Facing a three-possession deficit before it could even settle into the offensive halfcourt, the Warrenton girls basketball team found itself outmatched and in a familiar spot on Tuesday.

The Warriors fell behind quickly, never overcoming the tenacious pressure by Incarnate Word during a 57-21 setback in the Class 4 Sectional playoff held at Troy High School.

It was both a venue and opponent that haven’t been friendly to Warrenton in recent years. The Warriors suffered their two largest defeats this season at that location, also losing to Troy by 52 points in mid-February.

“If we do the math, we’ve lost there three times in a row now,” said Coach Greg Williams, also counting a previous playoff defeat. “We got monstered here earlier in the year.”

Incarnate Word has also been a previous hindrance for his team, dispatching the Warriors by seven in the 2017 playoffs. While Williams has guided the program to four district titles in six years, he has not been able to advance to a quartefinal matchup.

“We’ve got to look at ourselves the mirror and get better,” said Williams. “This is four times we’ve been stuck in sectionals. We’ve got to find a way to bust through that door now.”

Hopes of breaking that streak quickly diminished on Tuesday, as Incarnate Word hurried out to a 9-0 lead, smothering the Warriors with pressure and scoring off subsequent turnovers.

“We panicked,” said Williams. “You’ve got to stay off the sidelines with them, and we dribbled right into it. We got discombobulated.”

The Warriors trailed 16-2 at the conclusion of the first quarter, following the lone field goal by sophomore Audrey Payne. Incarnate Word limited Warrenton’s looks at the basket and made sure each attempt was contested.

“We excepted them to play hard and have good defense,” said senior post player Miranda Nelson. “We knew what we were doing wrong, and we all had our own personal mistakes that we needed to stop looking to blame each other for things.”

Persistently attacking the basket, sophomore Garneisha Love ended another scoring drought in the second quarter. She ended up leading the Warriors with six points.

Williams says his message to a team facing a 33-7 margin was one to keep battling.

“We had to compete,” said Williams. “They’re one of the best teams in the state, and we’re going in injured and short-handed. We just wanted to compete.”

Warrenton increased its attempts from the field in the second half, driving the basket more persistently and drawing fouls. Still, the Warriors could not find an answer for stopping the opposition’s offense. Incarnate Word led 48-15 heading into the final period.

“You want to see great character out of your kids because the game was over in terms of points,” said Williams. “You still have to compete and realize we’re a little overmatched but we still play hard.”

While the lopsided ending was disappointing for the Warriors, just reaching sectionals could be considered a success for a team that hit plenty of bumps during a 16-11 season. For the three seniors, winning their only district title as starters was a bittersweet conclusion.

“It meant a lot to get this far actually,” said Nelson. “This is the first time the seniors have had an official role in districts and sectionals. The season went a little rough with adversity, so getting here in general was a big milestone for us.”

Nelson, along with fellow seniors Brooke Smith and Lexi Frederick, each finished with four points against Incarnate Word.

The Red Knights improved to 26-4, moving on to face Ladue in a quarterfinal at St. Charles West on Saturday.