The Warner girls’ basketball team used a series of runs to pull away for a win on Tuesday night.
The Monarchs doubled up Aberdeen Christian 56-28 for a Lake Region Conference win at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.
Warner coach Tina Winter said it took a team effort to come away with the win.
“The girls came out and played hard and we got the win,” Winter said. “My starters went out, did what they were to do, and our bench performed exactly how they needed to perform, so it was good team win.”
Christian opened the contest with the first basket on a Sophia Fogarty lay-up. However, Warner responded, outscoring the Knights 19-6 during the remainder of the first quarter, using aggressive defense to build the lead.
Warner senior Kyra Marcuson said the team’s game plan was to focus early in the game.
“In the past, we’ve actually struggled in the first few minutes, so trying to make it a thing this year where we stay focused in the first few minutes and in the beginning of the halves,” Marcuson said.
Aberdeen Christian senior Chloe Holt said the Knights struggled with several things that Warner threw at them.
“Definitely their press and their aggressiveness,” Holt said. “They came out strong and we kind of struggled to get the ball across the court.”
After Warner scored the opening bucket of the second quarter, Aberdeen Christian attempted to climb back into the contest by scoring six points in a row. However, the Monarchs responded once again, scoring 11 points in a row and ending the half with a 32-16 advantage.
Knights coach Cristian Martinez gave credit to Warner being able to score in transition, allowing the Monarchs to pull away.
“They’re a fast team,” Martinez said. “They know how to pass the ball. They have really good control. That transition, I calculated, must’ve been the turning point.”
Martinez also said allowing Warner to have second-chance opportunities hurt the Knights.
“They were shooting threes and they were making some, but they were missing a lot,” Martinez said. “They got a rebound and a second chance, and we couldn’t stop it. We’ve got to be better in that situation.”
The Knights cut the deficit down to 37-24 mid-way through the third quarter, but the Monarchs closed the door on any attempt of a Christian comeback, finishing the quarter on an 11-0 run, and sealing a road win.
“I think we were just tired,” Holt said of the second half. “We need to get into better shape. I mean, it will come with time.”
Marcuson said the Monarchs realized they needed to make another run when they saw the momentum begin to swing towards the Knights.
“I think we realized what the score was; we realized they were getting back,” Marcuson said. “So, then we picked it up a little bit more and tried to get going again.”
Winter said her team refocused and finished the game how they expected to.
“I’m glad they were able to refocus and get it back at the end a little bit after a little bit of a sloppy few minutes,” Winter said. “They ended on a high note.”
Marcuson, who finished with a game-high 18 points, had four 3-pointers, and noted that seeing her shots fall makes the effort worthwhile.
“It’s great because I like shooting,” Marcuson said. “To see them go in just makes me happy. I practice and practice and they don’t go in, and then they finally do.”
Holt led the Knights with 10 points. She said the team will look to regroup before Thursday’s contest at Leola-Frederick.
“(We’ll) work hard at practice, prepare, (and) watch some film,” Holt said.
Martinez said the team will look to make corrections before facing the Titans.
“We’re going to go through what happened tonight,” Martinez said. “We’re going to go back to getting better in practicing defense and stuff like that.”
Winter said her team will need to work on fixing a major component before Saturday’s game at Potter County.
“We have to work on our layups,” Winter said.
WARNER (2-0): Kyra Marcuson 6 2-4 18, Ava Nilsson 3 3-4 9, Kyleigh Schopp 3 1-2 7, Sophia Hoeft 2 0-0 5, Lauren Marcuson 3 0-0 6, Stacia Carda 3 3-4 9, Morgan Haselhorst 0 0-2 0, MaKenna Leidholt 1 0-2 2. Totals 21 9-18 56.
ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (0-1): Sophia Fogarty 1 2-4 4, Sophia Eichler 1 0-1 2, Chloe Holt 3 3-5 10, Chloe Bosma 3 1-3 7, Payton Skarin 1 2-2 5. Totals 9 8-15 28.
Warner 19 32 48 56
Aberdeen Christian 8 16 24 28
3-point field goals – K. Marcuson (4), Hoeft; Holt, Skarin. Total fouls – Warner 12; Aberdeen Christian 13.
