When South Warren played District 14 rival Bowling Green on the road back on Jan. 9, the Spartans had to fiercely battle to record a 63-58 victory.
That certainly was not the case when the two sides squared off once again at Spartan Gym on Tuesday night.
South Warren coasted out to a comfortable 33-20 halftime lead, and the Spartans opened up the second half firing on all cylinders to romp to a 69-30 victory over the Lady Purples on Tuesday night to clinch the top seed for the 14th District tournament.
“I thought the girls came out with a little different level of intensity,” South Warren coach Blane Embry said. “I think they were a little embarrassed of how we played the last time over at Bowling Green’s court.”
“Bowling Green has always been a target for us,” senior Sarah Dennison said. “The first year I was here we couldn’t even compete with them, and as the years have transitioned we’ve not only been a dominating factor to them but that we can compete with them and we do deserve that number one seed in districts.”
South Warren (22-3, 6-0 District 14) led by 13 at halftime before blowing the game wide open with a 10-0 run in the first two minutes of the second half. The Spartans nailed six out of their eight 3-pointers on the night in the second half while limiting Bowling Green to just 10 points in the final 16 minutes.
“We weren’t great offensively in the first half,” Embry said. “We didn’t hit our spots very well. Missed some really, really easy shots early, but our defense kept us there and we weren’t able to get on any big runs.”
Dennison led South Warren by recording a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and she also connected on four-of-four shots from long range.
“For me to contribute against the best team in the district besides us is always a good feeling because it shows what type of player I can be, who I can compete against and what I can do with my future,” Dennison said.
Amaya Lasley added 15 for the Spartans in the win—including nine in the first quarter. Jordan McDonald and Brooke Stevenson poured in seven and eight points, respectively, for South Warren.
Keely Morrow topped all Lady Purple scorers with 12 points while T”Alla Brown had 10.
Bowling Green (13-9, 5-2) will look to bounce back on Thursday night when the Lady Purples host the Hancock County Lady Hornets out of Region Three.
Meanwhile South Warren will travel to “The Swamp” on Friday night to take on Greenwood in a girl-boy doubleheader.
