Grose Powers Warsaw Past Goshen
GOSHEN – Nikki Grose finished what she started Saturday night.
That was a very good thing for her Warsaw girls basketball team.
Grose capped a big game with a strong showing in the final quarter as the Tigers topped Goshen 44-34 in Northern Lakes Conference play.
Senior standout Grose powered inside for 20 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter, as Warsaw improved to 7-8 overall and 2-2 in the NLC. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Junior Pam Miller netted nine points in an impressive effort for Warsaw. Senior Brooklyn Harrison had six points and junior Jodie Carlson five for the Tigers.
Senior guard Deja Felder tossed in 12 points to lead Goshen, which lost for the fifth straight time to fall to 7-6 overall and 1-3 in the NLC. Ashton Ellis had seven points for coach Lenny Krebs’ squad.
The Tigers bounced back after a disappointing 47-44 loss Wednesday in a subpar performance at Fort Wayne Carroll.
The win was big for many reasons, including that the conference race is still up for grabs, especially after Northridge knocked off NorthWood Saturday night, and Goshen is a possible sectional opponent.
To Warsaw coach Michelle Harter there was something even bigger than the win itself that she saw from her team.
“The biggest thing tonight for me was our effort,” said Harter. “We came out and played together as a team and that was the most important thing to me.
“When we play with energy, enthusiasm and excitement like tonight we are a much better team. I was happy with our effort. The big thing was our energy tonight.
“I thought that we would bounce back. We did take a step back on Wednesday at Carroll and I challenged the girls. I knew they would come back tonight and play better. They have pride and they were not happy with how they played on Wednesday.”
Grose, a 6-0 center, took advantage of her size advantage against a smaller Redskin frontline. She hit 8-14 shots in the win. Grose scored nine points in the final frame as Warsaw outscored the Redskins 13-8.
“Nikki performed the way she is capable of tonight,” Harter said. “She attacked the basket. We need her to be physical like she was tonight. That was big for us. It’s huge for us when Nikki plays the way she is capable of.”
Grose got the Tigers off to a strong start too Saturday. She scored nine points in the first quarter as Warsaw built a 12-4 lead. The Tigers, despite Grose sitting out much of the second quarter due to foul trouble, built their lead to 21-10.
The Redskins closed the opening half with a flurry though. A 7-0 run by the hosts cut the Warsaw lead to 23-19 at intermission. Goshen was within four despite making just 3-14 shots in the opening half, but stayed in it with a 12-14 effort from the free throw line.
The Tigers, who have just five regular season games left to play, led 31-26 after outscoring the Redskins 8-7 in the third period. Warsaw opened the final stanza with an 11-4 run to put the game away. Grose hit a huge trey from the top of the key during the pivotal stretch, celebrating with a fist pump after the shot found nothing but net to put an exclamation point on her fine night.
“We talked about still being in it for the NLC and it’s a huge plus too to beat a team who may be a sectional opponent,” said Harter. “We just need to continue to play with the energy we did tonight.”
Warsaw shot 17-39 from the field, including 1-7 from deep. The Tigers were 9-12 from the line and had a 30-23 rebounding edge.
Goshen shot just 9-36 from the field, including 2-14 on 3-point tries. The Redskins were 14-16 from the line, but just 2-2 in the final half.
Warsaw won the junior varsity contest 27-25. Dayton Groninger led the Tigers with 10 points. Madi Graham netted eight and Tahya Bruce five.
Sheyenne Rangel scored a game-high 14 points to pace the Goshen JV squad.
Warsaw hosts Penn (14-1) Wednesday. Goshen hosts Mishawaka Tuesday.