By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
BLUE EYE — After going scoreless in Glendale’s semifinal win Thursday, Ari Warren exploded for 18 points in the Lady Falcons’ 53-31 win Friday in the Blue Eye Invitational championship game.
Glendale enjoyed a 22-point margin of victory against runner-up Berryville, Arkansas, while repeating as Blue Eye Invite champions.
“I was hoping to bounce back for the championship game and get some shots in,” Warren said. “I felt hot, like I was going to make my 3s. I was in the zone.”
Warren actually didn’t get off to a good start in the title tilt. She was saddled with two fouls in the first quarter and sat on Glendale’s bench for about five minutes, before re-entering.
Once Warren was back on the floor, her fortunes and the game completely changed. The freshman guard netted a trio of 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the second quarter.
“I was kind of down. I was thinking, ‘This is a terrible first quarter,’” Warren said. “(The time on the bench) made me think about what I could go out and do. I was ready to come back in and felt more confident.”
Glendale coach Matt Powell was thrilled to see Warren break from her slump. She entered the final shooting 25 percent from 3-point land.
“We’ve been waiting,” Powell said. “I don’t want to sound like we’ve been disappointed in her. But we know what she’s capable of and she got it going tonight. We’ve seen it in practice. When she gets going, throw her the ball.”
“Good for Ari,” he added. “I’m proud of her to do that in championship game as a freshman.”
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Warren certainly feels settled in on the varsity level now.
“I was kind of nervous, not knowing how much I should shoot the ball,” Warren said her early struggles. “My confidence is definitely up now.”
Warren is part a freshman class Powell has high hopes for.
“We love our whole freshman class,” he said. “We go nine-deep in our freshman class. It’s a bright future.”
Warren triggered a 15-4 Glendale run to close the first half. A 17-15 Lady Falcons lead turned into a 32-19 halftime advantage.
Glendale promptly all but put the game away by scoring the first 10 points of the third quarter to go up 42-19. Another Warren 3-pointer was part of that run.
The Lady Falcons (5-0) scored 53 points, after having only 38 in the semifinal round against Sparta.
“After scoring 38 against Sparta, I told the girls they were due for a big one tonight,” Powell said. “They proved me right.”
Avery Givens added 11 points and Megan Wade contributed 10 for the winners.
Glendale’s zone defense hasn’t allowed anyone to score more than 36 points.
Last year, the Lady Falcons held Berryville to 28 points.
“We had a lot of length last year and this year we’ve got a lot of speed,” Powell said. “The young ones have picked things up quickly and Avery and Mattie (Zingg) do a good job communicating and helping at the bottom of our zone.
“I’m proud of the way everyone played,” he added. “Everybody has their own role and is happy with it. They’re all bought in and are having a good time. It’s fun to watch.”
Berryville received 10 points from Kaylyn Smith. The Lady Bobcats did not score a point from the free-throw line, going 0-for-4 on their charity tosses.
Glendale has all of next week off, before making its home debut against Joplin Dec. 12.
“We’ll get to tweak a few things, watch some film and give them an extra day off,” Powell said of the idle week. “We’ve got to get back to work and keep getting better.”
