Makayla Witthaus left her home court for the last time on Monday, knowing she gave it all she had.

The Warrenton senior forward led her team with a season-high 23 points in a 54-49 loss to Holt.

“It felt good to come out and know that my teammates trusted me enough to feed me the ball in the first half,” Witthaus said. “After I made the first three shots, I knew I was solid.”

While Witthaus shone, the Warriors (10-14) struggled as a team.

Coach Hannah Logan lamented slow starts to each half, as Holt scored the first eight points of the game and then the first seven of the second half, forcing Warrenton to play catch-up.

“It’s very frustrating,” Logan said. “If we could just come out ready to go from the start, we would be ahead, or we would be right there with teams and we wouldn’t always have to fight to come back.”

While Witthaus scored 12 of her points in the first half as Warrenton climbed back and she added 11 in the second half before fouling out late, she did have help.

Sophomore guard Claire Goldsmith scored 10 points in the loss and senior forward Zoe Duncan added eight.

Despite the defeat, Witthaus said she felt the nostalgia of her senior night and it’s something she will carry forward she said.

“This feels like almost the end of an era,” said Witthaus, who will next head to Maryville University to continue her softball journey. “I’ve been playing basketball since I was in elementary school. Knowing that was my senior night, I knew I had to come out and go all out.”

Warrenton still has regular-season games at Union and Southern Boone left on the schedule, but the Warriors may not be done with Holt.

Both teams will be part of the Class 5 District 4 tournament at Fort Zumwalt South. With the tournament yet to be seeded, the Warriors could see Holt.

Logan said she finds the possibility intriguing.

“We lost to them by more than 20 earlier in the season without all of our players,” Logan said. “I think this game (showed) more of who we are. Next week could be a very interesting game if that happens.”

HOLT BOYS 73, WARRENTON 58 – The Warrenton boys basketball team was forced to play from behind all night, and though the team caught up to the Indians on several occasions, Holt won going away.

Senior guard Brodey Meier led Warrenton with 26 points while junior guard Carter Martin pitched in 11 and senior guard Deadrick Forrest added eight.

Warrenton (9-17) is off until March 3, when it takes on host Parkway Central in the Class 5 District 4 tournament. Game time is 4 p.m.