When it comes to defense, there’s not much the Warren Central Lady Vikes can’t do well.

Want to speed up the game and run? They have the guards and athletic forwards to match up. The Lady Vikes are averaging 10.3 steals per game.

Want to slow it down, play a half-court offense and pound it inside? Good luck. Junior center Amber Gaston — a player her coach affectionately calls “The Terminator” — is standing there with her 6-foot-3 frame and long arms eager to block any shot in her range.

Trying to work the ball around for an open shot? Better make it count. Gaston and those athletic forwards are keeping teams to one shot on most trips and averaging 16.1 defensive rebounds per game.

The dizzying array of defensive options have carried Warren Central to a 13-4 record so far and helped it win the JPS Tournament last week. It’s also the linchpin of the team’s hopes for a couple more tournament titles a month or so from now.

“Our team right now, when you have a big that’s your weapon,” Warren Central coach Jackie Glass said, referring to Gaston. “But we have a lot of little weapons and one big weapon. I feel we can go heads up with any team we play because I think I have a good team, a mature team, a little bit older team. We’ve come from undeveloped to developing, and hopefully by the end of the season we’ll be more developed. I’ll put my team against anybody on a good night.”

The Lady Vikes have shown they can compete with — and beat — anybody. They knocked off defending Class 6A champion Murrah (11-4) and Jim Hill (13-3) en route to the JPS Tournament title, and also have victories over capable teams from Brandon and Raymond.

Even in the losses, the Lady Vikes have made opponents work for it. No team has scored more than 53 against them. In the games they’ve won, no one has cracked 40. In all, they’re giving up an average of 35.8 points a game.

“Defense wins championships, and if you can play defense and hold your opponent down you can win. So I want to build on that,” Glass said.

Having Gaston in the middle helps. The junior has come into her own in the first half of the 2016-17 season, averaging 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. She blocked 10 shots in the JPS championship game against Jim Hill.

“She’s really learning how to block shots without fouling, and that’s been helping us,” Glass said. “She’s like the Terminator inside. You bring it in there and it’s probably not going to make it to the goal.”

Gaston is one of many strong defenders and rebounders on the Lady Vikes’ roster. Freshman forward Aniya Sanders leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per game, and Cocoa Fultz is right behind them at 4.2.

Six players are averaging at least two rebounds per game, and guards T.T. Sims, Te’Asia Sims and Kiara Lockhart are all getting at least two steals a night.

The offense is just as balanced, with six players averaging at least 4.0 points per game. The depth and balance might mean off nights in some categories of the stat sheet for each player, but they’ve generally seemed to pick it up in others.

It also means opposing teams can’t dial in on any one of them.

“We might not be a very tall team except for me, but we’ve got some pretty strong, big athletic girls. I give Aniya and Cocoa their props because they can get up. If I’m not doing it, they are,” Gaston said. “Our whole dynamic is great. If you focus in on me, we’ve got other players scoring. You’ve got to play hard when you’re playing us.”

The Lady Vikes have also gotten a boost with the return of point guard Te’Asia Sims. The sophomore briefly left the team because of disciplinary reasons, but returned just before Christmas and played a key role in the run to the JPS Tournament title.

“Adding Te’Asia to the roster has helped us right now because she’s a true point. Her coming back has helped when some of the other guards get tired, I can bring her in and she’s got the ability to get by people and get to the goal and make passes. That’s helped us a lot,” Glass said.

Now, with the whole group together and finding its groove, the Lady Vikes are ready to begin their run toward the state tournament. They’ll play a road game at Northwest Rankin (11-2) on Tuesday night before hosting crosstown rival Vicksburg on Saturday, and then the Division 4-6A schedule begins with a home game next Tuesday against Clinton.

Warren Central will host the division tournament in February.

“The district tournament is coming up. We should win that,” Gaston said. “And then after that is state. We can win a state championship. We can.”