Jordyn Frantz goes for the basketball Saturday night. The NorthWood star scored 25 points as the Panthers beat Warsaw 40-32 for the program’s first NLC title in 15 years.

NAPPANEE – It was only fitting that the Northern Lakes Conference championship trophy was in the hands of NorthWood’s Jordyn Frantz as the Panthers posed for a victorious postgame team photo Saturday night.

The Panthers were in good hands all night long thanks to their star.

Frantz made her final game in the Panther Pit one to remember as NorthWood topped Warsaw 40-32 in a Northern Lakes Conference tussle.

Frantz showed why one final time on her home court that she is one of the top players in the illustrious history of the Black Swish program.

The 6-0 guard, who has signed to play at Saint Louis University, poured in a game-high 25 points as NorthWood claimed its first NLC title since 2000.

NorthWood, which outscored the Tigers 25-16 in the final half, improves to 18-5 overall  with its eighth straight win. The Panthers move to 6-0 in the NLC, two games ahead of both Warsaw and Plymouth.

“She’s special,” said first-year NorthWood coach Adam Yoder of Frantz. “She’s a player, not just a scorer. She does everything well. The thing about Jordyn is how unselfish she is and how she wants to win. She said at halftime that we were going to win. She just took over the game. She finds a way to get it done.

“This championship is special in a lot of ways. I’m just really proud of how these girls have meshed as a team this year. I did think that we could do this. I don’t think that a lot of people outside of our program gave us a chance to win the NLC this year. But, when you have the best player in the NLC that helps. And this team will fight tooth and nail versus anyone.”

Jordyn Frantz goes up for the opening tipoff Saturday night.

Frantz left no doubt who the best player was on Senior Night in front of a large crowd. She  scored 18 of her team’s 25 second-half points, including eight of their 13 in the fourth quarter. Frantz scored six in a row in the biggest stretch of the game in the final frame to turn a precarious one-point lead into a seven-point edge for the Panthers.

Frantz, who ranks second in program history with more than 1,300 career points, has led the Panthers to an 81-19 mark and three sectional titles. The Indiana All-Star candidate, who averages 19 points-per-game, helped NorthWood win 64-55 at Oregon-Davis Thursday night to snap the Bobcats’ 55-game home court winning streak.

“We won this championship together as a team,” said Frantz following a long post game celebration on the Panther Pit hardwood. “We did it with composure and teamwork. My teammates do trust me a lot because I take a lot of shots for us.  We work hard for fourth quarters like this one tonight.”

“This is a super emotional last year for me. What a better way to go out then winning the NLC championship.”

Warsaw, which drops to 12-9, trailed 29-22 with 6:55 to play. The Tigers rallied to cut the Panther lead to 29-28 on a 3-pointer by Dayton Groninger with 3:22 left. Frantz then bumped the lead to 31-28 with a pair of free throws before the pivotal play of the game occurred with 3:02 remaining. Warsaw’s Pam Miller was called for an illegal screen on Frantz as the Tigers brought the ball into the front court versus pressure defense by the Panthers. The foul was the fifth on Miller, who was hit with a technical foul after saying something to official Tim Mills while leaving the floor after fouling out. Frantz then hit the two free throws for the technical and then a bucket on the possession to make it 35-28.

Madi Graham of Warsaw protects the ball from the defense of Gabi Glass Saturday night.

“That was a big momentum swing,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter of the technical foul call. “I didn’t think it was an illegal screen. I thought that Pam was set. But you have to keep your composure.

“We did things to put ourselves in position to win tonight. We just didn’t come up with some rebounds and did not execute some things down the stretch. We just didn’t put the ball in the basket and that has hurt us at times all year and our rebounding let us down in the second half.

“I thought we did a decent job of defense on Frantz. She stepped up and made plays for them when they needed them.”

Warsaw, which beat the Panthers 47-44 in overtime last season, led 16-15 at halftime as Miller had eight points. Frantz scored her team’s first seven points of the game and then was scoreless in the second quarter.

The Tigers  took their largest lead at 21-15 on a baseline bucket by Groninger at the 6:27 mark of the third period. The Panthers answered with a 12-1 run, with Frantz scoring the final 10 points in the key stretch, to lead 27-22 at the end of the quarter.

Groninger did her part to keep Warsaw in the game late. The sophomore scored seven of her team-high 14 points in the final quarter. She also led her team with 13 rebounds.

Jodie Carlson heads to the hoop for the Tigers.

Warsaw shot just 9-40 from the field in the loss. NorthWood was 12-42, but a big 15-18 from the free throw line. The Tigers had 11 turnovers in the low possession game to just five for the Panthers.

Miller had eight points, Madi Graham seven and Jodie Carlson three.

Haley Roe and Erika Flickinger each scored four points for the Panthers.

Frantz went 8-17 from the field and 8-8 from the line. Taitlyn Trenshaw had six rebounds and McKayla Fielstra five for the Panthers.

NorthWood honored seniors Frantz, Roe, Karen Holmes and Ashley Yoder prior to the game.

NorthWood won the junior varsity game 29-26. Jessie Kersey scored 11 points and Maryann Marandet six for Warsaw. Gabby Birr had 10 points and Savannah Feenstra five to lead NorthWood.

Warsaw hosts Carroll Tuesday night in the regular-season finale which is Senior Night. NorthWood plays at Concord Friday night.

The NorthWood girls basketball team defeated Warsaw 40-32 Saturday night in Nappanee. The Panthers win the NLC championship for the first time in 15 years with the league victory.