Warren senior Margo Loutzenhiser

The entire season has been building to this moment for the Warren Lady Dragons.

Today at 5:30 p.m. at Meadville High School, they will attempt to win the second District 10 title in program history when they take on Slippery Rock in the Class 5A final.

Margo Loutzenhiser was a freshman on that first championship team in 2016. Now a senior who has had the most decorated career in program history, both she and her teammates want more.

“We’re proud that we’ve gotten to this point, but we’re not satisfied,” Loutzenhiser. “We’re going to keep going. We have one more wall to break down.

“As a freshman, I feel like I didn’t really know what it meant. It was a big accomplishment because that was our goal the entire year. This year, from the beginning of the season I knew that this was possible. It’s almost like it was meant to be.”

And both players and coaches alike are on the same page.

“It’s where we want to be,” said head coach Lisa LaVan. “In order to win a championship, you have to get there. But it was never about just getting there. It was about winning it. We’re preparing for that. They’re focused. They’re ready.”

Standing in their way is the team that knocked them off in the semifinals last year on their way to the title.

Coach Amber Osborn’s Rockets (19-4) have had another great season, winning the Region 5 title and coasting to a pair of playoff wins over Corry and Hickory.

“They’re a good program. Amber does a good job,” LaVan said. “Any time you do this you want to go against a program that like theirs. They won it last year and we want nothing more than to take it away from them.”

Three of Slippery Rock’s top four players are sophomores and the other is senior Emma McDermott, a Mercyhurst University signee.

McDermott is 6-feet tall but plays like a guard. She averages 13.7 points per game, tied with sophomore guard Maryann Ackerman for tops on the team. McDermott has also been one of the top 3-point shooters in District 10, averaging over two per game.

It’s a very athletic team that loves to push the pace, much like Warren.

Hallie Raabe (11.3 ppg.), a 5-8 sophomore and Anna Kadlubek (10.5 ppg.), a 5-7 sophomore point guard, also feature prominently in the Rockets offensive attack.

Another player to watch is freshman Ella McDermott, Emma’s younger sister, who has come on strong.

“We match up pretty well with them. They’re big, strong kids. You can see they hit the weight room in the offseason. They’re competitors like we are,” noted LaVan. “They don’t have anybody that towers over us. They have a big girl, but she’s more of an outside shooter. They like to push. They play good defense. Honestly, it’s a very similar style (to ours). They start three sophomores, so they have youth too that’s going to be on the floor.”

Of course, Warren’s (21-3) talented freshmen haven’t played like freshmen.

Point guard Riley Childress had 21 points in the semifinal win over GM, and put the dagger in the Lancers after Loutzenhiser fouled out in the fourth quarter.

“She exudes confidence on the outside very well,” LaVan said of Childress. “She’s cold-blooded. She’s got ginger in her genes. Her sister (Taylor) is the same way in terms of that.”

The other freshman who has played a key role this season is Emma Ruhlman, LaVan’s daughter, who is the second-leading scorer on the team.

Much more than that, however, she has played a pivotal role on defense this season, often getting the assignment of the opponent’s tallest player.

They are freshmen in name only, showing poise and experience beyond their years.

That being said, Loutzenhiser knows what they will be experiencing, because she went through the same thing.

“They’re going to be a little juiced up, but they’ll be fine,” she said. “They’re feeling a lot right now. What I told them the last game is that the game of basketball does not know circumstances. Making your free throws, playing defense, it’s the same game that we’ve played. We just need to keep playing the game we know. Nothing else is really different.”

Then there are fellow starters in senior Alanna Hultberg and junior Taylor Childress. They are tough as nails defensively and a big reason why they allow just 38.5 ppg. Hultberg also came up big offensively with 10 points in the win over McLane as well.

Teagan Paris has also emerged as a defensive stopper off the bench, while Kelsey Stuart provides additional scoring punch.

Senior Sierra Matson provides additional toughness and experience, and freshman Katie Madigan has also played some key minutes.

“They’re just competitors, the whole group,” LaVan said. “Myself, all my coaches, two of whom were raised in this program. They’re competitors that just want to get after it. There’s no game too big, even for the freshmen. Yeah, they’re excited and I’m sure they’ll be nervous. Once the game starts and the blood is pumping, it’s all the same.”

So what does the coach expect, in what will not only be the final game of a quadruple-header at Meadville, but also the final game in District 10 before the state playoffs?

“I personally think that it’s going to be a dog fight,” she said. “It’s the best game in girls basketball in District 10, and it will be the last game of the season in terms of D-10 basketball. 5A has been a gauntlet.”