Warren senior Emma Ruhlman is surrounded by four Lancers in the Dragons’ 45-30 D10 5A playoff quarterfinal win over General McLane on Saturday in Erie. Photo courtesy of Mark Evans

The last time Warren’s girls basketball team played Grove City, those Eagles beat the Dragons in the District 10 5A playoff semifinals on their way to the 2020 D10 title.

Grove City had two eventual 1,000-point scorers on that team in Becca Santom and Clara Hannon, but they both graduated last year.

Even with winning their second District 10 championship in three years last season and two 1,000-point scorers of their own still around, the Lady Dragons (17-6) aren’t taking the upstart Eagles (15-8) lightly.

“The strategy does not change at all,” said Warren coach Lisa LaVan. “One day at a time. One game at a time. We are not looking past Grove City at all. They are a very good team that will be ready for us.”

Warren and Grove City meet again in the 5A semifinals tonight at 6 p.m. at the Prep-Villa Hagerty Events Center in Erie.

This season, under first-year head coach Dennis Ranker, Grove City won nine of its last 12 regular-season games to finish second in Region 5. The Eagles defeated Franklin, 44-27, on Saturday in the quarterfinals. Senior Hannah Reiber led Grove City with 16 points.

Junior Delaney Callahan averages 11 points per game for the Eagles, while Reiber, senior Emma Santom, and sophomore Piper Como average about 7 points a game.

Emma Ruhlman and Riley Childress are the Warren seniors that have hit the 1,000-point mark, and far surpassed it. In addition to the most career wins for a Warren class, Ruhlman has 1,400 career points and over 800 rebounds, and point guard Childress over 1,300 career points.

This is the duo’s fourth straight D10 5A playoff semifinal game, but most of the rest of the underclassmen have experienced this level as well.

“I was very happy with how others stepped up on Saturday,” said LaVan of Warren’s 45-30 quarterfinal win over General McLane at the Prep-Villa Center. “And they will be ready to step up again and even more so tomorrow. There is no doubt that Riley and Emma deserve a lot of attention… because they are certainly two of the best in District 10. However, their teammates on the floor are very capable and will continue to show that more and more. We are a great team with two great leaders. We have seen all sorts of trick defenses all season. I am sure we will see another one on Wednesday. Our team has a fire in them right now and they will be ready.”