Warrenton entered last week’s Winter Shootout in a funk, coming off a 19-point loss to St. James in the championship of the Sullivan Tournament.

The Warriors weren’t playing as well as they — or their coach — thought they could, and it was unknown if they would repeat as tournament champions.

But with the duo of Kayla Nelson and Jenny Jansen, as well as complementing play from Rylie Cox, Ashtyn Dixon and Kaylee Anderson, Warrenton defeated Francis Howell Central, 49-41, in Thursday’s championship.

The Warriors erased an 18-15 halftime deficit, and Nelson was named tournament MVP after scoring 17 points in the title game.

“It feels good, but I have to thank Ashtyn Dixon for all the passes she gave me tonight,” Nelson said. “Without her, this wouldn’t have been possible. I really appreciate what she did for me tonight.”

Warrenton scored on its first three possessions of the third quarter to take the lead, and scored 10 points in the first 2:45 of the second half.

“Coach drew up some plays and we practiced them earlier today, and it was simply playing basketball,” Nelson said. “And that has worked for us.”

Warrenton attacked Howell Central’s 1-3-1 zone while Nelson fought for position on the blocks, following the ball and posting up on either side of the lane.

Although she prefers the right block.

“I’m pretty comfortable over there,” she said. “Coach Williams tells me to go block to block, but he also says it’s OK for me to sit back for a second and wait until the ball comes back to my side. So I like staying on that right side because I’m comfortable.”

The entire Warrenton offense looked more comfortable in the third quarter after struggling in the second.

The Warriors attempted to push the ball up the court after every defensive rebound, but committed their fair share of turnovers in the process.

Head Coach Greg Williams implored the team to slow down, and his halftime message appeared to work.

“At halftime we were calm and not too upset about being down, but it’s crazy in there right now,” Nelson said.

Howell Central’s Yani Curry kept the Spartans in the game in the fourth quarter, cutting her team’s deficit to 44-41 late in the game.

A pair of Nelson free throws on the following possession kept the Spartans at bay.

Nelson led the team with seven fourth-quarter points.

Jenny Jansen finished the game with 10 points.

“With a kid like Jenny Jansen, we’re not losing,” Williams said. “You can just see it.”

Coming off the blowout loss to St. James and the sloppy win against Francis Howell North in the tournament opener, Williams had to remind himself of the bigger goal.

“You have to take the perspective that you never lose. You either win, or learn,” he said. “The way I look at the season is that it’s practice for the playoffs, so every game I say we’re going to win something tonight or we’re going to learn something tonight. And if you keep it in that perspective, it allows you to sleep at night, because losses have become harder for me as I’ve gotten older.”

Williams is in the middle of his third season with the Warrenton program, and it was his first experience coaching a girls team.

“My first year, I was really learning how to coach girls. People say there is a difference, but I just try to treat them as players,” he said. “I’m probably more abrupt with boys, but with girls I’m more of a kinder soul. So that has been good for me to learn that and understand that they want to win, so I just need to encourage them. But they did everything I asked of them tonight. They had a lousy second quarter, but they still won the game despite not playing great in the first half.”

While he hopes his players have learned how to close out games and maintain their composure in pressure situations, Williams is continuing to learn on the sideline, as well.

“At my age, you would think I would have learned to control my emotions,” he said. “And I have to, because this team does better when I’m better. When I get agitated, you can see what happens.”

There were no signs of agitation after Thursday night’s win, which improved Warrenton’s record to 9-2 overall.

The team travels to Orchard Farm Friday before heading to the Washington Tournament Monday.

“We’ve got the right kids, and this is our time to shine,” Williams said.