“I think our success is generated from the buy-in from the entire team to play defense and to play every possession and to play for 40 minutes,” Warriors head coach Carrie Lohr said.
With Urbana University, Northwood University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis as fellow participants, WSU tallied victories against UMSL and Urbana to claim the title.
In their last four victories, the Warriors have never trailed.
“I’m not really sure how that really started,” Lohr said. “I think that just happened naturally because of [the team’s] commitment to play defense and share the basketball.”
**Dec. 28**
On the first day of the tournament, the Warriors went up against the USML Tritons. WSU got off to a quick start, taking a 7-1 lead in the opening minutes of the game.
USML trailed by four points at the 12:20 mark, 15-11, but a 10-0 run by the Warriors put them up by double figures.
WSU dominated the first half leading by as many as 19 points and no less than 12.
But the Tritons finished half on a 9-2 run, as the Warriors led 41-29.
USML continued to make a run as the second half began, outscoring the Warriors 14-4 in the first six minutes to pull within a bucket.
WSU responded with five consecutive points, but the Tritons cut the deficit to one point on three occasions (51-50, 53-52, and 55-54) within an 82-second span.
WSU’s Deanna Crumpton scored the next six points to extend the Warriors lead, 61-54. Crumpton scored 13 points off the bench, as the WSU bench outscored UMSL’s bench 50-23.
“Our bench did a great job,” Lohr said. “That separated our starting five from their starting five.”
The Warriors added to their lead, taking a 10-point advantage, 69-59, with 3:30 remaining in the game. The Tritons weren’t done, though, as they made it just a four-point game with 1:48 left at 71-67.
But WSU hit its free-throws down the stretch to earn a 79-69 victory.
“We maintained our composure,” Lohr said. “But we can’t let that happen (letting teams back into games) in our league. We have to eliminate that.”
Talisha Bridges finished with 16 points off the bench, which tied for a game-high. Juanita Cochran helped the Warriors win the battle of the boards, 45-39, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds to go along with 12 points.
**Dec. 29**
In the final game of the tournament, the Warriors took on the Urbana Blue Knights.
The Warriors got the scoring started, taking a 4-0 lead in the early going. The Blue Knights tied the game at 8-8.
WSU seemingly took the game over from there.
Over the next six minutes, the Warriors outscored Urbana 15-0 to take a 23-8 lead and kept the Blue Knights scoreless for nearly eight minutes.
But trailing 24-9, Urbana went on a run of its own. The Blue Knights outscored WSU 14-6 to make it a seven-point game, 30-23, with just under three minutes to go in the half.
The Warriors extended its lead to 12 points, 37-25, after outscoring Urbana 7-2 to close out the half.
WSU continued to separate itself from Urbana as it opened up the second half on a 14-1 run in the first four minutes.
The Warriors led by at least 20 points the rest of the way, leading by as many as 25 points.
WSU’s defensive pressure kept the Blue Knights at bay, as they only shot 30.4 percent from the floor – 13 percent from behind the arc – a day after shooting 50 percent from the field. The poor shooting allowed the Warriors to dominate the boards, outrebounding Urbana 64-37.
The Warriors didn’t light the nets on fire, though, shooting 35.4 percent from the field – 22.2 percent from three. But 29 offensive rebounds gave the Warriors 21 second-chance points.
“We were just a stronger team,” Lohr said, attributing the Warriors’ strength and conditioning staff as the reason they were able to dominate the glass. “Having that strength in our post players, I think makes the big difference.
“[The players] know that if they defend and rebound that they’re going to get to play,” Lohr said. “That keeps them hungry.”
Talisha Bridges and Paige Sickmiller led the Warriors with 16 points each. Deanna Crumpton finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Phaebre Colbert came off the bench to score 13 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
The Warriors continue GLIAC play with an 8 p.m. contest at the Matthaei against Hillsdale on Jan. 3.
*The 2012 WSU/Waste Management Holiday Classic All-Tournament team consisted of Northwood freshman center Jordyn Nurenberg (33 points, 18 rebounds), UMSL sophomore guard Kelly McGovern (18 points, 7 assists, 5 steals), Urbana junior guard DeVonyea Johnson (26 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and 8 steals), WSU senior guard Paige Sickmiller (27 points, including six triples), and WSU senior forward Deanna Crumpton (27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals). The MVP was WSU senior forward Talisha Bridges (32 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists).
WSU seemingly took the game over from there.
Over the next six minutes, the Warriors outscored Urbana 15-0 to take a 23-8 lead and kept the Blue Knights scoreless for nearly eight minutes.
But trailing 24-9, Urbana went on a run of its own. The Blue Knights outscored WSU 14-6 to make it a seven-point game, 30-23, with just under three minutes to go in the half.
The Warriors extended its lead to 12 points, 37-25, after outscoring Urbana 7-2 to close out the half.
WSU continued to separate itself from Urbana as it opened up the second half on a 14-1 run in the first four minutes.
The Warriors led by at least 20 points the rest of the way, leading by as many as 25 points.
WSU’s defensive pressure kept the Blue Knights at bay, as they only shot 30.4 percent from the floor – 13 percent from behind the arc – a day after shooting 50 percent from the field. The poor shooting allowed the Warriors to dominate the boards, outrebounding Urbana 64-37.
The Warriors didn’t light the nets on fire, though, shooting 35.4 percent from the field – 22.2 percent from three. But 29 offensive rebounds gave the Warriors 21 second-chance points.
“We were just a stronger team,” Lohr said, attributing the Warriors’ strength and conditioning staff as the reason they were able to dominate the glass. “Having that strength in our post players, I think makes the big difference.
“[The players] know that if they defend and rebound that they’re going to get to play,” Lohr said. “That keeps them hungry.”
Talisha Bridges and Paige Sickmiller led the Warriors with 16 points each. Deanna Crumpton finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Phaebre Colbert came off the bench to score 13 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
The Warriors continue GLIAC play with an 8 p.m. contest at the Matthaei against Hillsdale on Jan. 3.
*The 2012 WSU/Waste Management Holiday Classic All-Tournament team consisted of Northwood freshman center Jordyn Nurenberg (33 points, 18 rebounds), UMSL sophomore guard Kelly McGovern (18 points, 7 assists, 5 steals), Urbana junior guard DeVonyea Johnson (26 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and 8 steals), WSU senior guard Paige Sickmiller (27 points, including six triples), and WSU senior forward Deanna Crumpton (27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals). The MVP was WSU senior forward Talisha Bridges (32 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists).
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