Lady Raiders find shot in time to slip past South Warren

Published 4:03 pm Tuesday, December 3, 2024

by Micheal Compton

The Warren East girls’ basketball team was able to weather the storm, rallying for a season-opening 53-51 win over South Warren on Monday at Warren East High School.

Warren East (1-0) overcame a cold shooting night from 3-point range by rallying from a nine-point, second-half deficit to earn the win against its former District 14 rival.

“I felt like being a veteran team helped us down the stretch,” Warren East coach Jenny Neville said. “To hold our composure, to not get down emotionally – they stayed the course and got back in the ballgame. We were able to capitalize on some turnovers and complete the game.”

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The night started well enough for the Lady Raiders, who connected on two 3-pointers early and raced out to an early 14-6 advantage.

South Warren (0-1) answered with 10 straight points to take the lead as Warren East struggled to find its shooting touch. The Lady Raiders were 3-for-20 from 3 in the first half, with the Spartans able to cling to a 24-23 halftime lead.

“We told them don’t quit shooting, but take great shots,” Neville said. “We were settling for shots instead of getting downhill to the basket. We worked more on our inside-outside game and just relaxed.”

South Warren started to pull away late in the third, with McLaine Hudson scoring eight points during an 11-0 run that gave the Spartans the largest lead of the night at 42-33.

Brelynn Wardlow’s putback as time expired in the quarter pulled the Lady Raiders within seven. Kennedy Lawson then opened the final quarter with a flurry – three 3s in a one-minute stretch that turned a deficit into a 44-42 advantage.

South Warren scored the next four points to go back in front, but Warren East responded with four straight – including a basket by Sam Carver that made the score 50-48 Warren East with 2:54 left.

Tania Osborne’s jumper tied it 15 seconds later and the score remained tied until the final minute when Keyoni Collins sank a 3 with 48 seconds left.

Carver would add two free throws to push the margin to five with 10 seconds left. South Warren got a 3 from Jooniper Strow in the final second, but Warren East was able to inbound the ball and run the clock out to preserve the victory.

Lawson led the Lady Raiders with 21 points, 11 in the fourth quarter.

“It was tough, but we just had to get the job done,” Lawson said. “Sometimes we come out and all of our shots aren’t falling, but we just have to keep shooting and taking it to the hole.”

Lydia Jones added nine points and 13 rebounds for Warren East, while Carver finished with eight points.

Warren East was 4-for-9 from 3 in the second half to finish 7-for-29 for the game.

Hudson led South Warren with 24 points, while Strow added 14 points.

“I thought the girls played really hard,” South Warren coach Lane Embry said. “You can’t fault their effort whatsoever tonight. That is a good basketball team, a veteran basketball team and they don’t panic when they get down nine or 10. We got a lot of shots we wanted. They just didn’t fall down the stretch for us and we didn’t get the defensive stop we needed in the end – not necessarily the last play, but throughout the last plays we gave them the things that they wanted and that is what you can’t do down the stretch.”

South Warren will host Metcalfe County on Dec. 10, while Warren East plays at Russell County on Friday.

SWHS 14 10 18 9 – 51

WEHS 14 9 12 18 – 53

SW – Hudson 24, Strow 14, Lindsey 4, Fugate 4, Overbay 3, Osborne 2.

WE – K Lawson 21, Jones 9, Carver 8, Wardlow 6, Collins 5, M Lawson 4.

Warren East 60, South Warren 59, OT

Jacob Miller’s 3 in overtime proved to be the difference as the Raiders survived a shot at the buzzer to hold on for the win over the Spartans.

“I told the guys, to play a game like this the first game – it was tough on both ends,” Warren East coach Kyle Benge said. “I thought South Warren played really well. We made enough plays. This is the third year in a row the game came down to the last shot.”

Warren East (1-0) led 22-11 early in the second quarter, but South Warren was able to rally with 10 straight to cut the deficit to one. Warren East stopped the run with a basket by Dane Parsley and maintain a 29-25 advantage at halftime.

South Warren pulled even by the end of the third and opened a 48-44 lead after two layups from Jaxen Decker to open the fourth.

Three 3s in a 55-second span swung the momentum back to Warren East, which stretched the lead to 57-53 after a basket from Wyatt Gravil with under three minutes left.

South Warren scored the next four, tying the game on a drive to the basket by Thad Hall with 38 seconds remaining. The Raiders had a chance to win in regulation, but Kaleb Prince’s runner was off target – sending the game to overtime.

Miller opened overtime with a 3, which would prove to be the game-winning bucket.

A Brandon Perkins steal and layup cut the margin to one with 2:16 left. The Spartans got two looks in the paint in the final 20 seconds, but were unable to get the lead.

After Warren East missed two free throws, South Warren had one final shot with Perkins’ runner in the lane hitting the front of the rim as time expired.

“I am definitely proud of our boys’ effort,” South Warren coach Carlos Quarles said. “We faced some adversity, got back in the game and then we settled down and played the way we are capable of playing. We had a couple of layups that rolled out. They had a couple of layups that rolled in. You could take any possession and flip the game.”

Prince led Warren East with 18 points. Miller and Brenden Bratcher added 15 points each.

“Jacob Miller was huge for us tonight,” Benge said. “He had four or five big 3s for us. Prince hit some big shots there in the second half. I thought defensively we didn’t do a great job of switching. That is something we’ve got to work on. For this to be the first game, you are going to take away a lot of positives. I’m sure coach Q is saying the same thing.”

Decker led South Warren with 18 points, while Hall added 15 points. The Spartans were without several football players – including last year’s top post player Bruce Button – who just joined the team after South Warren’s football season ended on Friday.

“I really like my team a lot,” Quarles said. “I think we are going to be fine. We just have to execute down the stretch. We have to finish some shots.”

Both teams return to action on Friday, with Warren East playing at Muhlenberg County and South Warren playing at University Heights.

SWHS 11 14 19 13 2 – 59

WEHS 16 13 15 13 3 – 60

SW – Decker 18, Hall 15, Perkins 8, Shively 7, Jarvis 6, Rardin 5.

WE – Prince 16, Miller 15, Bratcher 15, Gravil 5, Sloan 4, Parsley 3, Hogue 2.

About Micheal Compton

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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