That’s okay, because they took matters into their own hands.

Behind 32 points from Margo Loutzenhiser, Warren outlasted HC in an overtime thriller at Joseph A. Massa Gymnasium Thursday, 57-52.

It was fifth 30-plus point game of Loutzenhiser’s career, and it came against her future college teammate, Harbor Creek’s Ali Benim.

“It wasn’t a long talk,” Loutzenhiser said about what was discussed after the loss to Villa. “It was ‘how are we going to react from this’ and that feeling we felt after the Villa game, how hard are we going to work to never feel that again. That’s kind of what I told the team. From there, we picked it right back up, had a hard practice and focused. We really focused on the mental part of the game and what we needed to do to beat Harbor Creek.

Warren’s Taylor Childress drives against Harbor Creek’s Jenna Babay.

About the only thing that didn’t go right for the senior guard was her potential game-winning shot attempt at the end of regulation that was blocked.

That came moments after Jenna Babay’s 3 with 17 seconds left tied the game at 46-all, ultimately sending it to overtime. Warren (12-1 overall, 3-1 Region 6) went to work right away in overtime, as Loutzenhiser and Emma Ruhlman both knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the lead to four.

Those were Ruhlman’s only two points of the game, and they were clutch. She spent much of her time defending and boxing out Harbor Creek’s 6-foot senior, Latisha Baker.

“Emma’s our top rebounder and we took her out of rebounding a lot to keep Baker off the glass, which she did perfect,” said Warren coach Lisa LaVan. “Truthfully, Emma started working on her matchup last year sitting in the stands. She knew that was going to be her matchup and someone she was going to have to battle with. AAU helped her a ton with that.”

Despite the best effort of Benim and Babay, Warren never relinquished the lead in OT, taking a 4-point advantage on a Loutzenhiser drive to the basket with 1:48 to go. Both Loutzenhiser and Alanna Hultberg helped finish out the game at the line for the Lady Dragons.

Warren’s Alanna Hultberg fights for a loose ball with Harbor Creek’s Ali Benim during the fourth quarter. Hultberg made a number of big plays down the stretch in the Warren win.

Loutzenhiser was 14-of-14 from the charity stripe.

“She had that look in her eye from the get-go,” LaVan said. “It was her’s, and her team went step for step with her. They kept her grounded at times because she gets fired up. They compliment each other so well.”

It was truly a back-and-forth affair between two of District 10’s best teams right from the start.

Neither team led by more than six the entire way, and that came early on a Taylor Childress 3 that put Warren up 14-8 in the first quarter.

After a slow start, Benim got it going in the second quarter, drilling a 3 that gave Harbor Creek (10-3, 2-2) a 22-18 lead with 35 seconds left before the half, a lead they took with them into the locker room.

Warren’s Teagan Paris locks in on defense.

“It’s fun to compete against someone who has that same level of talent and drive as you,” said Loutzenhiser, who will team up with Benim at Gannon University next season. “We lost to Harbor Creek twice last year and we really wanted this one.”

But, she added with a smile: “It’s a lot better to play with her and have her in the same uniform.”

Loutzenhiser scored 11 of her 32 points in the third quarter, and her strong drive to the basket helped Warren re-take the lead, 29-28, but only briefly.

Benim drilled a 3 on Harbor Creek’s next possession and Babay, who came in averaging just over 12 points per game, scored her first of the contest on a jumper that made it 35-33 Huskies going in the fourth quarter.

“That was Taylor,” LaVan said of the defense on Babay throughout the game. “Babay is a good ball-player and Taylor and Riley did a great job on her.

Harbor Creek’s Ali Benim puts up a shot in the first quarter.

“They’re a very good, well-coached team.”

The Huskies took their biggest lead of the game, 43-38, on a layup by Baker with 4:27 to go, but that was followed by a 8-0 run by Warren that began with a pair of free throws from Hultberg.

Riley Childress then made a huge play to poke the ball away from Babay and go driving in for a layup on Benim, who had four fouls, to put Warren back within 1, 43-42.

After a Dragon stop, they got the ball back and Hultberg’s offensive rebound kept the possession alive for Riley Childress, who made another huge play, driving to the basket to put Warren up 44-43 with 1:43 to play.

The freshman then came down and got a huge block and got the ball in the hands of Loutzenhiser, who made a pair of free throws to make it 46-43, setting the stage for Babay’s dramatics that sent the game to overtime.

“Overtime felt like just another quarter,” Loutzenhiser said. “It wasn’t like ‘oooh it’s it’s overtime, this is it.”

At the end of the day, it was a big-time response from a team that has proven time and again just how tough they are.

“This was huge,” LaVan said. “You have to have a short-term memory. Even within a game itself you have to have a short-term memory. As young as they are at times, they’re just gamers.

“I could sit here and name every single player, but at the end of all of it, they executed the game plan to a T, exactly the way we wanted it.”

She also noted the stellar defense of Riley Childress and Teagan Paris on Benim, who finished with 20 points.

And they did it all in front of a packed house.

“It’s always good when you make a shot or make a big play to hear the crowd roar,” Loutzenhiser said. “It gives you a lot of energy. It’s huge.”

– – –

HARBOR CREEK (52)

Babay 5-0-5-11, Benim 6-6-6-20, Soles 2-0-0-4, Barton 1-0-0-2, Polvino 2-1-2-5, Williamson 1-0-0-2, Baker 4-0-0-8, Totals 21-7-13-52

WARREN (57)

T. Childress 3-0-0-8, Loutzenhiser 8-14-14-32, Hultberg 2-3-6-7, R. Childress 3-0-0-6, Ruhlman 0-2-2-2, Stuart 0-0-0-0, Paris 1-0-2-2, Totals 17-19-24-57

By Quarters

Harbor Creek 10 14 11 11 6 – 52

Warren 14 6 13 13 11 – 57

Three-point FGs: Harbor Creek (3) – Benim 2, Babay; Warren (4) – T. Childress 2, Loutzenhiser 2

– – –

JV

HARBOR CREEK (32)

Gray 0-0-0-0, Humphreys 0-0-0-0, East 0-0-0-0, Sidelinger 1-0-0-2, Popoff 1-0-0-2, Polvino 5-3-7-13, Vaughn 0-1-2-1, Smith 1-2-2-4, Born 1-0-0-2, Kapsar 4-0-0-8, Totals 13-6-11-32

WARREN (22)

Mineweaser 2-1-1-5, Walker 0-0-0-0, Madigan 4-7-8-15, Bowman 0-0-0-0, Paris 0-0-0-0, Kraft 0-0-0-0, Munksgard 1-0-0-2, Albaugh 0-0-0-0, Totals 7-8-9-22

By Quarters

Harbor Creek 10 9 6 7 – 32

Warren 3 4 2 13 – 22

Three-point FGs None