Warren won going away in a 71-40 rout of Sheridan in last Saturday's Division II sectional final at Alexander.
The competition naturally figures to be more challenging when the No. 2-seeded Lady Warriors (16-5) play Unioto in a girls' basketball district semi at 8 p.m. today at Southeastern.
A week ago, the Jeff Miller-coached Lady Shermans also enjoyed a lopsided sectional championship tilt in a 56-22 triumph over Waverly at Adena in Frankfort.
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KEVIN PIERSON The Marietta Times
Warren's Mackenzie Ullman, back, looks to make a pass to a teammate as Sheridan's Katlyn Powers (14) defends during the first quarter of a girls' sectional final basketball game at Alexander High School last Saturday afternoon. Warren won 71-40. The Lady Warriors are now scheduled to face Unioto in a district semi at Southeastern tonight.
"We've scouted Unioto twice now, and they're a good, scrappy team," said Warren head coach Amy Colgrove, who in her first year at the helm has guided the royal blue and white cagers to both a Southeastern Ohio Athletic League (SEOAL) and sectional crown.
"They're just solid all the way around," continued Colgrove.
Much like the Lady Warriors.
In fact, Warren and Unioto kind of mirror each other in style of play on offense and defense.
"They like to push the ball, and attack the basket," said Colgrove of the Lady Shermans. "They like to penetrate."
Warren also prefers an uptempo pace.
"They play an aggressive, in-your-face defense," Colgrove added.
Just like the Lady Warriors.
After the opening period in the sectional final, Warren put the clamps on Sheridan, and limited the Lady Generals to three single-digit quarters. Sheridan was 14 of 43 from the floor, and 0-for-8 from behind the arc.
Where Warren and Unioto might differ a little bit is in bench play. The Lady Warriors are very deep, Colgrove said.
"I like to play nine-10 girls in the rotation," the Warren boss said.
Colgrove is very much a proponent of "it's not who starts the game but who finishes it."
Against Sheridan, non-starter Kasey White was the spark, scoring a game-high 23 points. In the third quarter alone, the 5-foot-9 senior forward had 14 counters.
"Kasey is very athletic, and has all the talent in the world," Colgrove said.
Overall, the Warren subs - which also included Mackenzie Brooks, Mackenzie Ullman, Josie Riffle, and Victoria Buzzard - outpointed Sheridan's reserves, 37-13.
Against Unioto, Warren's probable starters will be Allie Grace Proctor, Amy Fleming, Emma Ryan, Kendra Lynch, and Jordanna Rauch, who added 12 points in the win against Sheridan.
This season, Warren has had six different Warriors, including two subs (White and Brooks) tally 20-plus points in a game. So, Unioto will not be able to focus its defense on any one Lady Warrior cager.
Unioto also has several weapons at its disposal.
In the sectional tilt, 10 different Lady Sherman players scored. Alexis Overly led the way with 14 markers, and defensive standout Tori Cox had 10 counters, nine rebounds and four blocks.
Hannah Miller chipped in with nine points and grabbed seven boards, and Mallory Rutherford drained three triples. "They're a pretty balanced team," Colgrove said, "and it should be a fun game."
Waterford vs. Portsmouth Clay
As Brooke Drayer and Emily Brown go, so goes Waterford.
The Lady Wildcat duo combined for 37 points in a 62-43 triumph over Belpre in last Saturday's Ohio Division IV Southeast sectional final at Meigs High.
Drayer led all scorers with 23 marks and Brown added 14. With that win, top-seeded and Jerry Close-coached Waterford (19-3) will now tip off against Portsmouth Clay (17-5) in a district semi at Jackson High at high noon Saturday.
No. 2 and Kevin Castle-led Clay advanced with a 51-35 win over No. 6 East, also last Saturday. The Lady Panthers were paced by Shannon Curley, who was the only double-digit scorer in the contest with 13 points.
Fort Frye vs. Union Local
Fort Frye's girls are back at Cambridge High's Geno Ford Gymnasium where it is scheduled to face Union Local in an Ohio Division III co-sectional final at 7 p.m. Friday.
At stake will be a berth in the district tournament in Steubenville.
The top-seeded and Dan Liedtke-coached Lady Cadets, who are No. 6-ranked in Ohio DIII, advanced with a convincing 58-31 trouncing of St. Clairsville this past Saturday.
Morgan Liedtke, the head man's daughter, led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds. Deidra Combs chipped in with 13 markers and seven caroms, while Taylor Buchanan and Sammi Hanson netted nine and eight counters, respectively.
The third-seeded and Drew Greenwood-coached Lady Jets got to the showdown game by beating No. 6 Steubenville Central Catholic (4-17) 62-21, also in Cambridge last Saturday.
Alexus Davis tallied a game-high 16 points, and Kayla Doty added 15 markers and eight rebounds. Cori Medley chipped in with 12 counters and Dallas Montag finished with eight.
Marietta vs. Greenfield McClain
Marietta High received a scare but recovered in the fourth quarter to earn a hard-fought 63-61 come-from-behind win over Vinton County in a sectional final at Alexander this past Saturday.
Now, top-seeded and Scott Cozzens-coached Marietta (17-4) will give Greenfield McClain (15-6) its undivided attention in a Division II Southeast District semi at noon this Saturday at Southeastern High.
Only one thing is certain about this contest, and that's the Lady Tigers will win.
Turns out both schools have the same moniker.
Thanks to the one-two punch of Erica Dawson and Amanda Brown, Marietta is advancing. The dynamic duo combined for 51 of their team's points vs. Vinton.
Leading the way, the 5-foot-9 Dawson had a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 14 steals. The 5-6 Brown added 23 markers - all in the first three quarters of play - and 12 boards.
As a team, Marietta converted 24 of 36 freebies. All of Lain Weppler's eight points came from the line.
Dennis Overstake-led McClain got to the district tournament by defeating Logan Elm (15-7), 41-29, in a sectional championship game at Adena High this past Saturday.
Jenna Rooks had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds to pace the winners. Sammy Rooks added 10 markers, and Shania Massie netted nine.
McClain's defense was particularly effective as it limited Logan Elm to just eight field goals (eight of 44) in the contest.
Some other McClain players to keep an eye on will be Brittany Mullikin, Tara Karnes, and Taylor Faulconer.
Offensively, McClain shot 13-of-34 for 38 percent from the floor, and was 14 of 27 from the foul line.
McClain only had 10 turnovers in the sectional contest. It'll be interesting to see how it handles Marietta's press.
