With limited depth on the bench, Coach Greg Williams knew establishing an early advantage would be critical for his Warrenton girls basketball team.
The Warriors were dominant from start to …
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With limited depth on the bench, Coach Greg Williams knew establishing an early advantage would be critical for his Warrenton girls basketball team.
The Warriors were dominant from start to finish, overcoming late fatigue during a 53-38 triumph over Ursuline Academy in the third-place contest of the Washington Tournament on Friday.
“Last year we played in this game and had poor senior leadership and the kids didn’t seem to try,” said Williams. “This year we had a much better effort and attitude. The seniors came out and said ‘we’re going to get this done tonight.’”
And that they did.
Senior Brooke Smith led the Warriors with 16 points on her way to an All-Tournament Team selection. Sophomore Garneisha Love matched with effort with 16 points as well.
“Garneisha gave us a big lift,” said Williams. “She came out being aggressive, coming off the bench and had a really good game. She’s a young player and good things are in store for her.”
The Warriors exploded out to a 19-8 lead after one quarter, knocking down three treys during that stretch.
They continued their dominance in the second period, going ahead 33-12 by halftime, with Smith hitting a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
“Right before halftime Brooke hits a fadeaway three, so we knew the good Lord was with us,” said Williams. “We did a good job of playing off that momentum.”
Ursuline managed just one field goal during the second quarter, struggling to get past the Warriors’ persistent defense.
“That was probably the best half we’ve played this year, and we needed every bit of it,” said Williams. “We spread the floor, made good decisions and we hit shots.”
Dressing only seven players and with just five scoring, the Warriors’ limited depth began to take its toll during the second half. The Bears outscored Warrenton 11-4 during the third period, trailing 37-23 heading into the final period.
“They did a really good job of driving to the basket off those handoffs,” said Williams. “They attacked between the blocks. We got tired and messed up in rotation several times off fatigue, leaving their best player unguarded.”
The Warriors managed to secure the victory in the final minutes with accurate free-throw shooting, going 16 of 22 from the charity stripe.
Malea Payne added nine points, while Audrey Payne scored seven.
“I thought we had a really good tournament,” said Williams. “We battled Holt for three quarters (in the semifinal), and the fourth quarter got away from us. We did a good job this week working with what we had available considering our limited depth.”
Next on the schedule for Warrenton is a trip to St. Charles on Friday with a 7 p.m. tip off time.
Heading into the final few weeks of conference play, Smith leads with the Warriors with 13.1 points per game, while Malea Payne is averaging 6.4 points.
