The numbers don't lie.
Warren put together a 22-0 first-half run and held Fort LeBoeuf without a point for over 10 consecutive minutes - twice - during a convincing 49-24 Region 6 girls basketball victory Thursday at Warren Area High School.
The opening four minutes of the game were the only moments where the Dragons (10-4, 4-3) failed to dominate play. The Bisons jumped out to an early 6-1 lead, but Kristen Hultquist set the tone for the night by singlehandedly keeping the Dragons close.
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Times Observer photo by Tyson Himes
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Youngsville’s Jessica Jameson (24) defends an inbounds pass on Thursday night at home against Cochranton. Teammate Kennedy Cratty (34) is at left.
Hultquist scored the first five points of the night for Warren and put together one of the most complete games of her four-year career. Hultquist finished the night with 10 points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight blocks. The eight blocks pushed Hultquist over 150 for her career and the senior now stands at 153 career rejections.
"She's a four-year letterwinner and a three-year starter and I can honestly say this is the best game she's ever played for me," said Warren coach Lisa Ruhlman. "She was everywhere tonight. Offensively and defensively, she made big plays."
Ruhlman said she expected a fight on Thursday and the game was physical from the opening tip.
"(LeBoeuf) is a very scrappy team," she said. "We knew it was going to be a physical game and we were going to be in for a fight. Defensively, we had some meltdowns early, but we responded nicely."
Those meltdowns allowed the visitors to build the early lead, but a driving layup by Sabrina Anderson with two and a half minutes remaining in the opening quarter put Warren on top, 7-6.
The layup was just another early bucket in what would become a 22-0 run for the Lady Dragons. Warren scored the last 12 points of the opening quarter and the first 10 points of the second, turning a 6-1 deficit into a 23-6 lead.
The Bisons would be held scoreless from the 5:09 mark of the first quarter until just under the 3:00 mark of the second stanza. By halftime, the Dragons' lead stood at 29-15.
"Everybody filled their role and did what was expected of them tonight - especially defensively," said Ruhlman. "At halftime, we talked about hunkering down and trying to be even more dominant."
Dominant they were.
The Dragons scored all 11 of the points scored in the third quarter and Fort LeBoeuf's first points of the second half came with 4:57 left in the fourth quarter. By that time, Warren held a 30-point lead and cruised to the 25-point victory.
Anderson finished a big night with a double-double effort of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jaimie Eaton also scored 12 points and Emily Sherman scored all seven of her points in the third quarter.
FORT LEBOEUF (24): Surrena 2 0-0 4, Young 1 1-2 3, Kennelly 2 3-4 7, Bean 3 1-8 7, Jaroszewicz 0 1-2 1, Orzechowski 1 0-0 2, Totals: 9 6-16 24
WARREN (49): Jaimie Eaton 4 3-4 12, Sabrina Anderson 5 1-4 12, Kristen Hultquist 3 4-6 10, Taylor Mineweaser 1 1-2 3, Alexa Bupp 1 3-4 5, Kristie Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Emily Sherman 3 1-1 7, Brittni Merenick 0 0-1 0, Sam Bevevino 0 0-0 0, Meghan Loutzenhiser 0 0-0 0, Amy Castagnino 0 0-0 0, McKenzie Merenick 0 0-0 0, Ashlee McClure 0 0-0 0, Totals: 17 13-22 49
Fort LeBoeuf 6 9 0 9 - 24
Warren 13 16 11 9 - 49
3-pointers: F- None; W- Eaton, Anderson
Junior varsity game
FORT LEBOEUF (26): Oberlander 0 2-3 2, Patterson 0 0-2 0, Boyd 1 1-2 3, O'Neill 2 1-2 5, Cass 2 0-0 4, Ebert 1 0-0 2, Jaroszewicz 1 4-6 6, Orzechowski 1 2-2 4, Totals: 8 10-17 26
WARREN (31): Meghan Loutzenhiser 1 5-6 8, Amy Castagnino 2 2-5 6, McKenzie Merenick 1 0-1 2, Lexi Ednie 1 0-0 2, Brittni Merenick 5 3-5 13, Ashlee McClure 0 0-0 0, Megan Smoulder 0 0-0 0, Brittany Massa 0 0-0 0, Totals: 10 10-17 31
Fort LeBoeuf 6 5 4 11 - 26
Warren 10 6 6 9 - 31
3-pointers: F- None; W- Loutzenhiser
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Cochranton 42, Youngsville 25
The Lady Eagles had trouble putting the ball in the basket on Thursday, losing a Region 3 game against Cochranton at Youngsville High School.
Fifth-place Youngsville (2-6 in region) lost a chance to close on fourth-place Cochranton (5-3).
The Eagles were never totally out of the game until the final minutes. The Cardinals missed a number of opportunities to push the game out of reach in the third quarter.
They had trouble against Cochranton's zone all night long. In the first quarter, they failed to manufacture any good offensive looks. When the Cardinals switched to a full-court press midway through the quarter, Youngsville did not have an answer. The home team only managed three points in the opening stanza.
In the second period, Cochranton opened up its lead by staying aggressive on offense. The Cardinals drew a number of fouls, and did most of their damage from the free throw line.
With a 36-19 advantage going into the final quarter, the Cardinals patiently put the game away.
The Eagles are now 7-7 overall. Cochranton is 10-6.
COCHRANTON (42): Proctor 1 2-4 4, Loper 1 5-7 7, Dickson 3 7-8 14, Bernarding 6 0-0 13, Egli 0 1-2 1, Clulow 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 14-21 42
YOUNGSVILLE (25): Katie Gustafson 1 0-0 2, Julie Jameson 0 0-0 0, Piper Olsen 0 0-0 0, Karissa Cratty 0 0-0 0, Jorie Clark 0 0-0 0, Cierra Ohl 0 0-0 0, Katie Chuzie 1 0-0 2, Jess Jameson 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Cratty 1 3-6 5, Amber Fox 3 3-6 10, Lindsey Lyon 2 2-4 6. Totals 8 8-16 25
Cochranton 9 15 10 8 -42
Youngsville 3 7 9 6 -25
3-pointers. C-Dickson 1, Bernarding 1. Y-Amber Fox 1.
Junior varsity game
COCHRANTON (52): Offi 1 0-0 2, Clulow 0 1-4 1, Quickel 1 2-3 4, Hall 2 1-2 5, Knauf 5 0-0 10, Kasbee 1 0-0 2, Egli 8 1-1 17, Dickson 4 1-2 10. Totals 23 6-12 52
YOUNGSVILLE (26): Katie Gustafson 0 0-0 0, Julie Jameson 1 0-0 2, Piper Olsen 0 0-0 0, Karissa Cratty 3 2-4 7, Cierra Ohl 3 3-6 9. Totals 9 7-14 26
Cochranton 15 11 10 15 -52
Youngsville 5 9 7 5 -26
3-pointers. C-None. Y-Jorie Clark 1.