Back in January last season, the Warsaw Lady Tigers defeated Northridge 65-52 to start a six-game winning streak to finish the regular season. Unfortunately, the Lady Tigers fell to Northridge in a rematch in the first round of Sectionals by two points. Warsaw finished last season with a 14-8 record.
Warsaw girls head basketball coach Lenny Krebs believes that the Sectionals loss has lit a fire into his girls coming into this upcoming season.
“The kids have been working hard after a tough loss in sectional last year and they are using that as fuel for the fire. They have some goals they want to accomplish and they are determined to achieve those goals. While they have won 3 straight NLC titles and won 22 straight NLC games, they are hungry for more,” said Krebs.
For the 2024-25 season, the Lady Tigers return all of their key performers from last season. Although they do lose Addison Mehlberg, they return their leading scorer guard Brooke Zartman. Entering her junior season, expectations are high for her after she led the team in scoring last season (16.3 ppg). She also is the team’s best on-ball defender; last season, she led the team in steals (2.4 spg). In terms of senior leadership, Brooke Winchester will lead the way. She finished last season (15.4 ppg), led the team in rebounds (9.5 rpg) and led the team in field goal percentage (52%).
Joslyn Bricker also returns for her junior season as a steady constant for the Tigers. She posted one of the area’s most balanced stat line’s last season with 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals and a team best 3.3 assists per game.
As a returning player from last season, junior guard Alexis Neely will be looked at to contribute more this season. She is an all-around player that has the ability to do everything for the Lady Tigers. Last season as a sophomore, she averaged 7.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. She’ll be looked upon to step up in a bigger role this season. Also back are seniors Braylie Chastain and Leila Knepp, as well as juniors Kyra Kiser and Kelsey Wrenn.
This season the team gets even more talented added to the group. Senior Abbey Peterson returns to the team after taking last season off to focus on golf. Two seasons ago, Peterson led the team in assists and also was one of the most efficient scorers on the team as well (44% field goal percentage). There will be three players making the jump from junior varsity as well with sophomore Cayleigh Goheen, Madison Branam and Erin McManus.
Entering his 8th season with the program, Krebs seems excited about how the team has prepared for this upcoming season.
“We have had most of our returning varsity kids for limited contact workouts this fall, so we have taken advantage of that time together. You can tell these kids are a year older and a year more mature…and they are determined to show people they are a year better. This group has worked hard at really connecting with each other both on and off the court and you can tell. We have been sharing the ball really well this summer and fall, which magnifies the talents of this group. I am excited to see what this year has in store,” said Krebs.
It will be a team that can score on opponents at will. They can score both inside, outside, and in transition. Krebs believes he’s got a special group coming in that may break some school records this season.
“We have a group that can not only shoot the ball well, but can also score from all three levels. This team has set the school three point record for most three pointers made in a season the last two years, but we also have some kids that can get to the rim,” Krebs said. “When we are playing as a collective unit we are capable of putting points on the board. Everyone saw a glimpse of what this team is capable of last January. While we averaged over 60 points per game last season, we have worked hard to become a better defensive team and I think that will pay off this season.”
WHY #2?
This team is stacked and returns most of their key contributors from last season. They’ll be able to score and cause all sorts of problems for opposing teams trying to defend them.
Warsaw will be hungry to get revenge for the way they ended last season and if Krebs is right about their work ethic this past offseason to improve on the defensive proves true, this will be a dangerous team.
KEY GAME
January 11th at Northridge
Revenge on the agenda for the Lady Tigers as they face the Lady Raiders. They beat Northridge once last season, then their season was ended prematurely by Northridge in Sectionals. This game is marked on everyone’s calendar. This will be a battle and must-watch game.
Be the first to comment