By Kory Carpenter

Record Sports Editor

The game was not in doubt after the first few minutes, but the Warrenton girls basketball team used Monday’s 62-33 win over Silex as a chance to get better.

Five players scored early and the Warriors led 21-4 after the first quarter.

Warrenton didn’t let up in the second frame, and the starters spent most of the second half resting on the bench.

“It was a good opportunity for us to develop our bench, which we’re going to need later down the stretch,” Head Coach Greg Williams said. “We have to improve our depth, and we know that.”

Jenny Jansen led the team with 14 points.

Rylie Cox and Ashtyn Dixon added 11 and 10 points, respectively, and six other Warrenton players scored during the game.

Warrenton created havoc defensively most of the game, regardless of the personnel it had on the court.

“We work on our defense a lot, and Coach loves when we create turnovers,” Cox said. “We learned a lot from the loss against Holt, so hopefully we’ll just continue to get better.”

The bulk of Warrenton’s scoring came via fastbreak layups.

Warrior guards smothered Silex ball handlers, and the Owls were never able to get in a rhythm offensively.

“We should be a little better, to be honest,” Williams said of his team’s execution on fastbreaks. “But we do spend a lot of time on that part of the game. We’re fast, we’re athletic, and we need to take advantage of it.”

As the starters watched the reserves play the better part of the second half, Williams continued to coach as if it was an afternoon practice. 

He implored his defenders to keep their hands up, and his guards to move the ball offensively.

Jordan Todd, Emma Tinnin, Allyson Haller and Allison Tonioli came off the bench to score 11 of Warrenton’s 17 points in the second half. 

“In the playoffs, you’re going to need depth,” Williams said. “We’re trying to make sure we have 10 strong players, where we don’t have any slippage or fall off. We’re really young, but we’re good, so we’ll just keep it going.”

The Warriors will return to practice after Christmas to prepare for the Gary Filbert Classic Jan. 2 at Mexico.

“That will be a good opportunity to get on a hot streak,” Williams said. “Then we have our tournament, so hopefully good things will happen.”

DRIVING BY — Warrenton guard Ashtyn Dixon blows by a defender on her way to the hoop Monday night. Dixon finished with 10 points.                   Kory Carpenter photo