Warren Central’s Lady Vikes started thinking turkey and dressing a little too early Tuesday night.

The Lady Vikes built a 19-point lead at 52-33 when coach Donny Fuller pulled all-everything forward Sha’Kayla Caples out with 3 minutes, 57 seconds left.

In a little more than two minutes, Crystal Springs trimmed the lead to nine.

Caples, who had exited after registering 23 points and 16 rebounds, stabilized things enough for WC (6-1) to win 54-48.

&#8220We got a lead, I made some subs, we relaxed and they made a run,” Fuller said of the Lady Vikes’ fourth quarter. &#8220The starters I put back in were already mentally out of the game.”

After turning the ball over nine times in the opening period, the Lady Vikes had just one in the second quarter and used the possessions wisely to build a 29-22 halftime lead.

Caples was huge, getting 11 points and seven rebounds in the period. She continued to pound the offensive boards in the third quarter, extending WC’s lead out to 14 points at 40-26.

The Lady Vikes then opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to turn the game into an apparent rout at 50-32.

The Lady Tigers, however, chugged along, taking advantage of some more sloppy play by the Lady Vikes who had seven more turnovers in the fourth to give them 23 for the game.

Latasha Nichols scored eight of her 15 points to spark the Lady Tigers’ run. Her basket off a steal brought Caples back in.

Rokeiya Adams converted another steal into a basket to make a seven point game with 50 seconds left. WC’s Kaci Harris stopped the spurt with a made free throw with 30 seconds remaining to put WC up 54-46.

&#8220We weren’t hitting our shots earlier in the game,” said Crystal Springs coach Danielle Busby. &#8220… But we were up against a ranked 5A club and could’ve had a shot if we block out better. We didn’t block (Caples) out.”