Warriors not discouraged after loss

It was a tough task that the WACO girls? basketball team was faced with Tuesday night.

Despite not coming out with the victory over the Class 3A ranked Mediapolis Bulletes, there were many positives that WACO head coach Shannon Rugg came out with.

?Hopefully we got better in some areas,? Rugg said. ?We did some good things tonight and we took the ball to the hole better than we had all year. It didn?t always go in for us, but we got some shots and got some fouls called on them. When we are aggressive, we are a much better basketball team. This is the eighth time this senior class has played (Mediapolis) and it?s the first time we weren?t down 20-0 like two minutes in.?

Mediapolis is currently ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, but that is likely to change when the new rankings are released later this week, as the No. 1 team, Pocahontas Area, lost last Friday.

The Bullettes (11-0) defeated the Class 1A Warriors (7-5) 75-40 on Tuesday night.

The Warriors had strong play from the inside, with Aaliyah Brown leading the team with 14 points and seven rebounds in the contest, while fellow WACO post player Erika Leichty picked up 11 points and six rebounds.

?(Erika and Aaliyah) have been playing really well all year for us,? Rugg said. ?Our top six have been solid all year, and Mediapolis has a legitimate shot at winning state. I thought we were really aggressive and we weren?t worried about the score. We went out and played hard and wanted to be aggressive.?

The Bulletes took charge in the entire first half, taking a 41-16 lead into halftime, but in the second half, WACO found a groove.

In the second half, the Warriors posted their best offensive numbers of the game, scoring 14 points, and best defensive numbers, holding Mediapolis to 16 points.

?We are just going to go out and keep trying to get better,? Rugg said. ?We want to do some things a bit better, because we gave up 75, and to Mediapolis, they do that to a lot of teams. We want to get better each game and make a little run.?

The Warriors have fallen in their last three conference games, including losses to Columbus and Pekin, but they aren?t getting down on themselves, knowing they have time to right the ship before tournament time begins.

?I think (they are optimistic),? Rugg said. ?We are coming up to tournament time against 1A teams and we have a group that has been through it for four years now. We are going to have more experience than anyone we play, so it?s a matter of executing and keeping our composure.?

WACO will take on Iowa Mennonite on Friday night.