If Cannon County was making a checklist of things to bring for its road game in Warren County on Tuesday night, the Lady Lions forgot one thing.
It was their offense.
The Lady Pioneers held Cannon County without a field goal in the opening quarter and never let the Lady Lions within striking distance in the second half during a convincing 40-28 win in their home opener at Charlie Dalton Gym.
Elsa Eckenrod and Marlee Smith led Warren County with 10 points each.
The win evens the Lady Pioneers record at 2-2 heading into a Thanksgiving Classic this Friday and Saturday in Woodbury.
Warren County jumped out to an early 10-4 lead at the end of the first quarter as Cannon County didn't make a shot from the floor. The Lady Lions scored all their points on four Kellie Davis free throws.
If Cannon County was hoping to shake off the rust in the second quarter, Warren County's defense made sure that didn't happen. Lady Pioneer freshman Megan Patch nailed a 3-pointer and Warren County was up 18-10 at the half.
It didn't take long for Warren County to build a 21-10 lead when Kristen Rowland hit a 3-pointer. The lead would stay around double digits the rest of the game.
Eckenrod made a nice interior pass to Smith and she went strong to the rim to draw a foul and head to the line. She made both and finished 6-of-9 in her free-throw shooting for the game.
Patch made her presence felt again with a layup in transition and Warren County showed it wasn't about to wilt with a 28-16 lead.
Cannon County made two foul shots then capitalized on a steal near midcourt to cut the lead to 28-20 near the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, another Warren County freshman stepped up when post Tyra Wright became aggressive inside. Wright was fouled twice in the lane and made 2-of-4 free throws. On the next trip down court, she pinned her defender inside and had a point-blank look at the basket for a layup, 34-25.
Smith and Eckenrod hit just enough foul shots down the stretch to keep Cannon County at arm's length away. When Smith scored a layup off a set inbounds play with 2:03 left it gave the Lady Pioneers a 39-27 lead and put the game on ice.
Cannon County fouled to extend the game, but the Lady Lions only managed to score one point in the final two minutes so no come-from-behind win was in order.
Warren County -- Elsa Eckenrod 10, Marlee Smith 10, Saydee Winfree 5, Megan Patch 5, Tyra Wright 4, Allison Hitchcock 3, Kristen Rowland 3
Cannon County -- Kellie Davis 11, Tori Knox 5, Samantha Gaither 5, Maleah Scott 3, Addie Hale 3, Haylee Mooneyham 1