Warsaw’s Kacy Bragg should take a huge step forward in her junior season. (File photo by Mike Deak)

WARSAW –  Trust the process.

That’s the mantra for the Warsaw girls basketball team as the program enters a new era.

The Tigers, who boast a rich tradition of success, welcome in a new coach in Lenny Krebs to guide a roster with plenty of new faces to the varsity level.

Krebs, who was hired in April to replace Michelle Harter, spent the past 14 seasons as the girls coach at Goshen. The former Grace College player, whose program’s culture are based on words like Love, Commitment, Leadership and Unity, is just a little excited for his new challenge.

“My fire and passion are back,” said Krebs. “And that has nothing to do with Goshen. I loved it there. Telling those kids that I was leaving was the hardest thing that I have had to do.

“But, change has a way of lighting a fire. I’m just so excited to be here and to be working with the young ladies that we have in our program. It’s been a whirlwind for me the last 6-7 months, but a fun journey.”

The Tigers, from an outsider’s view, would look to be rebuilding. The team lost six seniors from last season’s 20-4 team, including four of its top five scorers. Gone are the likes of standouts Dayton Groninger, Madi Graham and Page Desenberg. Groninger, now playing at Indiana Wesleyan University, averaged 16 points and eight rebounds last year and finished her brilliant career with 1,003 points. Graham averaged 11 ppg. and was second on the team (to Groninger) with 36 treys. Desenberg, who is now at North Central College in Illinois, averaged six points and five rebounds per outing.

Krebs believes that he has plenty of talent to get to where he wants to be by season’s end.

“All I care about is being better today as a team than we were yesterday,” Krebs noted. “If we do that and trust the process, the wins will take care of themselves.

“I trule believe that we have some of the best kept secrets in our players in Northern Indiana. They had a great summer and have truly bought into the culture we are trying to build here. They have just not have their chance to shine yet and that’s not their fault. That’s no one’s fault.”

The Tigers do return the trio of junior Kacy Bragg, sophomore Kaylee Patton and senior Kennedy Patton. Bragg averaged 4.6 points and almost three rebounds per game a year ago. Kaylee Patton averaged 2.7 ppg., while Kennedy Patton appeared in 19 varsity games.

“The style that I want to play fits this group,” remarked Krebs. “We will play faster. We will be fundamentally sound, but will make good decisions in a shorter time span offensively. We will play man-to-man, use pressure and be quick and aggressive.

“Our girls are playing with joy and freedom. It was so much fun this summer to just sit back and watch them play.”

Both Bragg and Kennedy Patton are focused on the intangibles that their coach knows are key to success.

“We just need to work as a team, hold each other accountable and not worry about the expectations of others,” said Bragg, who is also the star setter for the Warsaw volleyball team. “We need to strive to reach our own standards. I see my role as a communicator and an encourager. I just want to be a leader for us.”

“I just want to encourage and lift my teammates up,” Patton stated. “We just need to trust coach and trust the process. We need to block everything else out and focus on us this season.”

The Tigers have three seniors in Kennedy Patton, Emma Bohnenkamper and Miah Holsclaw. Bohnenkamper played in 21 games last season, averaging eight minutes per contest. The junior trio of Bragg, Maddie Ryman and Halie Shipp, along with sophomores Brielle Harrison and Kaylee Patton complete the top eight for the varsity. Holsclaw and Ryman each played in 10 games last year, while Harrison transferred back to Warsaw after playing for Whitko last season.

Krebs, a Fairfield High School product, maximized every ounce of potential at Goshen. The RedHawks were 130-174 in Krebs’ 14 seasons there, but they were always a tough opponent.

“We just need to control what we can control and that’s getting better every day,” commented Krebs. “I know that the product that we put on the floor will be far better in February than in November if we do that. I’m very confident in our girls ability to go out and compete every night. I totally believe in these girls. I think that they have great things ahead of them.”