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End of a great ride: Lady Dragons’ season comes to a close

Warren's Rachel Wilson goes up for two over Slippery Rock's Sedona Campbell during their District 10 Class 5A quarterfinal game on Saturday at Mercer High School.

MERCER – Warren and Slippery Rock went blow for blow in their District 10 Class 5A quarterfinal game on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Lady Dragons, it was the Rock that got the last punch in.

Sedona Campbell, the Lady Rockets’ 5-11 senior center, scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the second half to lift her team to a 41-32 win at Mercer High School.

“It was a great game right from the start,” said Warren coach Lisa LaVan. “Right from the start, every shot was electric. We had a nice crowd – the fans were great and we all greatly appreciate it.”

Nursing a 2-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, Slippery Rock went on an 11-2 run to open up a 39-28 margin with 1:44 to play, getting some cushion in a game in which neither team was able to generate much breathing room.

Campbell had six of the points in that span, including a pair of offensive putbacks.

Warren’s Margo Loutzenhiser directs the offense during the first half of Saturday’s District 10 Class 5A quarterfinal playoff game against Slippery Rock at Mercer High School. Loutzenhiser finished the game with six points, five assists and five steals.

“In the second half, it’s not that we didn’t execute, we just got beat on the boards,” LaVan said. “Thirty-four (Campbell) got some putbacks.”

Early, the Lady Dragons executed their game plan to perfection. They forced the usually fast-paced Rockets to grind out offensive possessions, packing it in on defense against Campbell.

Jenna Whitmer, one of six Slippery Rock seniors, gave them an early lead with a pair of 3’s, but the Lady Dragons responded.

Margo Loutzenhiser hit a pair of early shots to keep the game close and, after the Rock gained a 13-8 advantage, Warren rattled off the next six points courtesy of Rachel Wilson, Autumn Hultberg and Alanna Hultberg to take a 14-13 halftime edge.

Their defense was superb, holding the Lady Rockets without a field goal made in the final 3:35 of the half.

Warren’s Alanna Hultberg looks over the top of Slippery Rock’s Steph Croll during their D-10 Class 5A quarterfinal game on Saturday.

“I thought in the first half we executed our game plan spot on,” LaVan said. “I thought we did a nice job. We know they have some 3-point shooters and our thought process was to take away the attack and let’s hope we get our hands out in the shooter’s face.

“I don’t know how many 3’s they made but I thought we did a much better job with our man-to-man than we have all season. I thought that was the best man-to-man we’ve played all year.”

Campbell went to work early in the second half, spearheading a 13-4 run that was only halted by a triple from Alanna Hultberg.

“It was more so offensive rebounds than anything else,” LaVan said. “We’re not very big. Rachel held down the fort for us. She did a good job, we just lost her (Campbell) a few times.”

That prompted a timeout by Warren, which responded like a team that has won 57 games over the last three seasons.

Warren’s Maddie Loutzenhiser defends Slippery Rock’s Jenna Whitmer during the second half of their District 10 Class 5A playoff game Saturday at Mercer High School.

Autumn Hultberg immediately came out and nailed a long 3-pointer that was followed by another bucket from Campbell.

After that, it was a personal 5-0 run from Alanna Hultberg – a 3-pointer and a layup off a fastbreak that made it 28-26 at the end of the third. It was an impressive sequence from the sophomore guard, part of a large core of young players that the Lady Dragons will return next season.

“She’s still young, she’s still a sophomore,” LaVan said. “At times tonight we had two sophomores and a freshman on the court. That’s the big thing with her (Alanna). She has it in her. She still has that inconsistency, but I have no doubt by next year that inconsistency is out the window and she is going to be an every day go-to option for us for sure.”

It took two minutes before the first points of the fourth, a layup by Slippery Rock’s Macy McCall. Rachel Wilson temporarily stopped the charge with an offensive putback with 4:14 left to make it 33-28, but by the time the Lady Dragons scored their next points – a layup by freshman Taylor Childress, they were facing a 9-point deficit with just over a minute left.

“We made that run at the end of the third to get it to 2 and then in the fourth, we had two or three good looks to tie or take the lead and they just didn’t fall,” noted LaVan.

Whitmer was also in double figures for Slippery Rock with 13 points.

Alanna Hultberg finished with 10 points to lead Warren, while Wilson had nine points and seven rebounds and Loutzenhiser six points, five assists and five steals.

With the win, Slippery Rock (18-4) moves on to face Hickory in, which knocked off Fort LeBoeuf in a minor upset, 43-28. All four semifinalists will advance to the state playoffs, which also includes Harbor Creek (a 41-25 winner over Corry) and Central Tech (a 61-19 winner over Girard).

For Warren, it was a tough ending to another terrific season, which finishes at 18-6.

“It’s always tough when you know its your last one,” LaVan said. “Very few teams end their season on a win. We always kind of say that, it’s our cliche. I told them it’s hard, it sucks, but at the same time we’re doing something right.

“I don’t do it alone. It’s our coaching staff and our players year after year. I got a little choked up when Kristie (Reynolds) gave some words (after the game in the locker room) because it’s a pretty awesome thing to be standing in a locker room with a kid coaching with you that played for you. That hit me pretty hard.”

It was also the final game in a Warren uniform for seniors Maddie Loutzenhiser and Megan Wortman.

The two have been integral parts of a program that has gone 57-14 over the last three years. But it’s more than just the wins. This is a program that as a whole operates as a family – one that will graduate two outstanding student-athletes.

“It hit me that Maddie and Megan were done,” LaVan said. “I told them it might not be the fact that we’re graduating a ton of points, or a ton of rebounds, or a ton of steals, or a ton of assists. We’re not going to graduate a ton of stats. We’re going to graduate two amazing kids that have stuck by us and stuck through all that we’ve done and all that we’ve accomplished.

“They were here for 19, 20 and 18 win seasons the last three years. There’s very few …. I mean we’ve never had a class that’s been able to do this. We’ll miss their leadership. It’s part of what you do, part of the process. You teach ’em up, build ’em up and eventually let them go. We’ll see them in the stands though … they have younger sisters (Margo and Grace).”

Both coaches and players alike are looking forward to what comes in the future on the court.

“This was a great atmosphere for these youngins to play in and it’s only going to build us for the years to come,” LaVan said. “We’re hungry for next season already.”

– – –

WARREN (32)

Al. Hultberg 4-0-0-10, Mad. Loutzenhiser 0-0-0-0, Wilson 4-1-2-9, Mar. Loutzenhiser 3-0-0-6, Au. Hultberg 2-0-0-5, Childress 1-0-0-2, Wood 0-0-0-0, Wortman 0-0-0-0, Totals 14-1-2-32

SLIPPERY ROCK (41)

Croll 1-2-2-4, Boyd 0-0-0-0, McCall 2-2-5-6, Campbell 6-6-7-18, Whitmer 4-2-2-13, McDermott 0-0-0-0, Totals 13-12-16-41

By Quarters

Warren 6 8 12 6 – 32

Slippery Rock 8 5 15 13 – 41

Three-point FGs: Warren (3) – Al. Hultberg 2, Au. Hultberg 1; Slippery Rock (3) – Whitmer 3

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