All Warrenton coach Barb Woodruff wanted was for her team to continue on its offensive roll during last Thursday's meeting against Zumwalt South. But every time the Warriors would get into a rhythm and begin to take over the game, an injury interrupted the flow. It would subsequently break her team's concentration and enable the Bulldogs back into the game. Fortunately for Woodruff, her team hung on for a pivotal 43-41 conference victory. Warrenton moved to 9-11 overall and 3-1 in the GAC North. Woodruff says the difference was her team's ability to separate itself in the opening minutes, going on a 6-0 run to take a 17-6 lead after one quarter. "Four out of five starters had scored and we were whipping the ball around and getting good looks," said Woodruff. The Warriors turned the ball over on their opening two possessions of the second period, before regaining their composure. The game was halted later in the quarter with the injury of a Zumwalt South player, thwarting Warrenton's momentum. The Warriors managed to carry a 23-14 advantage into halftime. Leading by eight with 3:30 left in the first half, Warrenton found itself trying to recover from an injury of its own. Senior starting guard Kirsten Ollsen exited with a knee injury, prompting Woodruff to deliver a message to her team - stay focused. "When you play on the defensive side of the ball, you cannot lose your focus. You have got to stay focused until you get possession of the ball." To that point, Woodruff says Ollsen had been key in shutting down Zumwalt South's leading scorer. Alyssa Meador had just two points prior to Ollsen's injury. She scored eight in the 14 minutes after her departure. "I put her on Meador, because I knew Kirsten would do a good job of blocking her out," said Woodruff. "She's not afraid to be physical." Ollsen was also having one of her strongest games offensively, scoring 10 points in the first half. "Kirsten was having a heck of a game until she got hurt," said Woodruff. "We're kind of a finesse without her. She gives us that extra bit of aggressiveness." Down an experienced guard, the Warriors began looking inside more. Woodruff says her team wasn't putting itself in position to grab rebounds and became nonchalant with its passing. "We were getting on a roll, but then we got lackadaisical and gave up a couple layups," said Woodruff. And when they did play physical enough to get to the line, the Warriors weren't able to convert at the charity stripe. They knocked down just six of 18 free-throw attempts. Warrenton saw its 35-26 lead quickly evaporate heading into the fourth quarter. "Hannah (Keene) hit a three in the third, when we really needed a boost," said Woodruff. The Warriors allowed a 10-4 run and found themselves facing a one-possession game in the final minute. Zumwalt South had an opportunity to tie the game, trailing by three after Warrenton missed a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining. "We hung on, and the first quarter helped us," said Woodruff. "We were able to hit a couple of big shots when they got close and didn't give up the lead." The Bulldogs were fouled, making one of two free-throw attempts. The ball was knocked out of bounds as time expired on the miss. Senior Sarah Heyne finished with 11 points, while senior Dana Heggemann and freshman Hannah Sutton each scored seven.