Lady Warriors tune up for showdown with 94-point win

Dynasty Witherspoon fights to keep the ball inside against Volunteer State
Dynasty Witherspoon fights to keep the ball inside against Volunteer State

MT. CARMEL, Ill. -- The Wabash Valley Lady Warriors prepped for a mid-season showdown on the national stage with a resounding victory over Volunteer State on Wednesday night at Spencer Sports Center. 

The 133-39 win improves the 18th-ranked Lady Warriors to 14-1 on the season, three days ahead of Saturday's NJCAA Game of the Week dual against No. 17 Three Rivers, a game that will offer the sternest test yet of the Lady Warrior's 93-game home-court winning streak. 

The 1 p.m. game will be streamed live on ESPN+, a first-ever stream on the world-wide leader involving a WVC athletic team.  

Wabash Valley led 43-16 at the end of the first quarter, then somehow turned the heat up even more in the second period, outscoring the Pioneers 30-2 for a 73-18 lead at intermission. 

The Lady Warriors went over the 100-point mark, for the eighth time this season, before the end of the third quarter, and finished with a 94-point victory, their second-widest margin of the year. 

"There was great energy, a great effort," said WVC coach Luke Scheidecker after his team's first game in 17 days. "They played really hard. And that is all we can ask, that we do our jobs and execute. We did that."  

Perhaps nothing epitomized Lady Warrior ferocity better than the initial minutes of the second half, when, despite the margin, players were diving on the court on defense in four straight Pioneer possessions. 

"That just speaks to the culture that we have right now," Scheidecker said. "It does not matter what we are doing score-wise, we are going to play as hard as can be. 

"I think you would be hard pressed to find many teams that do that." 

WVC ended up with seven players in double figures, led by Shaulana Wagner's 19 points. Madison Roshelle added 18 points, Chanteese Craig 16, Zhordan Shannon 15, and Brooklyn Gray with 13. Jade Salters and Kuryn Brunson both finished with 10 points. 

Volunteer State (5-7) was paced by Armariee Toliver with 14 points. 

The game marked the debut of 6-foot-4 sophomore Dynasty Witherspoon, who prepped at North Central in Indianapolis, Ind. 

"She gave us a nice spark," Scheidecker said. "She can move, block shots. She can rebound and she can run the floor. Another weapon." 

The Lady Warriors will return Vol State's favor and play the Pioneers in Gallatin, Tenn. on Monday, Jan. 9 at 5:30 p.m. CST.