Mt. Carmel, Ill. – Wabash Valley's defense was on full display Wednesday night.
The Warriors closed the first half on a 16-2 run, then added to it over the final two periods for a convincing 81-53 Great Rivers Athletic Conference win over Rend Lake at Spencer Sports Center.
"I am really proud of the effort," said Warrior coach Luke Scheidecker. "We locked in defensively tonight and had a great effort."
WVC (8-2, 6-0 in GRAC) used the spurt to turn a scant 27-25 lead into a bulging halftime advantage of 43-27. The margin in the second half grew to as much as 31 points.
Defense is "embedded in our minds, to take pride in our defense," said guard D'Nae Wilson. "Over the year, we've gotten better at it."
Much of the defensive presence was aimed at Rend Lake's Dais'Ja Trotter, who began the night with the nation's top scoring average of 29 points per game. She finished with only one field goal and five points on the game.
"I don't know if she had a good look all night," Scheidecker said. "That was the game plan."
It was no small task, either, against a Rend Lake (2-1, 2-1 in GRAC) squad which returned four starters from last year's district finalist team.
The Warrior's defensive mindset has changed dramatically since a 98-89 loss at Illinois Central on Feb. 3.
"We've grown since then," said sophomore playmaker guard Je'Naiya Davis. "We've learned we have to follow the (scouting report), be disciplined, not reach, and talk on defense. Ever since that game we have been way better."
Davis led the way on offense, finishing game-high with 25 points, the bulk of those (19) coming in the first half.
The game was tied at 15-15 at the end of the first quarter, bolstered by Rend Lake's three field goals from beyond the arc line.
"They shot well, and we couldn't finish. Nothing was falling for us," Scheidecker said of the first 10 minutes. "I knew if we stayed the course on defense, shots would start falling. In the second quarter, they started falling and we started doing what we do."
Three other Warrior starters contributed double figures as well: Jazmyn Turner (14 points), Deja Davis (12) and Kiki Carney (10). Including the aforementioned Ie'Naiya Davis, Cierra William's total of eight points left the winners just two points shy of a rarity – an entire starting lineup in double digits.
Niya Danfort led Rend Lake with 18 points.
WVC, ranked 19th in this week's NJCAA poll, is now the lone unbeaten in GRAC play. The Warriors will take their 76-game league winning streak to Lincoln Trail (3-5, 1-3) for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.