GOSHEN – The Warsaw girls basketball team recovered nicely after a slow start to put together a solid season on the hardwood.

Trying to recover versus powerful Penn Saturday night though was just too tall of a task for the Tigers.

The No. 4 Kingsmen  proved worthy of its lofty ranking by taking care of Warsaw 64-33 in the championship game of the Class 4-A Goshen Sectional.

The Tigers, who lost 61-37 at home to Penn back on Nov. 24, just could not find an answer all night long for the dominating display at both ends by the Kingsmen.

Star Camryn Buhr, one of seven seniors, tossed in a game-high 19 points to pace Penn. Senior Claire Carlton and junior Lindsy Kline each scored 14 points as the Kingsmen claimed the 17th sectional title in program history and sixth in a row.

The Kingsmen, who were added to the Goshen Sectional field this year, improve to 24-2 advance to the LaPorte Regional next Saturday to face Gary West Side (19-4) in the second semifinal game. The first semifinal at LaPorte will feature the host Slicers (19-6) versus Merrillville (19-6).  Penn lost to Lake Central 49-45 in the regional semifinal at LaPorte a year ago.

Junior Madi Graham scored 14 points and classmate Dayton Groninger added 11 to pace the Tigers.

Warsaw, which won the sectional at Goshen last year, finishes at 11-14.

Penn set the tone from the opening tip Saturday night. The Kingsmen never trailed in the contest, roaring out to a 17-7 lead led by Carlton and Kline. The Kingsmen shared the ball as five players scored in the opening frame en route to a 22-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Kingsmen also controlled the defensive end with their aggressive play. The “Twin Towers” of 6-1 Buhr and 6-4 senior Lindsay Chrise shut down everything inside. Chrise swatted away a handful of Warsaw shots in the opening half as Warsaw’s tallest starter is 5-10.

“We knew they would come out with that big lineup and try and take it to us,” said Warsaw coach Michelle Harter. “We changed our shots too often early and they blocked some and then we got hesitant. On defense, we were just a step slow. We lost Carlton and she was on fire from three in the first half (making four treys). One thing we said is that we had to know where Carlton was and we lost her.

“Penn is a great team and you have to be on your A game from the start against them. We were a step slow on defense and that hurt us. They play very good, aggressive defense and we just rushed some shots.”

Penn took a 36-19 lead into the locker room at halftime. Carlton scored 12 points on four triples in the first half. The Kingsmen then put the knockout punch on Warsaw in the third stanza. The Kingsmen outscored the Tigers 11-0 to make it 47-19. Warsaw’s first points of the final half came on a free throw by Jessie Kersey with 7:13 to play and their first basket of the second half came on a rebound bucket by Graham with 4:39 remaining.

Buhr, a Junior All-Star last year who will play at Lehigh, scored 11 of her points in the final quarter.

“Definitely one of our keys tonight was to come out with a high level of focus and intensity and our girls did that,” said Penn coach Kristi Kaniewski Ulrich. “It was important for us to deliver the first blow and we did that early.

“We just wanted to control the tempo and just be solid and play great team defense. It was a great overall team defensive effort tonight.”

Ulrich, who played at Mishawaka High School and Bethel College, is now an amazing 154-21 in her seventh season as the Penn head coach. She has guided the Kingsmen to a pair of Class 4-A state runner-up finishes.

Warsaw, with no seniors this season, showed it fortitude. The Tigers started the year 0-9 versus a brutal early schedule, but won 11 of its final 16 games.  Warsaw also went 6-1 to finish in second place in the NLC.

“The one big thing that we talked about after the game was how proud I was of this team for sticking together as a team this year,” emphasized Harter. “It was a rough start and they never quit. They believed in each other and the coaching staff. They continued to stay positive and work hard. They wanted to get better every day and it showed.”

Juniors Page Desenberg and Mariah Rivera and sophomores Kersey and Emma Bohnenkamper each had two points for Warsaw.  Desenberg, all 5-6 of her, battled with heart and hustle all game long to secure six rebounds against the huge Penn frontline.

Warsaw shot 10-39 overall from the field, including 3-13 on 3-pointers. The Tigers were 10-16 from the line and had 16 turnovers. Penn shot lights out at 23-43 from the field, including 5-13 from distance. The Kingsmen were 13-17 from the line and had seven turnovers.

Chrise finished with 10 points for Penn. The Kingsmen were without senior point guard Kaitlyn Marenyi for the entire sectional due to a foot injury.