Lady Dragons rally for impressive road win over Greenville
GREENVILLE, Pa. – A double-digit halftime deficit on the road proved to be no problem for the Warren Lady Dragons against a talented Greenville squad on Thursday.
Warren outscored its opponent from Mercer County 38-20 in the second half, including 22-7 in the third quarter en route to a 49-43 victory.
“As bad as the first half was, I was impressed with their comeback,” said Warren coach Lisa LaVan. “They dug their heels in. They knew they had to grind it out and they did.”
In the first half, it was a lot of Greenville senior Nina Cano.
The 6-0 standout scored a team-high 18 points, as the Lady Trojans raced out to a 23-11 halftime lead.
“We committed a lot of turnovers in the first half and they were able to take advantage,” LaVan said.
The Lady Dragons (4-0) asserted themselves in the second half on both ends of the court, and by the end of the third quarter had battled all the way back to take a 33-30 lead.
Senior Margo Lotuzenhiser was pivotal in the comeback, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. The freshmen duo of Emma Ruhlman and Riley Childress scored 13 and 10 respectively.
“The third quarter was huge,” LaVan said. “I was really proud of their effort. That’s definitely a reflection of what we can do.”
And at the end of the day, there was another key factor that led to the win.
“Conditioning,” LaVan said. “We were in better shape.”
Greenville (3-3), one of the top District 10 teams in 3A, has scheduled aggressively in non-region play, with close losses to Grove City and Harbor Creek. In addition to Cano’s 20 points, Ellie Kalchthaler added 11.
Childress also had four steals for the Lady Dragons.
Warren returns to action on Saturday against Erie, with a 1 p.m. JV start and 2:30 varsity. After the conclusion of varsity action, the Lady Dragons will have their alumni game, slated to begin around 4 p.m.
– – –
WARREN (49)
T. Childress 0-0-0-0, Hultberg 1-0-0-2, Madigan 0-0-0-0, R. Childress 4-2-4-10, Stuart 2-2-4-6, Ruhlman 6-1-1-13, Loutzenhiser 6-4-5-18, Matson 0-0-1-0, Paris 0-0-0-0
GREENVILLE (43)
Kalchthaler 5-0-0-11, Giroski 1-0-0-2, Serrano 2-0-1-4, Swartz 2-2-4-6, Cano 9-0-0-18, Hawthorne 1-0-0-2
Warren 6 5 22 16 – 49
Greenville 13 10 7 13 – 43
Three-point FGs: Warren (2) – Loutzenhiser 2; Greenville (1) – Kalchthaler
– – –
JV
WARREN (28)
Mineweaser 2-0-1-4, Madigan 3-0-0-6, Paris 5-2-5-12, Paris 5-2-5-12, Munksgard 3-0-0-6, Totals 13-2-6-28
GREENVILLE (32)
Serrano 5-0-2-10, Zila 3-0-0-6, Rosario 2-2-4-6, Uber 1-0-0-2, Wentling 4-0-0-8, Totals 15-2-6-32
By Quarters
Warren 7 6 8 7 -28
Greenville 9 5 14 14 – 32