Lady Dragons begin playoff journey today
The Warren Lady Dragons begin what they hope is an extended playoff run today when they play Meadville in the District 10 Class 5A quarterfinals at the Hagerty Events Center (also known as the Prep-Villa Events Center) at 2:30 p.m.
At 19-3, Warren earned its first-ever top seed and, after a week off since their final game of the regular season against St. Marys, they are raring to go.
“They’re ready,” said Warren coach Lisa LaVan. “It played into our favor having St. Marys on Friday, and we faced some adversity there, so it was really good for them. They’ve been working really hard.”
They will be facing a Meadville team who they met, at Meadville, on Jan. 26, a 64-40 win for the Lady Dragons.
But don’t expect them to take the Bulldogs lightly.
“Meadville is better than what we beat them by the first time,” LaVan said. “Meadville is going to throw the kitchen sink at us, I have no doubt. I don’t discount them at all and the girls are the same. They’re a playoff team, and any playoff team on any given night … we saw that with the McDowell and Erie girls.”
It’s a Warren team that has rose to the challenge every step of the way this season.
They are led by senior guard Margo Loutzenhiser, and this season has been a special one for the Gannon commit. She became the all-time leading scorer in program history, and did so in her team’s biggest win of the season, a 50-37 triumph over Villa, the Victors first loss to a D-10 team in nearly four years.
She is one of, if not the best player in District 10.
Loutzenhiser, along with seniors Alanna Hultberg and Sierra Matson, junior Taylor Childress and sophomores Kelsey Stuart and Teagan Paris are battle-tested.
“It’s new (to the younger players), but what’s good is the younger ones, like Kelsey … she arrived last year in the playoffs,” LaVan said. “And I don’t have any doubt she’s going to do the same thing for us.”
What she’s referring to from Stuart is, down 9 with three minutes left in the third-place game last season against Hickory, Loutzenhiser fouled out, and Stuart nearly willed the team back to victory, scoring 10 points in that span.
And of course, there’s also the freshmen. Emma Ruhlman and Riley Childress have been instrumental to the Lady Dragons’ success this season.
Quite simply, they don’t play like freshmen.
“The freshmen, they’ve played a lot of basketball,” LaVan said. “Emma and Riley, not just with us, but with AAU, have a lot of experience. They’re going to be geeked up. What I love about them, as much as they love the game and give everything they have every time on the floor, they don’t want to disappoint their 3 seniors. They want to do everything to make them happy.”
They will be facing a Meadville (10-12) team that is led by 5-5 junior guard Natalia Fontanez-Waid (13.6 ppg.) and 5-8 forward Jaida Speed (12.6 ppg.).
And they will be doing so in a building where they have historically experienced a lot of playoff success.
“Last time we were there against Villa, it didn’t end well, but we won our D-10 title there,” LaVan noted. “We also beat General McLane there in the playoffs, so yeah, we like playing there. But honestly, just tell us where and when we’re playing at we’ll be ready to go.”
It’s a 5A playoff field that is absolutely loaded, with Harbor Creek (17-5), General McLane (16-6), Slippery Rock (17-4), Grove City (17-4) and Hickory (14-7) among the contenders for the three available spots into the state tournament.
“I think any team in the playoffs in 5A could win it,” LaVan said. “The Grove City-GM matchup is a phenomenal matchup. That will be the best game on Saturday, of all the girls’ games. I think Harbor Creek is playing very good basketball right now.
“I think Hickory is going to come in and play on pure emotion with everything that’s gone on there. Slippery Rock, they won it last year, they have the experience and a big chunk of that group back. I think we’re a favorite, but I think it’s wide open, too. It’s going to come down to who executes the best.”
Here’s a brief look at the other matchups:
Grove City (17-4) vs. General McLane (16-6)
Where: Farrell H.S., 1 p.m.
Winner gets: Warren-Meadville winner in semifinals
Top players: Grove City – Clara Hannon, 5-8 Soph. (11.8 ppg.), Becca Santom, 5-7 Soph. (11.5) Abby Biddle, 5-8 Sr. (8.7); Katie McDowell, 6-1 Jr. (8.7), Lily Burtch, 5-5 Sr. (3.7); General McLane – Sierra Seneta, 5-8 Sr. (14.0), Kendyl McKissock, 5-9 Sr. (8.0), Hanna Pfeiffer, 5-7 Sr. (7.9), Kayle Seidel, 5-8 Soph. (6.4), Rachel Kaulis, 5-10 Soph. (5.1)
The pick: General McLane
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Harbor Creek (17-5) vs. Hickory (14-7)
Where: Hagerty Events Center, 1 p.m.
Winner gets: Slippery Rock-Corry winner in semifinals
Top players: Harbor Creek – Ali Benim, 5-9 Sr. (19.2 ppg.), Jenna Babay, 5-5 Jr. (11.0), Latisha Baker, 6-0 Sr. (9.1), Alexa Soles, 5-7 Sr. (4.4), Corynne Williamson, 5-7 Sr. (2.3); Hickory – Isabella DeJulia, 5-8 Sr. (18.1), Sydney McKnight, 5-4 Sr. (8.6), Karrington McKnight, 5-8 Sr. (8.2), Reanna Daniels, 5-5 Jr. (6.1), Aniyah Anderson, 5-7 Soph. (4.3)
The pick: Harbor Creek
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Slippery Rock (17-4) vs. Corry (4-18)
Where: Farrell H.S., 2:30 p.m.
Winner gets: Harbor Creek-Hickory winner in semifinals
Top players: Slippery Rock – Emma McDermott, 6-0 Sr. (14.2 ppg.), Maryann Ackerman, 5-5 Soph. (13.7), Hallie Raabe, 5-8 Soph. (11.6), Anna Kadlubek, 5-7 Soph. (9.8); Corry – Davia Fisher, 5-3 Sr. (7.8), Rachel Brady, 5-11 Fr. (4.6), Tessa Graham, 5-5 Jr. (3.1)
The pick: Slippery Rock
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