Rural America shined through last Thursday night when the Warsaw Ladycats traveled just south to Hermitage to take on the Lady Hornets, but the hosts made the evening about more than just a basketball game, also opting to rally around Ladycats head coach Matt Henderson, his team, family and daughter, Lovely, who continues to fight an uphill medical battle.
Before tip-off, all players gathered in a prayer circle at halfcourt and were joined by an attentive crowd.
The game itself got off to a slow start as both teams mustered to get their offenses going. The score was tied at 9-9 at the end of the first, but Warsaw finally started finding their groove in the second quarter when a couple of key shots by Keira Mostaffa fell, Mady Reimund drilled a jumper, Grace Drake got a put back and Hailey Ferguson nailed a 3-point shot at the buzzer to give the Ladycats a 23-18 lead at the half.
During an extended halftime, a live bake auction was held as many hands flew with bids in hopes of assisting the Henderson's.
Upon their return from the locker rooms, Warsaw used a big third quarter, many thanks to the hot hand of Jenna Gerken, who netted 10 of her season-high 12 points. Rachel Henderson knocked down four free throws as well to extend the Warsaw lead to 40-26 at the end of three.
A 10-6 advantage for the Ladycats in the third led them to the 50-32 victory, their sixth of the year, tying their win total from a season ago.
Mostaffa led Warsaw (6-9) with 16 points. Gerken was the only other Ladycat in double digits with 12.
Following the varsity contest, a silent auction and bake sale continued while many other items were whisked into the gymnasium for live acution.
A grand total of over $2,700 was raised for the Henderson family on the night.
Perhaps the highlight of the evening was an appearance by Lovely herself who got on the microphone to say, "thank you very much".
WARSAW (50): A. Konopasek, 2; K. Mostaffa, 16; H. Ferguson, 4; J. Bilderback, 3; B. Schwartz, 0; R. Henderson, 5; M. Reimund, 2; S. Miller, 2; M. Slavens, 2; G. Drake, 2; A. Smith, 0; A. Yoder, 0; J. Gerken, 12.
HERMITAGE (32): Simmons, 0; Crawford, 3; G. Artie, 8; Friedman, 0; Sabala, 5; Hannah, 0; M. Artie, 16; Heigel, 0; Clemmer, 0.
Over their Christmas break, the Ladycats also played three tilts at the Doug Loehr Holiday Classic in Weaubleau where they opened up the event with a devastating 54-49 loss to Crocker.
Warsaw led 44-33 with 7 minutes left in the game, but crumbled down the stretch, and were outscored 21-5 through the rest of the contest to absorb the tough loss.
In the second round of the tournament, the Ladycats bounced back in a big way, picking up their most convincing win of the season in a 44-11 thrashing of Conway.
Warsaw fell to Osceola in the consolation final by a score of 52-45.
