ERIE, Pa. – You can throw out style points in a rivalry game.

That was the case for the Warren Lady Dragons on Thursday, as they upped their record to 3-0 with a grind-it-out 38-32 road win over McDowell.

“We played a really good team-game defensively,” said Warren coach Lisa LaVan. “It was a grind for sure.”

Warren built a 6-point halftime lead, 21-15, thanks to that defense.

McDowell played multiple bigs and went 11 deep, which meant the likes of senior Alanna Hultberg and freshmen Emma Ruhlman and Riley Childress had to step up on the defensive end.

And they did just that.

“Emma played great defense on their bigs and so did Alanna,” LaVan said. “And Riley did a great job on their junior point guard.”

Ruhlman scored just two points, but, in addition to her great defense, she led the team with 10 boards.

The Lady Dragons withstood McDowell’s best efforts at a comeback attempt, as senior standout Margo Loutzenhiser shouldered much of the offensive load with 18 points. Childress had 10 points and junior Taylor Childress chipped in with five.

“Riley did really well, she stays very composed,” LaVan said . “She has her moments, but her and Emma, I know they’re freshmen, but to us, they’re not freshmen anymore.”

And Loutzenhiser (who also had 6 rebounds) who has seen almost every imaginable defensive alignment against her, earned her 18 points the hard way.

“They were face guarding her … she earned all 18 points,” added LaVan.

Warren was originally scheduled to play Meadville on Saturday, but that game has been moved to January. They will take on Greenville next Thursday.

– – –

WARREN (38)

T. Childress 2-0-0-5, Hultberg 0-1-2-1, R. Childress 3-4-8-10, Stuart 1-0-0-2, Ruhlman 1-0-2-2, Loutzenhiser 4-8-8-18, Matson 0-0-0-0, Paris 0-0-0-0

MCDOWELL (32)

Herbe 1-1-2-3, Hetz 1-2-2-5, K. Miller 1-4-8-6, Keineth 1-0-0-2, Helsley 1-0-2-2, Pisano 4-0-0-9, Stravinski 1-0-0-2, J. Miller 1-1-2-3,

By Quarters

Warren 9 12 9 8 – 38

McDowell 9 6 7 10 – 32

Three-point FGs: Warren (3) – Loutzenhiser 2, T. Childress; McDowell – Hetz, Pisano

– – –

JV: McDowell 47, Warren 14

Warren (14)

Mineweaser 1-4-4-6, Madigan 2-2-2-6, Kraft 1-0-2-2, Walker, Bowman, Paris, Munksgard, Albaugh

McDowell (47)

Keller 0-2-2-2, Bishel 1-0-0-3, Paul 2-1-2-5, Hall 3-1-2-10, Young 1-0-0-2, Nieratk 3-0-0-8, Fernoti 0-1-2-1, Jebhrdt 1-1-2-3, Leonetti 6-0-2-13

By Quarters

Warren 0 6 2 6 – 14

McDowell 18 17 7 5 – 47