Warsaw senior Erin Clemens came up huge in a 38-32 sectional win over Northridge Tuesday night. Clemens had nine points for the Tigers.

GOSHEN – It was a great time Tuesday night for the Warsaw girls basketball team’s seniors to have a senior moment.

Or in this case, moments.

The senior quartet of Erin Clemens, Vicki Harris, Pam Miller and Jodie Carlson all played key roles as the Tigers topped Northridge 38-32 in the opening game of the Class 4-A Goshen Sectional.

Warsaw (13-10) advances to play Elkhart Central (5-16) at 6 p.m. Friday night in the first semifinal game. Elkhart Memorial (11-11) meets host Goshen (10-12) in the second semifinal. The winners then square off Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the sectional championship game.

The Tigers did not play Central during the regular season. Memorial, which beat Concod 57-35 in the second game Tuesday night, beat Goshen 54-33 earlier this season.

Warsaw’s senior group looked like they wanted to extend their high school careers Tuesday night. The quality quartet all made huge contributions for the hard-fought win.

Clemens scored nine points, tying Harris and sophomore Dayton Groninger for team-high honors, and also had five rebounds. Miller had seven points and a team-high six rebounds and hit five huge free throws in the final quarter. Carlson had four crucial points in the first half when the Tigers were struggling to score.

Warsaw cashed in big time at the free throw line in the win. The Tigers hit 17-20 free throws to just 3-8 for the Raiders. Warsaw was 13-16 from the charity stripe in the second half, including 10-13 in the final period of play. Northridge was whistled for 16 fouls in the contest to nine for Warsaw.

Madi Graham directs the show for Warsaw in the opener of the Goshen Sectional.

The Tigers, who had won 37-35 in overtime at Northridge back on Jan. 10, avenged a heartbreaking 42-41 sectional semifinal loss on the Raiders’ home court last year.

“It was all teamwork tonight,” said Clemens about how Warsaw won. “We have a bond and came together. We knew we could win this game. We have full faith in each other and this is our year.

“A big key was controlling the tempo and playing how we like to play. Playing under control and communicating were also big for us tonight to win this game.”

The Tigers trailed 20-15 after the Raiders opened the second half with a 7-2 run.

Warsaw coach Michelle Harter then took a timeout with 4:10 to play in the pivotal third quarter. The Tigers responded with a 9-4 run, sparked by five points from Clemens, to forge a 24-24 tie at the end of the third period.

“During the timeout I told our girls that they were playing not to lose and if they continue to play like that that’s what was going to happen,” said Harter of the smart timeout. “They came out after that and executed and looked to attack when we had opportunities to attack.

“I think they relaxed too after the timeout. I could see in their eyes that they believed they could win. I told them there were okay and would be fine if they executed and that’s what they did.

“Our seniors stepped up big for us tonight. All four of them. That’s exactly what you want from your senior leadership. It’s a huge win for us to beat a quality opponent tonight. It says a lot about our girls listening and following our game plan.”

Senior Vicki Harris scored nine key points for Warsaw.

The Tigers took the lead for good on a Harris layup that made it 26-24 with 6:21 to play in the game. The Raiders got within 29-28 on a bucket by Kelly Miller with 4:36 to play, but Warsaw answered with a 6-0 run, including four clutch free throws by Pam Miller, to lead 35-28. Northridge got within 35-32 before Harris hit 3-4 free throws in the final 52.9 seconds to seal the win.

Northridge bolted to a 9-2 lead to open the game. Warsaw pulled within 9-8 at the end of the first quarter and forged a 13-13 tie at halftime. Each team had 10 turnovers in the opening half.

“One thing we talked about was going up strong with the ball and we did that,” said Harter of her team’s trips to the free throw line. “And we also talked and worked on being straight up and down on defense and the girls did that too tonight.”

Taylor Miller, the lone senior for Northridge, led the Raiders with 12 points. Junior Baliegh Carithers had nine.

Warsaw shot 10-25 overall from the field, including 1-5 on 3-pointers. Northidge was 12-30 from the field, including 5-10 from distance.

The Raiders, who won the program’s first-ever sectional title in 2014, finish at 17-8.

Dayton Groninger of Warsaw is locked in on defense Tuesday night.