HUNTINGTON – Warsaw girls basketball coach Michelle Harter had concerns about how well her team could put the ball in the basket this season.

Those fears were well confirmed in a big way Saturday night.

The Tigers struggled mightily on the offensive end in dropping a 37-26 final at Huntington North in the season opener for both squads.

Warsaw, which lost three of its top four scorers from last year’s 24-2 team, managed just eight second-half points in the loss. The Tigers, who made just two field goals in the final half, also had 23 turnovers in the game.

Harter, whose team beat the Vikings 64-42 last season,  was dismayed by much more than just the numbers on the final stat sheet though.

“My biggest disappointment tonight was how flat we came out,” said Harter. “The biggest shock to me was our lack of energy. Huntington out hustled us from start to finish. We were a step slow the whole game.”

Warsaw graduated three starters and about two-thirds of the scoring from its sectional and regional championship squad of a year ago, including standouts Jennifer Walker-Crawford (14.2) and Lindsay Baker (11.5). Walker-Crawford is now at Kentucky Wesleyan and Baker at Toledo University.

“A big concern for us is who is going to step into the role and look to score,” Harter said. “It’s a learning process because we lost a lot of scoring from last year. The thing is that tonight we let Huntington dictate the game and we did not play our game.

“It was a concern of mine as to who would be willing and ready to shoot the ball for us. Too many times tonight we just caught the ball and stood and were not ready to shoot. I thought we had some young kids who did look to shoot and gave us some energy.

“We need the leaders on this team to step up. They need to communicate out there. Another very big concern was being strong with the ball. We had some unforced turnovers tonight. We’ll continue to look for who will fill the roles we need.”

Warsaw led 8-4 after the opening period Saturday by closing the first quarter with a 6-0 run. The Tigers were up 18-14 at halftime as junior Pam Miller had six points and senior Nikki Grose five.

The pivotal third stanza proved to be a tough one for the Tigers. The hosts outscored Warsaw 12-3 in the frame to take a 26-21 lead. Five different players scored in the period for the Vikings, while the lone basket for the Tigers was a trey by junior Vicki Harris with 2:07 left in the quarter. Warsaw had 10 turnovers in the period and Grose sat out more than half of the stanza after picking up her third foul.

The Tigers could not put together a run in the final quarter. Warsaw got within 29-23 with 5:08 left on a rebound bucket by Miller, but could not no closer. Lindsey Foster, who led the Vikings with nine points, hit five free throws in the fourth period to ice the win.

Miller scored eight points and Grose seven to lead Warsaw. Harris had four points,  junior Jodie Carlson three and freshman Kilee Slone and senior Brooklyn Harrison two each.

Warsaw shot just 9-of-24 from the field. The Vikings, who were just 5-16 last season, were 12-of-37.

Foster, one of four senior for the Vikings, had nine points. Sophomore Sarah Fryman scored eight and senior Paige Coolman six for the winners.

The Warsaw junior varsity rolled to a 49-31 win. Freshman Page Desenberg led the winners with 12 points. Freshman Madi Graham scored 11 and freshman Dayton Groninger nine for the JV Tigers.

Warsaw returns to action at Fort Wayne Luers Tuesday night before a trip to Tippecanoe Valley Friday.

Harter has several things in mind that she wants to see come Tuesday night at Luers, who is 1-1 on the season after a 73-60 loss at Heritage Christian on Saturday.

“I want to see us hustle after every loose ball,” said Harter. “I want to see us be strong with the ball and look to attack.”