WARSAW – There’s no denying that the Warsaw girls basketball team got a favorable sectional draw.

There’s also no denying that Warsaw coach Michelle Harter is taking nothing for granted entering postseason play.

The Tigers will face Elkhart Central in the opening game of the Class 4-A Goshen Sectional Tuesday night. Warsaw, with a win over the Blue Blazers, would move into a semifinal game versus Concord. Central is 7-16 and lost seven of its final eight games to close out the regular season while Concord is 5-17. The other part of the seven-team bracket has No. 4 Penn (21-2) playing Elkhart Memorial (10-12) and host Goshen (18-4)  facing No. 14 Northridge (20-4).

Warsaw did not play Central during the regular season. The Tigers crushed Concord 82-38 at home on Jan. 23.

Harter, whose team has bounced back well from an 0-9 start to sit at 9-13 entering sectional play, knows her team needs to be focused and ready to play no matter who the foe is.

“It’s a nice draw for us, but it’s still the sectional and we still have to earn the right to advance in it,” said Harter. “Central has been improving. They are athletic and quick and we have to come out ready to play against them on Tuesday night.”

The Tigers won the sectional title at Goshen a year ago. The addition of powerhouse Penn though makes it a much tougher path for anyone to take the hardware home. The Kingsmen are 21-2 this season with losses just to Class 4-A No. 1 Columbus North (67-52) and Class 3-A No. 3 South Bend St. Joseph (50-49). Penn is 151-21 under coach Kristi Kaniewski Ulrich the past seven seasons with five straight sectional titles. The Kingsmen were Class 4-A state runner-up in 2011 and 2014.

“Our sectional is even stronger with Penn in it,” Harter remarked. “Northridge has had another very strong season and Goshen has had one of its better seasons in years, too. It’s a strong sectional.”

Warsaw is 3-2 overall versus the sectional field with wins over Concord (82-38), Memorial (52-33) and Goshen (37-33) and losses to Penn (61-37) and Northridge (46-25). Penn is 3-0 versus the field, including beating Northridge 77-26.

The Tigers boast a roster with no seniors. The junior class, led by Dayton Groninger, has been key for Warsaw. Groninger leads her team in scoring at 12.8 points-per-game and in rebounding at 8.3 caroms per contest. Classmate Madi Graham averages 8.5 ppg., with the junior trio of Mariah Rivera (5.8), Kenzie Welk (5.6) and Page Desenberg (5.2) all key for the Tigers. Desenberg also averages five rebounds per outing. Sophomore Emma Bohnenkamper and freshman Kacy Bragg have also been key contributors.

Warsaw has persevered despite its 0-9 start versus a brutal early season schedule featuring the likes of Noblesville, Penn, Tippecanoe Valley, Oregon-Davis and Norwell. The Tigers have won their last four games and five of their last six going into the postseason. Warsaw edged NorthWood 41-37 in overtime at home Thursday night to finish at 6-1 in the NLC and finish in second place behind Northridge.

“It was difficult at the beginning of the year,” said Harter. “But I look back now and see how this team has progressed. They were able to work through the adversity that we had. I think that’s brought us together as a team.”

The Tigers will need to be consistent in the sectional says Harter.

“We need to come out mentally ready to play our game,” commented Harter. “We need to make sure that we are prepared every night. You can’t look at any game in the sectional as being easy. That’s how you get into trouble.

“A big key for us will be to value the basketball and make every possession count. Turnovers have plagued us all season long at times and we need to take care of the ball, handle the pressure that teams come at us with and make good passes.”

Warsaw faces Central Tuesday at 7 p.m. Penn will meet Memorial on Wednesday at 6 p.m., followed by Goshen versus Northridge. The semifinals on Friday will have Concord versus the Warsaw-Central winner at 6 p.m., followed by the Penn-Memorial winner versus the Goshen-Northridge winner. The championship game is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The Goshen Sectional champion, which will be crowned on Feb. 6, advances to the LaPorte Regional to play the winner of the Lowell Sectional in a semifinal game on Feb. 13. The LaPorte Regional will also feature sectional winners from South Bend Clay and Valparaiso.