Warren came back from a 9-point third quarter deficit to defeat General McLane, 54-49, Thursday in the Joseph A. Massa Gymnasium. The win, combined with Villa Maria’s 46-32 victory over Harbor Creek, left the Dragons as the lone remaining undefeated girls basketball team in District 10, and sitting atop the Region 6 standings.

“People wanted to see how we would do when we faced adversity,” Warren coach Lisa LaVan said. “We faced adversity tonight and came through.”

General McLane (7-3 overall, 0-2 Region 6) went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter, taking a 34-25 lead. Warren (11-0, 2-0) responded with a 10-0 run to regain the lead and the teams battled the rest of the way. The Dragons took the lead early in the fourth quarter and held on for the win.

“We had to fight through,” LaVan said.

Warren’s Teagan Paris (23) puts in a layup during the second quarter of a game against General McLane in the Joseph A. Massa gymnasium, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. The Dragons picked up a 54-49 win over the Lancers.

The Dragons got the home fans on their feet early. Riley Childress stole the ball on the Lancers first possession and went coast-to-coast for the first points. Warren’s defense got another stop and the offense converted to go up 4-0. GM’s Sierra Seneta answered with a 3-pointer to get the Lancers going. The Dragons defense created several turnovers in the quarter, but they were unable to convert in transition and the game remained close throughout the frame.

Taylor Childress hit a corner 3 to put Warren up 11-5, but Seneta answered with her second longball of the quarter on the next possession. Margo Loutzenhiser converted a traditional 3-point play to give the Dragons a 16-10 advantage, but turnovers allowed the Lancers to cut it to 16-14. Loutzenhiser hit a pair of free throws to close out the scoring and Warren led 18-14 after the first.

Taylor Childress hit her second 3-pointer early in the second quarter, but again GM had an answer. This time it was Kayle Seidel drilling the 3 just two minutes into the period. The Lancers broke the Dragons press defense and got an easy layup to tie it at 21-21, and Seidel hit her second 3 on the next possession to give GM its first lead of the game, 24-21, with 5:10 to play in the half.

It would be another three minutes before either team scored again.

“I did not like what our press (defense) looked like tonight,” LaVan said.

Margo Loutzenhiser scored 24 points in a win over Corry on Thursday.

Teagan Paris’ layup with 2:05 to go ended the scoring drought. Warren had a pair of chances to retake the lead late, but both were too strong off the glass. McLane hit a free throw to push the lead to 25-23, but Riley Childress hit a jumper on the next possession to tie it at 25-25. Hanna Pfeiffer got a late layup to give the Lancers a 27-25 halftime lead.

Both Loutzenhiser and Ruhlman, the Dragons two leading scorers, were held without a point in the second quarter. That Warren was able to turn to other players to fill the void, LaVan said, speaks to the team’s depth.

“Depth is something we’ve considered our strong suit all season,” she said. “Taylor was big early for us. Teagan gave us some good minutes again. Even if we just get five minutes a game from (the bench players), it’s huge.”

During McLane’s third quarter run, Warren missed on a couple of good looks, but Ruhlman hit a pair of free throws to get the Dragons offense going. Warren got a stop on the next GM possession and Ruhlman buried a 3-pointer to get the Dragons back within four. Riley Childress hit on a pair of free throws and Loutzenhiser made a layup to tie it at 34-34. Riley Childress was fouled on a 3-point shot, and went 1-3 from the line to give the Dragons their first lead since the 5:30 mark of the second quarter.

The teams traded the lead through the remainder of the quarter. Seneta converted a 3-point play to put the Lancers up 39-37, but Kelsey Stuart connected on a runner to tie it with 40 seconds left in the period. Kendyl McKissock hit a layup with 1 second left to give McLane a 41-39 advantage heading to the fourth.

Warren’s Alanna Hultberg (4) shoots a jump shot during the first quarter of a Region 6 game against General McLane in the Joseph A. Massa gymnasium, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. The Dragons erased a 9-point second half deficit to defeat the Lancers, 54-49.

Warren picked up a pair of fouls in the first minute of the fourth, but GM was only able to go 1-4 from the line. Ruhlman got a steal in McLane’s end and went the length of the floor to cut the lead to one. Stuart got the ball at the top of the key and drove in for a layup and a 43-42 Warren lead.

The Dragons wouldn’t trail again.

Ruhlman came up with a block on the Lancers’ next trip and Loutzenhiser was fouled on the other end. Despite not getting a ton of field goals, Loutzenhiser continued to draw fouls through the quarter and was a perfect 6-6 from the line in the final minutes.

“That’s Margo,” LaVan said. “When the game is on the line, she wants the ball.”

Loutzenhiser finished with a game-high 18 points and dished three assists. Ruhlman had another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Riley Childress had 10 points, five steals and five rebounds.

Seneta had 16 points and Seidel 14 to lead GM.

Halee Minweaser

The Dragons will face their toughest test of the season when they travel to the Hagerty Family Events Center for a Region 6 contest with Villa. The Victors are 8-2 on the year, with the losses coming against Archbishop Mitty (Calif.) and Olmstead Falls (Ohio), perennial girls basketball powerhouses.

Halee Mineweaser (13), Paris (11) and Katie Madigan (10) were all in double figures scoring in the 39-34 JV victory.

– – –

General McLane (49)

Seneta 6-2-5-16, Seidel 4-4-4-14, McKissock 3-0-2-6, Kaulis 2-1-2-5, Pfeiffer 2-1-2-5, Freyermuth 1-0-0-3, Lamereaux 0-0-1-0, Campbell 0-0-0-0, Team 18-8-16-49

Warren (54)

Loutzenhiser 4-10-11-18, Ruhlman 4-2-2-11, R. Childress 3-4-8-10, T. Childress 2-0-0-6, Stuart 2-0-2-4, Hultberg 1-1-4-3, Paris 1-0-2-2, Matson 0-0-0-0, Team 17-17-29-54

By quarters

General McLane 14 13 14 8 – 49

Warren 18 7 14 15 – 54

3-point FGs: General McLane (5)-Seneta 2, Seidel 2, Freyermuth. Warren (3)-T. Childress 2, Ruhlman.

– – –

JV

GENERAL MCLANE (34)

Seidle 4-2-4-10, Shade 2-0-0-5, Opp 1-1-1-3, Hess 5-0-0-11, Herberg 1-3-4-5, Donahue 0-0-0-0, McEldowney 0-0-0-0, Totals 13-6-9-34

WARREN (39)

Mineweaser 3-8-11-14, Madigan 3-2-4-10, Bowman 0-0-0-0, Paris 4-3-7-11, Kraft 1-2-2-4, Munksgard 0-0-0-0, Albaugh 0-0-0-0, Walker 0-0-0-0, Totals 11-15-26-39

Three-point FGs: McLane (2) – Shade, Hess; Warren (2) – Madigan 2