Page Desenberg makes a move along the baseline for Warsaw Saturday at LaPorte. The Tigers dropped a 53-42 final.

LAPORTE – The Warsaw girls basketball team has proven to be resilient time and time again this season.

Such was the case once more on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers, unfortunately, dug a hole just a little too deep to get out of in the end.

A valiant second-half rally came up just short as host LaPorte held off Warsaw 53-42 in the opening game of a girls/boys non-conference twin bill.

The Tigers roared back from a 16-point deficit in the final half to get within a single point in the fourth quarter only to run out of gas.

The host Slicers closed the game with an 11-2 run over the final 1:39 to turn back the Warsaw rally.  LaPorte, which improved to 12-4 with its sixth straight win, closed the contest on an 8-0 run with all of those points coming from the free throw line.

It was a familiar theme for Warsaw, which drops to 4-12. The Tigers were done in by a slow start and a plethora of turnovers in the opening half.

Despite the loss, Warsaw coach Michelle Harter saw positives after her team trailed 27-11 early in the second half before closing within 39-38 with 3:28 to play in the contest.

“The very big positive is how we were able to come back in that second half,” said Harter. “That’s one thing about this team. They never give up and they never feel that they are out of it. It’s a continual learning process for us.”

Warsaw gave up a 12-0 run in the opening period to fall behind 17-7. The Slicers were up 23-11 at halftime as the Tigers had 15 turnovers at intermission.

“It’s going to be tough to win when you have 15 turnovers in the first half,” Harter remarked. “We got ourselves in tough hole to try and dig out of. We just came out and were out of control at times early in the game. We have to slow ourselves down and value every possession and be strong with the ball. We do shoot ourselves in the foot a lot and did that at the start again today.”

Warsaw opened the second half with turnovers on three straight possessions. The Tigers then turned the tide after Harter took a quick timeout just 1:13 into the final half. Sparked by Madi Graham and Dayton Groninger, the Tigers used a 17-6 run to pull within 33-28 at the end of the third period. Warsaw would get within 39-38 with 3:28 left in the final frame on a 3-pointer by Graham, before the Slicers regrouped and pulled away for the win.

Kenzie Welk looks for a teammate to pass to for the Tigers.

“We hit shots within the flow of the offense in the second half,” noted Harter. “When we were able to make some shots, we then picked things up on defense. We just need to slow ourselves down and take the opportunities when they are there.”

Warsaw, which beat the Slicers 57-50 last season, finished with 25 turnovers in the loss.

Junior Graham drained four triples, all in the second half, to lead the Tigers with 14 points. Junior Groninger finished with nine points, while junior Mariah Rivera added eight and junior Page Desenberg seven. Junior Kenzie Welk and freshman Kacy Bragg each had two points.

Desenberg led the Tigers with nine rebounds and Graham snared eight.

Jocelyn Colburn, a 6-1 senior, led LaPorte with 22 points. Senior Savannah Vaughan scored 10 points and senior Kate Ulmer nine for the Slicers.

Warsaw won the junior varsity contest 34-28. Maddie Ryman netted 12 points to lead the winners. Kennedy Patton scored seven points and Morgan Bruner six. Anna Haislet had nine points and Jacqui Leal seven for LaPorte.

Warsaw (4-12) hosts Wabash Wednesday night. :LaPorte (12-4) hosts Lake Central Friday night.

Madi Graham races upcourt for Warsaw. Graham led her team with 14 points Saturday.