INA, ILL. – It was anything but easy.
The 13th-ranked Lady Warriors got off to a sluggish start, and never did hit full stride on Monday night at Rend Lake. But, they still had enough offense to post a 78-57 Great Rivers Athletic Conference victory.
It was the third-lowest scoring output of the season for the 26-2 Lady Warriors (17-0 in the GRAC).
"We were a little bit out of rhythm tonight, and I'm glad that we pulled (a win) off," WVC coach Lacey Shalenko said.
The Lady Warriors entered as both the nation's top scoring and top shooting team, but both those season averages suffered as they could only manage an 18-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Rend Lake (16-13, 12-5) continued to make life tough for the visitors the rest of the night. It was only a 15-point game at halftime, with WVC ahead at the break, 38-23.
Shalenko said it was a good test for her club, heading into post-season play next week.
"I was glad that happened," she said. "We need to play in those close games, and have to make plays and play through stuff."
Keya Patton led the way with 24 points. K.K. White added 15, Jazmyn Turner 14 and Mo Pruitt 10 for Wabash Valley, which finishes the regular-season on Wednesday at Southeastern. That will be the first of back-to-back games against the Falcons, because No. 1 seed WVC will see them again in a first-round District game on Tuesday, March 3 in Mt. Carmel.
Rend Lake was led by Dais' JA Trotter, who scored 24 points, almost twice her scoring average of 12.7ppg. Madison Buford added 16.
The NJCAA released its' final Division I poll of the season earlier on Monday, and the Lady Warriors moved up one spot to 13th in the listing.