Warren's Emma Ruhlman scored 22 points and pulled down 10 boards in Saturday's PIAA playoff loss to Chartiers Valley.

MCDONALD, Pa. – The Warren Lady Dragons knew exactly what they were getting into against Chartiers Valley on Saturday in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A championships on Saturday.

Knowing it and trying to stop it are two different things, however.

Perri Page, daughter of former Pitt star Julius Page, scored 23 points and the Colts (26-0) nailed seven 3’s in the first quarter and never looked back in a 71-39 win over the Lady Dragons.

“We got three stops right off the bat and looked good early, but we just started turning the ball over,” said Warren coach Lisa LaVan. “They played at a WPIAL speed and we played at a District 10 speed.”

Hallie Cowan and Aislin Malcolm each hit two triples in the first-quarter and Abby Vaites, who came into the game averaging 5.2 ppg. came off the bench and drilled three shots from distance.

Emma Ruhlman scored all 10 of Warren’s (17-9) points in the first quarter, but picked up her third foul early in the second quarter and was forced to sit.

“Emma’s been a different player in the playoffs,” her mom said. “She just cranked it up and took it on, which was awesome to see.”

Ruhlman finished with 22 points and 10 boards and averaged just over 19 per game and 11 boards in the postseason.

The Lady Dragons, despite holding Cowan, Malcolm and Duquesne commit Megan McConnell under their season scoring averages, were down big at the half.

They did come out in the second half, however, and outscored the Colts 17-15 in the third with all of the starters still in the game.

“We just took it in four-minute quarters and in three of those four in the second half, we were able to outscore them,” LaVan said.

McConnell held fellow star point guard Riley Childress in check in the first half, but Childress was able to shake loose for eight points in the second half. She also had seven steals.

Malcolm, who as a sophomore already holds an offer from Duke, among many others, finished with 14 points, as did Vaites.

Senior Taylor Childress, playing in her final game as a Lady Dragon, finished with three points.

Chartiers Valley, which won its WPIAL record-tying 56th consecutive game, advances to play Hollidaysburg in the Sweet 16. After trailing at halftime, they rallied to defeat D-10 runner-up Slippery Rock 64-49.

“They are good one through five and their sixth is very good,” LaVan said. “I thought if we played our best we could be in it, but we weren’t able to do that.”

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WARREN (39)

T. Childress 1-0-0-3, R. Childress 2-2-2-8, E. Ruhlman 7-6-8-22, Paris 0-2-4-2, G. Ruhlman 1-0-0-3, Stuart 0-1-2-1, C. Beers 0-0-0-0, Munksgard 0-0-0-0, M. Beers 0-0-0-0, Gatto 0-0-0-0, Ordiway 0-0-0-0, Albaugh 0-0-0-0, Totals 11-10-15-39

CHARTIERS VALLEY (72)

McConnell 1-2-4-2, He. Cowan 3-0-1-6, Ha. Cowan 3-0-0-8, Ai. Malcolm 5-0-0-14, Page 10-2-4-23, Vaites 5-0-0-14, Am. Malcolm 1-0-0-3, 1-0-0-3, Bogats 0-0-0-0, Mangan 0-0-0-0, Colbert 0-0-0-0, Gabster 0-0-0-0, Little 0-0-0-0, Totals 28-4-7-72

By Quarters

Warren 10 4 17 8 – 39

Chartiers Valley 28 25 15 4 – 72

Three-point FGs: Warren (6) – E. Ruhlman 2, R. Childress 2, T. Childress, G. Ruhlman; Chartiers Valley (12) – Ai. Malcolm 4, Vaites 4, Ha. Cowan 2, Page, Am. Malcolm