ELIZABETH - Preseason Class A No. 3 St. Marys never trailed here Friday night as the Blue Devil girls basketball team of head coach Howard Meeks doubled up host Wirt County, 76-38, in the season opener for the Pleasants County program.
The Tigers, now 0-2 with a road trip next Friday to Clay County, had no answer for the "Twin Towers" duo of St. Marys posts Audra Clark and Kendra Walker. Clark bucketed a game-high 20 points, which included hitting 12 of 16 from the foul line, while Walker tossed in 15 points, grabbed eight boards, had eight steals and a pair of blocks.
Clark's foul shot just 23 ticks into the tilt put the Blue Devils ahead for good and it was 7-0 after Walker, Mikaela Britton (10 points) and Shanley Glover dropped in deuces. Wirt County managed to make it a 13-8 affair with 3:25 left in the opening stanza when Liz Adams, who led the orange and black with 16 points, scored on a lay-in from a Katie Leadmon assist.
Article Photos
Photo by Jay W. Bennett
Mikaela Britton of St. Marys pressures Wirt County’s Amanda Clark during the Blue Devils’ 76-38 road win Friday night in Elizabeth.
However, the Blue Devils scored the next nine points and that included a steal and a layup by Rachel Miller, who finished with five points and seven thefts. A putback basket by Adams made it 22-10 heading into the second quarter, but turnovers plagued the hosts all night. The Tigers finished with 43 turnovers and had double digits in every quarter except the first when they had nine.
A 6-0 spurt early in the second quarter by the Tigers that featured a Kayla Kinney hoop and two more field goals from Adams made it 24-16 at the 5:31 mark, but the hosts never got any closer. Despite going a span of 7:14 without a field goal, St. Marys was able to extend its advantage to 34-18 by hitting 10 of 15 foul shots.
A three-point play by Britton made it 37-19 with 32 seconds left before intermission. It was 39-21 at the break after Blue Devil Dani Moore and Tiger Taylor Watson, who had seven points and as many caroms, traded baskets in the waning seconds.
Fact Box
St. Marys 76, Wirt County 38
St. Marys 22 17 17 20 - 76
Wirt County 10 11 6 11 - 38
ST. MARYS (1-0)
Mikaela Britton 4 1-1 10, Dani Moore 6 3-4 16, Shanley Glover 2 0-2 5, Kendra Walker 7 1-2 15, Audra Clark 4 12-16 20, Rachel Miller 2 1-2 5, Ashley Hall 1 2-2 4, Abbi Fetty 0 1-2 1, Sarah Fetty 0 0-0 0, Haley Everett 0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 26 21-31 76; 3-point goals: 26 21-31 76; 3-point goals: Britton, Moore, Glover 1
WIRT COUNTY (0-2)
Stone Cheuvront 0 0-0 0, Amanda Clark 2 0-2 4, Kayla Kinney 2 1-3 5, Katie Leadmon 1 0-0 2, Liz Adams 6 4-6 16, Tiffany Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Megan Burns 1 0-0 2, Ashley Moore 1 0-0 2, Gwynn Smith 0 0-0 0, Taylor Watson 3 1-4 7, Mady Hardbarger 0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 16 6-15 38; 3-point goals: None
Shooting: SM 26-69 (37.7%), WC 16-41 (39%); 3-pointers: SM 3-8, WC 0-2; Rebounds: SM 39 (Walker 8, Moore 6), WC 37 (Clark 8, Watson, Adams 7); Assists: SM 17 (Moore, Glover 5), WC 12 (Clark 4, Leadmon 3); Steals: SM 33 (Walker 8, Miller 7, Moore 6), WC 12 (Cheuvront, Leadmon 3); Blocks: SM 4 (Walker 2), WC 3 (Clark 2); Turnovers: SM 15, WC 43
JV score: St. Marys 76, Wirt County 19
JV scoring: St. Marys - Britton 18, Tari Ashworth 11, Kendra Becker 2, Hall 21, Laura Taylor 6, Katie Billeter 6, MaKenzie Wilson 4, Mykaela Handschumacher 8; Wirt - Smith 4, Hardbarger 5, Allie Bailey 6, Laura Evans 2, Breanna Moss 2
Next games: St. Marys at Tyler Consolidated on Thursday; Wirt County at Clay County on Friday.
Paden City 58, Valley Wetzel 47
Valley Wetzel 5 13 14 15 - 47
Paden City 8 23 14 13 - 58
VALLEY WETZEL (0-2)
Megan Bucher 1 1-3 3, Samantha Thomas 2 1-4 7, Brittany Sibert 3 4-7 10, Corissa Headley 4 0-2 8, Alisha Carter 3 0-0 6, Sarah Bassett 5 2-5 12, Madison Arnold 0 1-2 1; TOTALS: 18 9-23 47
PADEN CITY (1-1)
Lynnsie Parsons 4 0-2 8, Myah Charkawi 3 3-3 9, Logan Cosper 9 0-2 22, Hannah Stanley 1 1-2 3, Kelsey Loy 0 1-2 1, Taylor Cosper 3 0-0 6, Lynah Stanley 1 0-0 2, Cydney Blatt 2 3-3 7; TOTALS: 22 8-14 58; 3-point goals: Logan Cosper 4
Rebounds: PC 39 (Blatt, Charkawi 10); Assists: PC 9 (T. Cosper 5); Steals: PC 16 (T. Cosper 7)
Next game: Tyler Consolidated at Paden City, Saturday
Ritchie County 52,
Calhoun County 15
Calhoun 8 3 2 2 - 15
Ritchie 15 16 10 11 - 52
CALHOUN (0-2)
Samantha Harris 1 2-6 4, Taylor Garrett 1 0-2 2, McKenzie Hicks 0 1-4 1, Bailie Cain 1 2-4 4, Keisha Lamp 0 1-2 1, Autumn Smith 0 2-2 2, Hannah Burris 0 1-3 1. TOTALS 3 9-23 15. 3-point goals: none.
RITCHIE (1-0)
Tristin Toman 10 1-2 23, Kylie Gump 1 0-0 2, Amanda Davis 5 0-3 11, Amanda Hall 2 0-0 4, Micah Ray 3 0-0 6, Abby Burgess 1 0-2 2, Tatiana Huff 1 0-0 2, Katlyn Stull 1 0-0 2, Leah Kuhn 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 24 1-7 52. 3-point goals: Toman 2, Davis 1
Rebounds: Ritchie 29 (Ray 10, Leah Kuhn 6). Assists: Ritchie 20 (Davis 7, Hall 5). Steals; Ritchie 18 (Davis 5). Turnovers: Ritchie 16.
Next game: Ritchie County Tuesday at Parkersburg Catholic, 6 p.m.; Calhoun County at South Harrison, 7 p.m. Wednesday
Clay County 54,
Gilmer County 52
Gilmer County 13 15 11 13 - 52
Clay County 17 8 14 15 - 54
GILMER COUNTY (0-1)
Morgan Allen 5 4-6 14, Julie Bishop 6 11-12 24, McKayla Gumm 4 1-1 9, Tiffany Young 1 0-3 5; TOTALS 16 16-22 5; 3-point goals:Bishop 1
CLAY COUNTY (1-0)
Bethany Young 1 0-0 2, Gracen Samples 0 2-2 2, Andrea Litton 1 0-2 2, Emily Wynn 1 0-0 2, Brittany Ghoul 8 5-9 21, McKenzie Barker 6 1-2 13, Katelyn Horrocks 4 3-4 12; TOTALS: 21 11-23 54; 3-point goals: Horrocks 1
Next game: Braxton County at Clay County, Wednesday; Doodridge County at Gilmer County, Tuesday
Moore tallied 11 of her 16 counters in the second half and finished with six boards, six steals and five assists. A triple by Britton capped a 10-0 run to end the third quarter for the Blue Devils, who held the Tigers scoreless the last 3:55 of the period and led 56-27 entering the final eight minutes.
St. Marys returns to action with a road trip Thursday to Tyler Consolidated in a Little Kanawha Conference North Division battle.
