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Rivalry renewed: McDowell edges Warren in Region 6 battle

Warren freshman Kelsey Stuart (14) pulls down a rebound during Thursday’s Region 6 battle against McDowell.

Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.

It’s an age-old cliche, one that could be aptly applied to the Warren Lady Dragons after yet another close loss to a good opponent – this one a 46-41 setback to McDowell at Joseph A. Massa Gymnasium.

“I know we’re better than our record indicates,” said Warren coach Lisa LaVan. “They (McDowell) celebrated because they know we’re a good team. And they’re a good team. They have some young players and do some really good things.”

It’s become a fantastic rivalry that really intensified after a Warren (1-8 overall, 0-3 Region 6) victory over the Lady Trojans in the 2016 District 10 title game.

Thursday’s contest was a back-and-forth affair, but ultimately was decided with a 13-3 McDowell run that began late in the third quarter and was only broken by Margo Loutzenhiser’s 3-pointer with 54 seconds to play.

Margo Loutzenhiser scored 27 points in a 56-34 win over Fort LeBoeuf on Monday.

That shot cut a 10-point lead down to seven, and Warren got as close as four after a free throw by Gracie Wood with 27.5 seconds left and again on a Loutzenhiser jumper that made it 45-41 with 15 seconds remaining.

The Lady Dragons couldn’t get any closer, however, as freshman Emina Selimovic, who had a team-high 18 points for McDowell, iced it from the free throw line.

“It’s just a couple little mental errors here and there,” LaVan said. “It’s not effort. It’s not determination. It’s not physicality. It’s not any of those things. We continue to tell them to just think the game. We’ll get there.”

McDowell, under first-year head coach Nick DeSantis (longtime Central Tech coach), got off to a strong start.

Leading 14-9 after the first quarter, back-to-back triples by Jordyn Hetz and Megan Przepierski gave McDowell (4-4, 2-0) its largest lead of the game at 20-9.

Loutzenhiser, who scored a game-high 27 points, began to drive to the basket with conviction, going 7-of-10 from the line in the second quarter alone. That, sandwiched in between a layup by Alana Hultberg helped Warren cut the margin to 24-22 at the half, with the Lady Dragon defense limiting McDowell to just two points over the final 3:52 of the half.

Warren used a 1-2-2 press to great effect, as well as a strong halfcourt zone defense.

Rachel Wilson had another excellent game defensively, limiting McDowell’s 5-11 Julia Miller to five points. Wilson finished with 10 rebounds and two steals.

“Rachel had another good game on defense,” LaVan said. “She really shut down 30 (Miller).”

The Lady Dragons tied the game twice in the third quarter, first on a putback by Morgan Lupole and then on a pair of free throws by Loutzenhiser with 1:14 to go in the quarter before McDowell went on its run. Selimovic scored seven of her 18 points during the decisive spurt.

Loutzenhiser and freshman Kelsey Stuart both had four rebounds.

Warren was supposed to travel to Bradford on Saturday, but that game has already been postponed. They will be in action next on Monday, hosting Corry.

“At the end of the day, we say trust the process and the journey,” LaVan said. “We’re going to get there. We’re going to be fine – it’s just frustrating.”

– – –

MCDOWELL (46)

Selimovic 7-4-6-18, Przepierski 3-0-0-9, Hetz 2-0-5-6, Herbe 0-0-0-0, Miller 2-1-2-5, Starocci 1-2-2-4, Meola 1-0-0-2, Testa 0-0-0-0, Fedricki 0-0-0-0, Stavisky 0-0-0-0, Totals 16-9-17-46

WARREN (41)

Lupole 1-0-0-2, Wood 0-1-4-1, Al. Hultberg 1-0-0-2, Wilson 1-1-2-3, Loutzenhiser 6-13-16-27, Stuart 0-0-0-0, Citro 0-0-0-0, Childress 2-1-2-6, Paris 0-0-0-0, Totals 11-16-24-41

By Quarters

McDowell 14 10 8 14 – 46

Warren

9 13 8 11 – 41

Three-point FGs: McDowell (5) – Przepierski 3, Hetz 2; Warren (3) – Louzenhiser 2, Childress

– – –

JV: McDowell 39, Warren 23

Warren: Neureiter 8 points, Citro 7, Matson 3, Childress 3, Paris 2

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