Tuesday night in Aboite was an unusual one. Not only was this one of the few games in the state that was able to survive the arctic cold temperatures, but it was a matchup featuring two teams in the Top 5 in all of Indiana: 4A #3 Warsaw @ 4A #5 Homestead.
If there was ever a time to start preparing for the state tournament for these two teams, last night certainly met these expectations. Homestead (19-2) put on an impressive showing with a statement 67-55 win over previously unbeaten Warsaw (18-1).
While wind chills were as low as 25 below zero, Homestead’s offense was anything but cold at the start of this contest. Almost every shot was falling in the first eight minutes of game action as the Spartans shot 64% from the floor early on and made 3 of their first 6 3-point attempts.
Despite Warsaw’s slow start, the Tigers were never completely out of it, especially early on as Ball State signee Brooke Winchester had 10 of her team’s 14 early points to which Warsaw entered the 2nd quarter down 9. However, the Spartans would never find that rhythm from three for the rest of the game as Sparty’s shooting woes opened the door for a possible Warsaw comeback.
However, the theme of this game all night was Warsaw got close but never quite got over the hump. Homestead always had an answer when needed most. When Winchester cut it down to 4, it was the freshman Delaney Noll getting out in transition to score her final points of the night to give her 9. Noll did far more than just scoring as she became a regular facilitator and played extremely poised defense.
As both teams head to their respective locker rooms, Homestead still had a lead at 34-27 despite only shooting 5-16 from the floor and no threes in the 2nd quarter. Early on, it was Gabby Helsom and Delaney Noll leading the offense with 22 combined first half points. Winchester already completed a double-double as she would lead Warsaw with 24 points and 21 rebounds.
The 3rd quarter would be most of the same as the 2nd. At the 4 min mark of the quarter, Brooke Winchester cashed her 2nd and final three of the night to cut it down to 3 (36-33), but Helsom responded with a putback to extend it to 5. However, Myah Epps would erupt in a big way in the 2nd half. After Helsom took a charge on Winchester, Epps quickly burst through the open lane to extend it to 9. Myah Epps would go on to score 13 of her 19 points in the second half.
Joslyn Bricker, who finished the game with 12 points, drained two free throws for Warsaw to end the 3rd quarter with Homestead ahead 48-41. Warsaw found some life in the final stance off of two quick steals and buckets from their leading scorer and Miami (OH) commit Brooke Zartman, her lone points of the game.
The Tigers trimmed it down to 4 with just a few minutes left in the game when Epps split two defenders with an incredible play for the basket. Then on the next play, Noll found a wide open Helsom who splashed the first Homestead three since the first quarter that essentially sealed the game. Gabby Helsom, who recently announced her verbal commitment to Toledo, led all scorers with 25 points.
Warsaw placed a valiant effort in the second half to try to make this a ballgame. However, when it came down to it, the Tigers were unable to connect from three shooting just 3-17 from distance and were out rebounded by a more physical Homestead team. Give credit where credit is due as Homestead’s stifling defense contained Winchester in the fourth quarter and were successful in frustrating two elite shooters in Joslyn Bricker and Brooke Zartman.
Warsaw will host Tippy Valley on Thursday, while Homestead will host Fort Wayne North Side on Friday.