It has been a constant battle for the Warrenton girls basketball team to be healthy this season. Whether it has been an injury or an illness, the Lady Warriors have had a tough time finding consistency, but have managed to put together quite the season. 

“We all had the flu at some point last week,” Head Coach Greg Williams said. “Practice was really difficult with only three or four kids.”

The Lady Warriors opened as the No. 3 seed Monday night in the Class 4, District 8 Tournament and squared off against No. 6 seed Fulton, which came in with a 6-18 record on the season. With Warrenton’s battle with the flu, the objective was simple for Coach Williams. 

“There was no game plan, other than just get it done,” said Williams. 

Warrenton did just that as they used a suffocating defense to dominate the Lady Hornets en route to a 39-11 win. The Lady Warriors (14-10) were led by senior Brooke Smith with 14 points.

“We had to stop dribble penetration and make them shoot contested, perimeter shots,” Williams said. “The players did an outstanding job with this.”

However, during the game, they also suffered a loss. Senior Lexi Frederick, who chipped in eight points in the win, suffered a broken ankle. The senior point guard will be missed heading into a win or go home situation for the remainder of the season. 

“Tonight’s game was a win and a loss,” Williams said. “We won the game in dominant fashion, but Lexi broke her ankle.”

Mexico High School is the host for this year’s district tournament, With Warrenton’s win, they have a short turnaround and another long road trip ahead of them. The Lady Warriors faced No. 2 Hannibal on Tuesday.

“Recovering from the flu and playing short-handed due to injuries will make this semifinal really challenging,” Williams said. “Our kids have big hearts and will show that tomorrow.”

Warrenton has won 12 of its last 17 contests heading into the district semifinals. The winner will face either No. 1 Mexico or No. 4 Kirksville in Thursday’s title game at 6 p.m.