The SCW girls were handed their first loss of the season Saturday at the Hanson Classic in Mitchell.
The No. 2 rated Warner Monarchs took the early lead and never gave it up in the toughest battle the Hawks have seen this year.
The No. 3 rated Hawks kept up with the Monarchs for most of the first quarter but went into the second down 9-13. Warner came out in the second shooting three’s and playing “D,” widening their lead to 12 points.
SCW started a comeback, but were hurt when Shelby Selland took her third foul and had to sit the last five minutes of the half. The Blackhawks went into the halftime down 16-27.
Warner came out of the locker room with another quick three-pointer to take their biggest lead of the day at 30-18.
SCW worked their way back into the game and were able to end the third quarter with just a two-point deficit, 33-35. But when Shelby Selland was benched again after her fourth foul, Warner went on a 15-7 run to seal up the win in the final quarter.
Shelby Selland ended up with a team high of 15 points, followed by Marissa Weber with nine.
SCW shot 16-of-44 from the field and 3-of-7 from the line. They committed 18 turnovers. The Blackhawks grabbed 27 rebounds to the Monarchs’ 37.
The defending state champion Monarchs were led by Miranda Ristau with 17 points and eight rebounds and Ashley Rozell with 14 points and four assists.
Warner shot 16-of-47 from the field and 13-of-20 from the free throw line and turned the ball over 16 times.
Warner improved to 7-2 on the season, while SCW fell to 7-1 heading into Monday night’s 281 semi-final game.