Senior Lindsay Baker looks to pass the ball Thursday night during the championship game of the TCU Lady Tiger Classic. Baker helped Warsaw win the title to remain undefeated.

WARSAW – The Warsaw girls basketball team picked up Thursday right where they left off prior to an eight-day holiday break.

Winning.

Warsaw remained undefeated on the season by handling South Bend St. Joseph 54-21 in the opening game of the Teachers Credit Union Lady Tiger Classic.

Warsaw, off to its first 10-0 start since the 1989-90 season, advanced to the championship game Thursday night. The Tigers were slated to meet undefeated Lowell in the title tilt at 8 p.m.

Lowell, also 10-0, defeated Perry Meridian 60-53 in the second game Thursday.

St. Joseph (5-6) was scheduled to play Perry Meridian (3-7) in the consolation contest at 6 p.m. Thursday.

St. Joe scored the first basket of the game versus the Tigers Thursday. That lead was short-lived however for the Indians, who have lost five of their last six games after being hit by a rash of injuries to key players.

Warsaw answered the bell with a 20-2 run versus the Indians. The Tigers, who led 13-2 after the opening period, held St. Joe scoreless for a stretch of 11:20 in the opening half. Warsaw used nine players in the first quarter alone.

Nikki Grose is congratulated by coach Michelle Harter during the Lady Tiger Classic Thursday. Grose had two impressive games in earning all-tourney honors for the champion Tigers.

Nikki Grose got the hosts going strong in the second stanza as Warsaw outscored St. Joe 17-2 in the period. The junior scored 12 of her game-high 13 points in the second quarter. The biggest cheers of the half came as senior Gabby Monroy scored a pair of buckets in the second period for the Tigers as Warsaw led 30-4 at intermission.

Monroy, known for putting the ball in the back of the net in the fall as a standout soccer player at WCHS, drew cheers from the crowd and her teammates as well. The 5-6 forward finished the game with eight points.

“Gabby is a fan favorite,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter following the win.

Grose led the Tigers with 13 points to go with 11 rebounds in another strong performance by the 6-0 center. Melanie Holladay scored nine points, Monroy and Lindsay Baker each had eight and Jennifer Walker-Crawford six. None of the Tiger starters played very heavy minutes in the lopsided contest.

Warsaw had just three turnovers in the victory. The Indians committed 26 miscues, with 17 of those coming in the first half.

“Our big goal today was to come out with good intensity and do the things on defense to prepare us for the championship game and the challenge was to play the way we are capable,” said Harter. “I did see what I wanted for the most part.

“I’me very pleased with the way we took care of the ball with just three turnovers and how patient we were offensively and that we made good passes. We still need to improve on our free throw shooting and on finishing shots inside.

“I’m excited about our first opportunity tonight to try and win a championship. It will be a good test to see where we are at tonight.”

Junior Mary Freeby led St. Joe with eight points and a team-high six rebounds. Senior Nicole Przybyslawski had seven points and five rebounds for coach Ric Mauch’s squad.

Katie Bobos, a 6-0 senior, scored a game-high 24 points to lead Lowell to its win in the second game Thursday. Mackenzie Kreutz had 12 points for the Red Devils, who started five seniors in the win. The 53 points allowed was a season high for Lowell, which was giving up just 27.9 points-per-game prior to Thursday.

Senior guard Lauren Spencer led Perry Meridian with 17 points. Senior guard Katie Kelly had nine points for the Falcons, who have lost five of their last six games.