Aubrey Schmeltz works inside for Wawasee Thursday night at Concord. The junior scored a team-high 16 points in Wawasee’s 53-32 win in the regular-season and NLC finale.

ELKHART – Wawasee girls basketball coach Kem Zolman admitted that he was concerned Thursday night with how his team would bounce back from a big loss just two nights earlier.

The veteran coach got an answer right from the opening tip.

The Warriors used a dominating first-half performance to top Concord 53-32 in the Northern Lakes Conference and regular-season finale.

Wawasee, which lost 72-38 at Class 3-A No. 4 Tippecanoe Valley Tuesday night, put this one in the win column in the first 16 minutes in McCuen Gym.

The Warriors regrouped and responded in impressive fashion to improve to 8-14 overall and finish  2-5 in the NLC.

Aubrey Schmeltz led the winners with 16 points. The junior post player hit 10-12 free throws in the win.

Senior standout Kylee Rostochak finished with 14 points, including seven in the final quarter, for the Warriors. Sophomore guard Aubrey Kuhn netted 10 points.

Wawasee, which must now turn around and play Valley again on Tuesday night in the opening game of the Valley Sectional, proved their mentality was just fine Thursday night. The Warriors led 14-3 after the opening period and 31-5 at halftime. Wawasee allowed just two Concord field goals in the opening half and used a 25-0 run over a span of 10:20 to take complete control.

Kuhn scored 10 points and Schmeltz had eight in the opening half to lead the way for Wawasee. Concord also had 11 turnovers in the opening half.

Aubrey Kuhn netted 10 points for the Warriors.

“I’m very, very proud of the way that our kids came back from a thrashing Tuesday night,” said Zolman. “My biggest concern was how we would come out tonight. The girls came out very focused at the start.

“They came out with intensity on the defensive end and I’m more proud of that tonight than our offense. We can play that kind of defense. And when we do, our offense is much better. It was neat to see how focused they were on defense in that first half.

“We just talked it (the loss at Valley) out at practice Wednesday. We had to just get rid of it. It’s all about a mindset. That’s why I’m so proud of them tonight. They made a good adjustment mentally.”

Concord, which drops to 5-17 overall and finishes 0-7 in the conference for the second straight year, showed signs in the second half. The hosts outscored Wawasee 13-8 in the third period. Both teams then scored 14 points in the final frame.

“They made a good run there in the third quarter,” noted Zolman, whose team beat Concord 41-36 last season. “They came out more intense than we did in the second half. But we withstood their run and finished it off.”

Junior guard Justyce Warren led Concord with a game-high 18 points. She scored 15 of those in the second half and hit four treys in the contest.

Kabrea Rostochak heads down the lane to the hoop for Wawasee.

Concord honored seniors Anna Nisen, Nicki Wilhelm, Katie Mochamer and Shydae Campbell Hunt prior to their final game in McCuen Gym.

Sophomore Kabrea Rostochak and Hannah-Marie Lamle each had four points for Wawasee. Junior Sequinn Bright scored three points and senior Erin Wiktorowski two.

Wawasee hit a fine 18-26 from the free throw line Thursday night. Concord was just 4-11 from the stripe.

Wawasee won the junior varsity game by a 31-30 final. Freshman Casey Schroeder scored 10 points and freshman Faith Swihart eight to lead the winners. The Wawasee JV team finishes its season at 4-15.

Wawasee will face Tippecanoe Valley (21-1) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the opening game of the Class 3-A Valley Sectional. Concord will not play until Feb. 5 versus either Warsaw or Elkhart Central in a sectional semifinal game of the Class 4-A Goshen Sectional at 6 p.m. Warsaw faces Central on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the opening game at Goshen.