw on their way to a 9-0 run. The Lady Falcons opened up a commanding 40-25 advantage with 3:56 remaining in the 3rd. Much of the first 3 quarters saw Warsaw trying to be individual basketball players instead of the teamwork approach that propelled them to 9 consecutive victories. The individual attempts led to 12 turnovers. Perry Meridian turned those Tiger turnovers into 17 points.

Kelci Freds finally broke the ice for Warsaw with a free throw at the 3:32 mark. Sophomore Ryesha Jackson scored on a beautiful pass from Lindsay Baker. Baker then scored 2 points on a great dish from Freds as the Lady Tigers finally began to work together. Perry Meridian outscored Warsaw 13-5 in the quarter.

End of Quarter 3: Perry Meridian 44 - Warsaw 30

The Lady Tigers showed heart in the 4th as they did not roll over and quit. After a Lindsay Baker steal from Amanda Raker, Kelci Freds hit a jumper in the lane to pull Warsaw within nine (46-37) with 4:03 on the clock. Perry Meridian then missed 2 consecutive free throws that would have given the Lady Tigers a great opportunity to cut into the Falcon lead. Instead, Shilling and Jackson were whistled for traveling as they both grabbed the rebound for Warsaw. Both girls were hustling, but this unfortunate event would be the last chance for the Tigers to get any closer.

The Lady Falcons would ice the game with a 8-4 run to take a 54-41 advantage with less than 2:00 left in the game. As Perry Meridian played keep away, the Lady Tigers could only foul to get the ball back.

Final Score: Perry Meridian 59 - Warsaw 49

The loss was the Lady Tigers 1st of the season as they fall to 9-1 (2-0 NLC) overall. The tough physical play displayed by Perry Meridian will be a good learning experience as Warsaw travels to Marion to take on a tough Marion Lady Giants team next Tuesday night in the Bill Greene Gymnasium. The strong schedule will prepare the Lady Tigers for a strong NLC push as well as a post-season run. This team has all the parts to be great as they have often displayed over the first ten games. This minor setback can be a great motivator as this group of Lady Tigers unite around their senior leadership.

Great first half of the year Lady Tigers. Good Luck the rest of the way -- Go Tigers!

Here are a few scoring and rebounding statistics through the first 10 games:

Posted In: Girl's Sports > Basketball

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