Halle Shipp takes aim at a three-pointer during Warsaw’s win over Elkhart Memorial in the opening round of the Northridge Girls Basketball Sectional Friday night. (Photo by Mike Deak)

MIDDLEBURY – In a jam-packed night of basketball in the opening round of the Class 4-A No. 4 Northridge Girls Basketball Sectional, Warsaw played the only game that wasn’t in any doubt. The Tigers knocked out Memorial by a 40-20 count, but Plymouth and Elkhart Central both had fights on their hands in their advancement in the tournament.

Warsaw 40, Elkhart Memorial 20

Warsaw never trailed in the second game of the night, with Kacilyn Krebs hitting a three 16 seconds in the game and the Tigers never looked back.

Memorial managed just two field goals in the first half as Warsaw piled up a 25-6 lead, going on a 15-2 binge in the second quarter. A leaner from Brielle Harrison, who had seven points and nine rebounds, gave Warsaw a 12-point advantage midway through the second and a steal and conversion from Halle Shipp, who scored a team-high 13 points, had Warsaw rolling.

“I thought the second quarter was a key quarter for us because we were able to pick up some defensive intensity,” said Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs. “We forced some action and encouraged some easy shots. Hal (Shipp) came off the bench and you could see a little bit of nerves there early on, she missed her first one, but we can always count on Hal to knock down a couple shots for us. She’s just amazing how she can just come off the bench and do that. We need that from her in order to continue this run.”

Abby Sanner added seven points, three rebounds and two steals and Krebs ended with six points.

Two three-pointers from Devine Johnson ended up being Memorial’s top scoring output at six points. The Chargers (6-17) were just 7-35 from the floor (20 percent), a frigid 2-20 from inside the arc, and only hit two of its 19 shots in the first half.

“I was proud of where we were defensively,” Krebs said. “We held them and limited their shots. We gave up too many second-chance opportunities early in the game. Seven offensive rebounds in the first half. That’s going to have to change if we are going to win the championship.”

Warsaw (15-8) advances to face Elkhart Central (17-6) Saturday night in the second semi-final.

Plymouth 57, Northridge 54 (2 OT)

In a thriller in the tourney’s first game, Plymouth knocked the hosts out in stunning fashion.

After Morgan Litwiller hit a three to tie the game and send matters to a second overtime, Plymouth’s Halle Reichard nailed a three with just four seconds left in the second overtime to give her team a three-point lead. Litwiller got a clean look at a three at the buzzer, but couldn’t hit another prayer as the super senior’s Raider career came to an end.

Reichard finished with just seven points on the night, but had teammates Claire Tanner finish with 15 and Cece Robinson tally 14. Litwiller ended with a game-high 18 points and Sierra Miller added 12 points for the Raiders, which finish at 17-7.

Plymouth (18-5) will meet Concord (14-8) in Saturday’s first semi-final.

Elkhart Central 41, Goshen 34

Goshen had Central on the ropes, but couldn’t close the deal in the night’s third game.

With the time approaching 10:30 p.m. local time, Goshen trailed Central just 32-31 after Maggie Gallagher’s steal and layup with 1:40 to go in the fourth quarter. Central then committed a turnover, but a missed three by Brynn Shoup-Hill caromed right to Kaitlyn Costner, who raced up the court for a layup.

A pair of Goshen turnovers then led to four Central points, creating a virtual nine-point swing at 38-31 Central. Shoup-Hill had a monster game for the RedHawks (14-9), recording 15 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks and four steals. Goshen killed itself with turnovers, committing 25 in the game, which resulted in 20 Blazer points.

“Turnovers got us in the fourth,” said Goshen head coach Shaun Hill. “I wanted them in attack mode, and sometimes we gotta take some of the lumps when I put them in that mode. We’re close to get to the point when we can do that, but it’s a work in progress.

“Normally we would dribble through a press like that and we’d lose the ball. We just couldn’t see over it. We tried to throw over the top a few times. Threw it out the side a few times. Those are mistakes we just can’t have.”

Costner led the Blazers with 16 points, seven boards and four steals, and the shifty point guard Trinitee Harris had 11 points, six steals and five rebounds despite Goshen’s efforts to bottle her up, going just 3-11 from the floor.