No lead seemed safe enough for the Warrenton girls basketball team on Thursday night. Time after time, the Warriors fended off comeback attempts by the St. Louis Patriettes during an eventual 66-60 …
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Warrenton Takes Consolation in Host Tournament
Posted
By Derrick Forsythe, Record Sports Editor
No lead seemed safe enough for the Warrenton girls basketball team on Thursday night.Time after time, the Warriors fended off comeback attempts by the St. Louis Patriettes during an eventual 66-60 victory in the consolation final of the Warreton Winter Shootout.And nearly every time the culprit was Joe’l Bland, who dropped a game-high 32 points.“Even when we contested her shots, she knocked them down,” said Coach Barb Woodruff. “We just hoped we could answer every time she scored. Fortunately, we did.”But the only lead Bland’s team would enjoy was a temporary 5-4 advantage, before junior Warrenton Hannah Sutton took over with a tremendous three-point display. She went 4 of 6 from beyond the perimeter en route to a career-high 27 points, while also grabbing three steals and handing out three assists.Sutton made her presence known on a night when it was difficult to outshine the opposition.“She shot the ball really well from the three-point line,” said Woodruff. “She penetrated and got to the free throw line and led us in assists too. She played a well-rounded game.”Equally as accurate from the field was freshman Jenny Jansen, who netted 22 points, adding 10 rebounds on her way to a double-double. She also grabbed five steals and blocked four shots in the paint.“Jenny made a couple of big transition baskets,” said Woodruff. “We had two big scorers, and they had one. That was the difference.”Warrenton built several sizable leads, going ahead 17-6 after the first quarter. The Warriors pushed ahead by 15 at one point, before the home schooled Patriettes club came surging back.Sutton and her teammates again extended their 33-27 lead out of halftime, but the opposition was relentless.Moments before the conclusion of the third quarter, the Warriors led by 10, but Bland followed a steal with a three-pointer that put her team back in contention. She single-handedly managed to fight her team back within reach on multiple occasions.Defensively, Warrenton did not have an answer for Bland, who brought her team to within one possession at 51-50.“She’s got a really nice pull-up jumper and can stop on the dime,” said Woodruff. “She’s a tough matchup for anybody. We were fortunate to contain her when we had to.”But the Warriors were prepared to respond offensively too, as Sutton elevated her game during the final minutes.“We did a really good job of maintaining the lead in the fourth quarter by hitting free throws,” said Woodruff. “We needed every one of those free throws.”“We never let them get over that hump,” said Woodruff. “It was definitely a battle of who could make the biggest play, and we just happened to make more.”
Warrenton freshman Jenny Jansen scored 22 points, while Hannah Sutton netted 27, to win the consolation final.
