Loyola turns the table on Warren

Wednesday at Warren, the season-opening girls basketball game for both teams was a lopsided one.

Only this time, it was the Blue Devils who faced a huge deficit.

"We've played teams with a lot of inexperience and now we're inexperienced," Warren coach John Stanczykiewicz said. "The coin flips."

Loyola Academy raced to an 18-1 lead after one quarter on its way to a 47-29 victory in an opening game of the New Trier Thanksgiving Tournament. Next up for Warren is defending state champion Marshall at noon Saturday.

"I'm excited that we'll get to practice and watch video and see how much better we'll be Saturday," Stanczykiewicz said.

For the first time since she made the varsity as a freshman, senior point guard Joree Green did not have center Sarah Boothe (Stanford) as a teammate. Without Boothe, nothing came easily for Warren. The Blue Devils had to fight for every point and rebound.

"It was weird not having Sarah to pass the ball to," said Green, who is excited about the potential of the younger players. "I think back to how nervous I was as a freshman and I thought they played good for their first game."

Warren started three freshmen, including 6-foot-2 center Jessica Prince, and a far more experienced Loyola Academy took advantage in the first quarter. The Ramblers scored the game's first 16 points and led 20-1 early in the second quarter. Warren's first field goal of the game did not come until a 3-poiner by junior Megan Kilroy with 6:24 left in the half.

After that basket, Morgan Garrett, a 6-foot sophomore, began to establish herself. She scored 7 of her team-high 13 points in the second quarter.

"I was kind of nervous, but I settled down after the first quarter," Garrett said.

Garrett demonstrated the ability to catch the ball in transition and finish strong.

"She's comfortable on the offensive end," Stanczykiewicz said. "She can run the court and take advantage of her athleticism."

Garrett (13 points), Green (8), Kilroy (6) and sophomore Amanda Reed (2) accounted for all of Warren's points.

Loyola Academy's Katherine Wheeler and Meghan Holy each scored 10 points. The Ramblers used sharp passing to hit five 3-pointers.

In the second half, Warren settled down some on offense and its pressure defense took the Ramblers out of their comfort zone.

"They put us in some situations we didn't want to be in," Loyla coach Jeremy Schoenecker said. "I like the way they battled back."

Warren will try to build on the way it improved as the game progressed.

"We challenged them at halftime and some of them (responded)," Stanczykiewicz said. "This is a proud group that will compete."