ELKHART – Patience was a virtue for the Elkhart Memorial girls basketball team Wednesday night.

It was also a huge part of a winning formula as the hosts upset Class 4-A No. 11 Warsaw for a gigantic Northern Lakes Conference victory.

The disciplined Crimson Chargers were able to knock off the Tigers 35-31 in a key league clash.

Memorial improves to 10-7 overall and goes to 3-1 in NLC to sit in a tie with NorthWood for second place behind league leader Northridge (4-0). Warsaw, which dropped a heartbreaker at Northridge Saturday night, falls to 15-3 overall and moves to 1-2 in league play.

Senior star Dayton Groninger canned a game-high 15 points to lead the way for Warsaw. Senior standout Madi Graham finished with eight points for the Tigers.

Sophomore Ay’zyana Billings-Tiller scored 13 points to pace Memorial to the big win. Tiller hit three critical treys in the victory.

The Crimson Chargers showed poise and patience all night long and were able to make just enough clutch plays and a couple of free throws down the stretch to hold off Warsaw.

Memorial, which took the lead for good with a big second quarter effort, clinched the win as junior Sierra Peete hit the first of two free throw attempts with 6.9 seconds to play. Peete’s charity toss came after a charging call on Warsaw’s Mariah Rivera with eight seconds left in the game.

The Tigers simply could not buy a bucket in the final frame. Warsaw, which shot 4-23 from the field in the second half, had no field goals and just four free throws in the final frame.

“They deserved to win,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter of Memorial. “They played well and did a great job being patient.

“We played with a lack of confidence on the offensive end. We were hoping that the ball would go in tonight. We got some great looks in that fourth quarter, but you are not going to win too many games going 0-13 in the fourth quarter like we did tonight.

“We were just never able to put the ball in the basket in that last quarter. We just did not finish shots strong.”

Warsaw, which beat Memorial 52-33 last season, came out and led 10-6 after the opening period with five hoops all from point-blank range. The Tigers then got outscored 13-4 in the pivotal second period as they had five key turnovers in the stanza. Memorial led 19-14 at halftime.

“That second quarter just killed us,” said Harter. “We came out the first quarter and were patient and did everything that we talked about. And then in the second we went away from it. We got out of sync and never got back into it.”

Memorial, which has won seven of its last nine games, never trailed in the second half. The hosts led 28-27 at the end of the third period. The hosts then patiently worked the clock in the final frame after a 3-pointer by Billings-Tiller gave them a 31-27 lead with 4:17 to play. The Chargers made just 2-8 free throws in the fourth period, but it was enough to get the win.

“We told our kids all week not to force it against their half court zone,” explained sixth-year Memorial coach Steve Scott. “We have a lot of juniors who have played a lot of basketball for us and we have been in a ton of close games this year and in the last month and a half our kids have really grown up a lot.

“I thought that our half court defense was really good. Our emphasis was to not let Groninger and Graham beat us from the 3-point line. We’ve beaten some good teams after a slow start, but tonight we beat a very good team. They were favored by 18 points over us tonight in the Sagarin ratings.

“The girls have really turned it around after our slow start. That’s a tribute to them. This was a big win for us from a confidence standpoint and in terms of staying in the conference race.”

Warsaw went 0-11 from 3-point land and finished 11-41 from the field in the game. The Tigers also had one more turnover (11-10) than Memorial. Warsaw had a 34-21 rebounding edge, including 17-8 in offensive caroms. The Tigers only managed a 6-4 scoring advantage in second-chance points though due to their inability to finish putback attempts. Warsaw did outscore the host 9-2 from the line, but were outscored 13-2 in points off turnovers on the night.

The 31 points was a season-low total for Warsaw. The Tigers, who have now lost two in a row after winning 10 straight games, entered play Wednesday night averaging 52 points-per-game.

Warsaw trainer Corey Branam was the busiest man in the gym on this night. Branam attended to a trio of Warsaw players, Graham, Page Desenberg and Kenzie Welk, at different points in the physical tussle.

The Tigers have NLC games left at home with Goshen and Wawasee and at Concord and NorthWood to wrap up the regular season. The thought of a league championship is now basically gone for Harter’s veteran team.

“We have to focus now on playing well our last four games,” said Harter.

The quartet of Page Desenberg, Mariah Rivera, Kacy Bragg and Kennedy Patton each had two points for Warsaw. Desenberg had eight rebounds and Groninger seven.

Peete had eight points and junior Cydney Lapczynski six for the Chargers, who have just one senior of their roster. The Chargers finished 14-34 overall from the field, including 6-15 in the second half.

Memorial still has league games remaining at Wawasee, at Northridge and at Goshen.

Warsaw and Memorial will both be in the seven-team Class 4-A Goshen Sectional in three weeks.

Warsaw won the junior varsity game 44-28. Maddie Ryman and Halie Shipp each scored 13 points to pace the Tigers. Kenzie Martz added nine points for the winners.  Jaiden Rangel led Memorial with 14 points.

Warsaw hosts Goshen Saturday night and Memorial plays at Wawaseee Saturday afternoon in NLC action.