Girls Basketball Results: Jan. 5
NORTHWOOD 72, WAWASEE 34
NorthWood won its third straight Saturday with a convincing Northern Lakes Conference victory at Wawasee.
Kate Rulli put up 10 points during a 21-6 first period by the Black Swish on her way to a game-high 26 points. Maddy Payne finished with 12, and Kenzie Bergman scored 11 for NorthWood, while Kendal Miller put up eight as eight different players made the scoring column for NorthWood (14-4, 3-1 NLC).
Jada Carter led Wawasee offensively with 12 points and two assists as Casey Schroeder was held to five points alongside Kennedy White and Cailtin Wortinger. The Lady Warriors (3-13, 0-4 NLC) host Columbia City Tuesday.
The Lady Panthers now sit in second place in the conference behind only Northridge, which moved to 4-0 in the NLC with a win over Warsaw Saturday. NorthWood will play host to the Raiders next Saturday. The Black Swish beat Ridge via 57-49 decision in a non-conference at the Bankers Classic Tournament Dec. 29.
NorthWood’s JV edged out Wawasee 33-31.
NORTHRIDGE 44, WARSAW 37
Defending Northern Lakes Conference champion Northridge handed host Warsaw its first NLC loss of the season Saturday.
The Lady Tigers surrendered 20 turnovers for 24 points off turnovers, and the Raiders pulled down 11 offensive rebounds for 15 second chance points on the way to the win.
Warsaw got 10 points from Maddie Ryman and Abby Sanner — Sanner’s on perfect 4-for-4 shooting — but Morgan Litwiller nearly equalled that all on her own with 19 points for Northridge (14-5, 4-0 NLC).
Warsaw (12-5, 2-1 NLC) now owns one loss in the conference and sits a half-game behind second-place NorthWood at 3-1. The Tigers play another NLC tilt at Elkhart Memorial Wednesday.
ARGOS 48, LAKELAND CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 28
Argos snapped a four-game win streak by LCA with a lopsided win over the Lady Cougars at Winona Lake Saturday.
A 14-2 second period put the home team in the hole, 27-8, and the Cougars trailed 13-31 after three.
Tori Calizo finished with 10 points and two steals, and Abigail Fishel finished with six points and four rebounds. Anna Reimink scored just three points but collected four rebounds, four steals and five assists in the loss for LCA (10-8).
Elizabeth Edmonds scored a game-high 14 points for Argos (8-8).
LCA hosts Cornerstone Christian Tuesday.
GRACE 60, MT. VERNON NAZARENE 55
A back-and-forth game was secured by Grace’s women’s basketball team, beating Mt. Vernon Nazarene 60-55 on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers (10-8, 4-2 Crossroads League) won despite a poor shooting performance. Grace shot just 35 percent overall, including a chilly 3-of-19 (16 percent) from the 3-point line.
Vironnica Drake and Brooke Sugg powered Grace with Drake adding 18 points and Sugg scoring 17.
Drake sparked the Lady Lancers to a a 28-24 halftime lead, scoring seven points in the second quarter — accounting for the majority of Grace’s nine total points in the period.
The Cougars opened the second half with back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 28-28, and Grace continued its cold slump with four straight misses. Kamryn Hostetler finally broke Grace’s slump with a steal and fastbreak layup for a 30-28 lead. Minutes later, Hostetler converted an and-1 with a left-handed layup to put Grace up by five.
Late in the third quarter, Grace started to pull away, and the Lancers went into the final quarter up 49-39.
MVNU pulled back with three, but Hostetler hit a timely 3-pointer during the run to keep Grace in front, and the Cougars were forced to foul with 21 seconds remaining. Grace missed both foul shots, however, giving MVNU a chance to tie the game. But Grace alertly fouled in the waning seconds to send the Cougars to the foul line, preventing a potential game-tying 3-pointer. MVNU returned the favor with two misses at the charity stripe, and Sugg iced the win with two free throws.
Drake’s 18 points came with 11 rebounds, the game’s only double-double. Sugg stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists.Hostetler produced 13 points and four boards.
The Lady Lancers remain at home on Wednesday for another Crossroads League doubleheader. Grace will host No. 25 St. Francis at 6 p.m. with the men’s game to follow.