Mt. Carmel, Ill. – It did not take long for the Wabash Valley College women's basketball team to start looking like its' old self on Wednesday night.
The Warriors jumped on Danville Area with a full-court press, then used the extra possessions generated to hit their first three 3-point field goal attempts. It was 13-3 just like that and WVC (2-1) went on from there to post a 91-53 non-conference victory in the home opener.
That firebrand style, a staple of Warrior teams, had been lacking in the first two games of this season, which they split. Coach Luke Scheidecker attributed that to the youth of his team - a team which is now just starting to find itself.
"We've got a really young group this year," said Scheidecker, back at the helm after serving as an assistant at Indiana State for the last two years. "We have 11 freshman and only three sophomores, so it's taking time to figure things out. Their first college game is hard. Playing on the road is hard.
"We have a lot of growing up to do. That's just part of being a young team."
So, it is not as if the Warriors have proven they are back as much as "we never left," according to freshman guard Kiki Carney, who was in the starting lineup for the first time on Wednesday.
The Warriors built the lead to 31-16 at the end of the first period, then maintained that 15-point margin through the second frame, leading 47-32 at halftime.
After stretching the advantage to 22 points, 47-35, and the end of the third period, Wabash Valley finished strong against the Jaguars, outscoring the visitors 22-8 over the final 10 minutes to account for the 38-point victory.
Danville fell to 0-2 with the loss. They lost at Kaskaskia, 82-73, on Saturday.
Je'Naiyah Davis paced the WVC attack with 25 points, highlighted by five of the team's six 3-pointers. Two others finished in double figures: Deja Davis (there are three Davis's on the roster, all unrelated) added 16 points, and Jazmyn Turner with 14.
The Jaguars were led by Alexus Mobley with 18 points.
Great Rivers Athletic Conference play begins on Saturday when the four-time defending league champion Warriors host Lake Land in a 1:00 p.m. game at Spencer Sports Center. WVC will carry a 70-game league winning streak into the fray.
As for those who look at scores and have deduced that the Warriors may be more vulnerable than in the recent past, sophomore Je'Naiya Davis believes the narrative is about to change.
"If we keep playing like we played today, it will send a message out," she said.
It may not be the one opponents want to hear.