For three quarters Tuesday night at Francis Howell Central, the Warrenton girls basketball team outscored the top-ranked team in Class 4.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, a sluggish start sent Incarnate Word into the state quarterfinals with a 53-46 win.

“We don’t do the moral victory thing, we came to win,” Warrenton Head Coach Greg Williams said. “Any mistakes out there were on me. I didn’t have them ready for the intensity, but the girls picked me up and kept fighting.”

As the Incarnate lead floated around seven points most of the second half, Warrenton (24-4) called a timeout down five with 6:28 left in the game.

“I don’t think there was ever a thought in our mind throughout the game that we were out of it,” senior forward Jenny Jansen said. “We came into this game wanting to win, and we weren’t going to give up.”

But every time Warrenton threatened, Incarnate answered.

The Red Knights (25-4) knocked down crucial 3-pointers and grabbed their fair share of offensive rebounds throughout the game.

Incarnate players found soft spots in Warrenton’s 2-3 zone all night, eventually forcing the Warriors into a man-to-man with six minutes left.

“They’re going to get something,” Williams said. “We play so much zone anyway, but we knew they were going to find someone. Maybe I should have mixed up our defenses more. I love man-to-man, but early on we just couldn’t get that stop.”

Hot outside shooting kept the Warriors around most of the game.

Senior guard Kaylee Anderson led the team with three 3-pointers, including two in the fourth.

But it seemed that every big shot was followed by a turnover or empty possession.

“I was surprised they left us that open,” Williams said. “Last week we couldn’t throw it in the ocean, but tonight they were going in. But we couldn’t make that big play, get that loose ball, that rebound or make a stop. You can’t make those mistakes in these big games, so we have to toughen up a little bit.

Anderson and Jansen scored 11 of Warrenton’s 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“What a great class,” Williams said. “Two state championships in softball, three consecutive district championships in basketball, we won two of our tournament titles, we won the GAC North and finished with 24 wins. It’s without a doubt the best team I’ve ever coached.”

Anderson’s 3-pointer on her team’s first possession of the second half cut the deficit to 21-19.

Incarnate ballooned its lead eight points five minutes later.

“We were supposed to get monstered, but we cut it to two,” Williams said. “That should be motivation for next year, and we’ll see them again.”

Jansen, who finishes her Warrenton career as the school’s all-time leading scorer and expects to land on the all-state team for the second straight year soon, agreed.

“This is the best season this program has ever had, and I’m just happy to have been a part of it,” she said. “All the girls on our team contributed to that, and hopefully it’s something that this town remembers for years to come.”