Powerful Penn Pounds Tigers
WARSAW – The Penn girls basketball team was as good as advertised Wednesday night.
The Kingsmen, ranked No. 5 in the Class 4-A poll, looked the part in taking apart Warsaw.
Penn used a huge first-half performance in taming the Tigers 63-36.
The trio of senior Caroline Buhr and sophomores Kaitlyn Marenyi and Camryn Buhr each scored 12 points as The Kingsmen used defense and balanced scoring to run their season mark to 15-1.
Seniors Eryn Leek and Nikki Grose each netted 10 points to pace the Tigers, who drop to 7-9.
Penn, which lost twice last season to Warsaw including a 49-42 decision in a regional title game, wasted no time Wednesday night.
The Kingsmen, whose lone loss this season was to Class 1-A No. 1 Oregon-Davis, came out on fire. Penn raced to a 7-0 lead to open the game, sparked by its full court pressure defense. The Kingsmen led 17-6 after the opening period as Warsaw had seven turnovers.
Penn, winners of their last six games, rolled to a 34-12 halftime lead. The trio of Marenyi and the Buhr sisters each scored eight in the opening half as Penn hit 12-21 shot attempts. The Tigers had a 22-point deficit despite hitting 6-14 shots in the first half. The hosts had 15 turnovers.
“The first half was just a killer for us with the hole we dug for ourselves,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. “We came out and played a little scared. Penn could see it and that allowed them to put more pressure on us.
“Penn took advantage and attacked us. They have weapons inside and outside. We were a step slow on defense and we did not play fundamental basketball in the first half. Against a good team like Penn, you just can’t do that.”
Warsaw did open the second half with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 34-19. A quick timeout by Penn coach Kristi Kaniewski-Ulrich, a former player at Mishawaka High School and Bethel College, at the 5:09 mark quickly woke up the Kingsmen. Penn went on a 12-5 run from there to build its lead back to 46-24.
“We did a better job in the second half, but we were just in too deep a hole,” Harter said.
Warsaw ended up shooting a very respectable 15-31 from the field, but had 23 turnovers. The Kingsmen were 24-49 from the field, including 5-10 on 3-pointers, and went 10-11 from the free throw line.
Penn, which entered the game only allowing 33 points-per-game on the season, had just nine turnovers.
Senior Brooklyn Harrison had seven points, while junior Jodie Carlson had four, senior Courtney Farling three and junior Pam Miller two for the Tigers.
Grose had seven rebounds and her three blocked shots gives her a new single-season program record of 45.
Sophomore Claire Carlton had 10 points and senior Jessica Alexander eight for Penn. All three of Penn’s seniors, Caroline Buhr, Alexander and Maya Solomon (who is out due to a knee injury) plan to play in college next year. Buhr, a smooth 6-1 forward who only played in four games last season due to a knee injury, is headed to San Diego.
Harter’s team has just four regular-season games left to play. The Tigers host conference foes Concord, Elkhart Memorial and NorthWood before the regular-season finale at Homestead.
“It’s a big stretch for us,” said Harter of the final two weeks before the sectional at Northridge. “It’s important for us to play together as a team and work as a unit.”
Warsaw and Penn, which was Class 4-A state runner-up in 2011, could meet again in the regional next month, which Penn will host this season.
Penn prevailed in the junior varsity contest 44-42. Dayton Groninger scored 18 points, Tahya Bruce 11 and Page Desenberg seven for Warsaw. Lindsy Kline had 13 points and Corrine Operacz 10 to lead Penn.
Warsaw hosts Concord Saturday night. Penn plays at South Bend Riley Friday evening.