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WARSAW – The senior members of the Warsaw girls basketball team picked a pretty good time Monday night to pick up their game.

The duo of Nikki Grose and Brooklyn Harrison especially.

Warsaw senior Brooklyn Harrison looks for room in the title game Monday night.

The Tiger tandem turned in outstanding performances to lead their team past Perry Meridian 48-41 in the championship contest of the TCU Lady Tiger Tournament.

Senior Grose poured in 22 points and classmate Harrison added 13 as Warsaw claimed the tourney title for the second straight year.

The Tigers, who entered play Monday on a four-game losing streak, won a pair in the tourney to improve to 4-7.

The back-to-back tourney titles are the first for the program since championships during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons. Monday was the 36th edition of the annual tourney.

Cassie Baird, a 6-2 senior, popped in 22 points to pace Meridian. The Falcons, who finished 9-11 last year, drop to 7-6 on the season.

“It was a great team effort tonight,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. “We got great senior leadership and you can’t ask for a better time for your seniors to step up. They wanted today to be the time to turn our season around.

“This is big for us today to play the way we are capable of and prove we are a good team. It’s a big step for us to turn the corner. The girls saw success today by doing the little things that we have not been doing.”

“Nikki stepped up and scored some big baskets for us when we needed them tonight. Brooklyn just had a tremendous game for us, doing all the little things that we knew she was capable of. This is always a big tourney for us and this should get our confidence back.”

Nikki Grose protects the ball versus Perry Meridian. Grose led Warsaw to a 48-41 win with 22 points.

The Tigers trailed 17-14 after the opening period before rallying. The hosts used a 10-3 run in the second quarter to lead 26-25 at halftime. Grose, who had missed four of the last five games due to a concussion and a violation of team rules, scored 15 in the opening half for the Tigers.

Warsaw responded with a 12-2 run to open the final half. Grose and Harrison sparked the surge that put the Tigers in control.

“The girls took what we said to them to heart at halftime and got that run to give us the advantage. We took the shots we wanted, we attacked the basket strong and we got to the free throw line.”

The Tigers led 40-35 after the strong third period. Grose and Harrison then hit key baskets to open the final quarter as the hosts controlled the final frame to win the title.

“I thought our defense picked up a little more today and we won a lot more of those 50-50 balls,” remarked Harter. “We just have to build on this and continue to work together as a team.”

Warsaw shot a fine 19-38 from the field in the win. The Falcons were just 18-52, including only 3-16 from 3-point range. The champion Tigers were 7-13 at the line, while Perry Meridian was 2-3.

Senior guard Eryn Leek directs the attack for the champion Tigers.

Grose, a 6-0 center, also had a team-high eight rebounds to go with five blocked shots and three steals. Harrison added four rebounds and four steals to her totals. Juniors Vicki Harris and Jodie Carlson each had four points, junior Pam Miller three and senior Eryn Leek two.

The Tigers did lose starting guard Kilee Slone just over two minutes into the contest. The freshman suffered a possible knee injury on a fall on a drive to the basket.

Elizabeth McIntyre had 12 points for the Falcons.

Crown Point topped Lowell 56-39 in the consolation game Monday night. Abby Kvachkoff scored 15 points and Katija Tarailo 14 for Crown Point, now 8-5. Nicole Kiszenia had 12 points and Nicole Sharkey 10 to lead Lowell, which drops to 7-4 with its fourth straight loss.

Grose and Harrison headlined the All-Tournament Team. Grose was named the tourney MVP in a vote of coaches and media members. Also on the all-tourney list were Baird and Morgan Landis of Perry Meridian, Kvachkoff of Crown Point and Hunter Jusevitch of Lowell.

Warsaw returns to action Saturday by hosting Triton (7-3) at Grace College. The junior varsity game is set for a 6 p.m. tip-off.

The Warsaw girls basketball team claimed the championship of its own TCU Lady Tiger Tournament with two wins Monday.