It was the definition of a back-and-forth contest as the Dragons were up 14-12 after the first quarter, but a strong 15-point Cardinals second quarter enabled them to be up 27-20 heading into the half.

The low-scoring third quarter had the Dragons down 34-28 with just eight minutes to go.

The Dragons refused to quit. They started the final quarter blazing hot, scoring the first six points to tie the game. Freshman Ava Wymer drilled a 3-pointer to open, followed by a Peyton Wotorson steal and finish to get within one. Emma Roell would sink a free throw for the 34-34 deadlock. Unfortunately for the Dragons, this is as close as they would get to leading, as the Cardinals rallied via multiple 3-pointers and Dragon turnovers to secure the victory.

Despite the loss, head coach Jenny Phillips had many positives on the game, especially the girls’ unwillingness to quit.

Photo courtesy of Mark Evans Warren’s Tori Solberg tries to score inside while being defended by DuBois Central Catholic’s Tori Youngdahl during Saturday’s nonregion girls basketball game at Warren Area High School.

“Resiliency is one thing this team does not lack. No matter what the circumstances, in practice or in a game, they will fight back tooth and nail, whether we come out successful or not,” she said. “(Saturday) was no different — at halftime the conversation was all about what we needed to do to erase the deficit and come out on top. The girls played tough to comeback but fell short. Some will say the mistakes in the fourth quarter cost us the game and were certainly a factor, but so were the mistakes in the other quarters as well. We win and lose as a team — period. We need to physically and mentally be able to play the entire game. Physically, we can play the game, but need to learn from our mistakes and be able to mentally overcome those challenges.”

Wotorson led all scorers with 19 points for the Dragons. The Cardinals had two players in double digits with Ella Elensky scoring 16 and Julia Sebring had 13.

The Warren junior varsity squad took care of business, winning 33-18 against the Cardinals. Emma Gray had a solid game with 12 points in the win.

The Dragons are back at it today as they host the McDowell Trojans. Junior varsity tips off at 6 p.m. with varsity to follow at 7:15 p.m.