WEST UNION-With its offense struggling and its twin towers-senior Audra Clark and junior Kendra Walker-fighting foul problems, No. 2 St. Marys (22-1) turned to its defense Friday night in the Region I, Section 2 championship game at Doddridge County High School and it paid off as the Blue Devils held Trinity Christian to one point in the third quarter en route to a 52-30 win.
"It (our offense) looked like we shot the ball in our one loss," St. Marys head coach Howard Meeks II said. "We didn't play our best, but we got the win and that's what counts right now."
With the victory, the Blue Devils will play host to Section One runner-up Magnolia, which lost to Wheeling Central by a 57-34 score, at 7 p.m. on Thursday in one of the two regional championship games.
Article Photos
Photo by Jim Butta
St. Marys’ Michaela Britton goes up for a shot while Trinity Christian’s Jackie Halapy goes for the block during action at the Region I, Section 2 Class A championship game played at Doddridge County High School. The Blue Devils won the game by a 52-30 score.
"I'd be lying if I said we wouldn't play better at home," added Meeks. "But, then again, our only loss this year was at home."
That would not be the case on Friday as Walker and Clark continued their season-long run of double-doubles. Walker, who picked up her fourth foul with 1:47 left in the third quarter, finished with a game-high 20 points and hauled down 10 rebounds while Clark, who was whistled for her fourth at the 4:27 mark of the same quarter, chipped in with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
"I just don't think we played with the intensity that we talked about playing with in practice," added Meeks. "I think we got caught looking ahead and when you do that, bad things can happen to you."
Fact Box
Boys
Ritchie County 69, Roane County 62
Roane 11 17 19 15 -62
Ritchie 10 20 21 18 - 69
ROANE COUNTY(14-7)
Brad Reichard 1 0-0 2, Tyler Harper 6 1-2 16, Jacob Neal 10 2-6 24, Zach McKown 1 0-0 2, Elijah Onwuka 3 0-1 6, Quentin Corbitt 0 0-2 0, Scotti Meadows 1 1-3 4, J.C. Nichols 3 0-0 8. TOTALS 25 4-14 62. 3-point goals: Harper 3, Neal 2, Meadows 1, Nichols 2
RITCHIE COUNTY (17-5)
Johnny Hogue 3 0-0 6, Justin Sage 6 5-10 19, Jessie Hilvers 0 2-2 2, D.J. Burgess 5 3-4 15, Andrew Davis 7 6-7 21, Nathan Shipe 1 0-0 2, Ryan Malson 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 24 16-23 69. 3-point goals: Sage 2, Burgess 2, Davis 1
Rebounds: Roane 28 (Onwuka 7); Ritchie 40 (Davis 20, Burgess 7). Assists: Roane 11 (Harper 4); Ritchie 13 (Burgess 3, Sage 3). Steals: Roane 4 (Neal 2); Ritchie 2. Turnovers: Roane 5, Ritchie 9.
JV: Roane County 68, Ritchie County 60. Roane: Grant Hardman 17, Ryan Bates 14; Ritchie: Riley Allen 28.
Next game: Ritchie at Roane, 7 p.m. Tuesday in Class AA sectional opener
Ripley 65, Ravenswood 44
Ripley 11 17 19 18 - 65
Ravenswood 10 10 18 6 - 44
RIPLEY (7-15)
Casey Smith 3 5-5 12, Jacob Haynes 2 1-2 6, Drew Harpold 7 2-3 18, Kade Harrison 7 3-5 21, Luke Layhew 0 1-2 1, Chuck Sleboda 1 3-4 5, Austin Parsons 1 0-0 2; TOTALS: 21 15-21 65; 3-point goals: Smith 1, Haynes 1, Harpold 2, Harrison 4
RAVENSWOOD
Heath Burgess 1 1-2 3, Dalton Gandee 3 0-0 8, Jon Crow 1 0-0 2, Logan Jarrett 1 0-0 2, Jacob Martin 9 7-10 27, Matt Peery 1 0-0 2; TOTALS: 16 8-14 44; 3-point goals: Gandee 2, Martin 2
Shooting: R 21-52 (40%), RW 16-39 (41%); Rebounds: R 37 (Sleboda 9), RW 25 (Martin 9); Assists: R 9, RW 6; Steals: R 12, RW 4
Parkersburg Christian 32,
South Charleston Christian 29
South Charleston 2 7 7 13 - 29
P. Christian 4 8 12 8 - 32
South Charleston (5-12)
Amanda Carver 6 1-2 15, Casey Hartleban 4 0-0 8, Riannah Ratliff 1 0-0 2, Bethany Miller 1 0-0 2, Hannah Schaffer 1 0-0 2; TOTALS: 11 1-2 29; 3-point goals; Carver 2
P. Christian (4-9)
Emily Thomas 1 0-1 2, Jordan Doak 2 0-0 4, Angel Danh 4 1-2 9, Jolisa Browne 3 0-2 6, Hannah Bowser 2 1-3 5, Lauren Allen 2 0-0 4, Lexi Jackson 1 0-2 2; TOTALS: 15 2-10 32
Rebounds: PC 36 (Thomas 13); Assists: PC 9; Steals: PC 10; Blocks: PC 4
Next game: Parkersburg Christian at New Life Christian, Saturday
Magnolia 66,
Greater Beckley Christian 58
GBC 13 10 14 21 -58
Magnolia 18 11 19 18 - 66
GBC
Javonne Staunton Bailey 7 0-2 15, Elisha Kidd 4 0-0 12, Adam Cook 1 0-0 2, Paul David Payne 2 0-0 5, Brent Daniels 1 0-0 3, Keith Mullins 5 2-2 14, Anthony Helton 3 1-1 7. TOTALS 23 3-5 58. 3-point goals: Bailey 1, Kidd 4, Payne 1, Daniels 1, Mullins 2
MAGNOLIA (18-4)
Preston Boswell 6 0-0 12, Stephen Rogalski 2 0-0 4, Mark Winters 13 4-4 34, Zach Willhoite 7 2-2 16, Kyle Elliott 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 28 6-6 66. 3-point goals: Winters 4.
Next game: Class A sectional semifinal, 7 p.m. Tuesday at New Martinsville - Cameron/Madonna winner vs. Magnolia
Girls
Class AAA Region I,
Section 1 Championship
at Rod Oldham Athletic Center
Parkersburg South 72,
Wheeling Park 44
Park 15 7 12 10 - 44
South 19 14 19 20 - 72
No. 8 WHEELING PARK (14-9)
Chloe Robb 0 3-4 3, Marissa Tucker 2 0-0 4, Haley Robb 4 6-6 15, Danielle Kutrovac 0 0-0 0, Kambrea O'Neal 3 0-0 6, Kristen Slater 0 0-0 0, Caitlyn Taylor 0 0-0 0, Kelsi Johnson 2 0-0 4, Kendra Johnson 1 0-0 2, Emily Puskarich 3 1-3 10, TOTALS: 15 10-13 44. 3-point goals: H. Robb 3, Puskarich 1
NO. 6 PARKERSBURG SOUTH (16-7)
Kayleigh Rexroad 1 2-2 4, Taryn McCutcheon 4 8-11 17, Keya Bartlett 7 8-10 25, Katelyn Enoch 1 2-2 4, Katelyn Byrd 0 0-1 0, Miranda Workman 10 0-0 20, Anna Hayton 0 0-0 0, Carlie Wilson 1 0-0 2, TOTALS: 24-49 20-26 73. 3-point goals: McCutcheon 1, Bartlett 3
South stats: 37 rebounds (Workman 15), 13 assists (McCutcheon 7), 17 steals (Rexroad 5, McCutcheon 4), 6 blocks (Workman 3, McCutcheon 2), 17 turnovers
Next game: University at South 7 p.m. Tuesday in Class AAA regional game
Region I, Section 2
Class A Championship Game
at Doddridge County High School
St. Marys 52, Trinity Christian 30
Trinity 8 10 1 11-30
St. Marys 12 14 12 14-52
TRINITY (13-10)
Megan Myers 4 1-3 12, Meagan Triplett 0 2-3 2, Jackie Halapy 1 5-6 7, Peyton Konchesky 0 2-2 2, McKenzie Hill 0 0-0 0, Emily Evans 0 0-2 0, Leah Berhanu 0 0-0 0, Abbie Barnett 3 0-2 7. TOTALS: 8 10-18 30. 3-Point Goals: Myers 3, Barnett 1.
ST. MARYS (22-1)
Michaela Britton 1 0-0 2, Dani Moore 2 0-2 4, Abby Fetty 1 1-4 4, Kendra Walker 9 2-4 20, Audra Clark 6 6-7 18, Ashley Hall 1 2-2 4, Haley Everett 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20 11-19 52. 3-Point Goals: A. Fetty 1.
GAME STATS
TRINITY: Shooting: 8 of 50 for 16 percent. Rebounds: 36 (Halapy 8, Myers 8). Assists: 6 (Triplett 3). Steals: 9 (Barnett 3, Myers 2, Triplett 2). Turnovers: 19.
ST. MARYS: Shooting: 20 of 59 for 35 percent. Rebounds: 53 (Clark 11, Walker 10, Moore 7, Britton 6, A. Fetty 6). Assists: 12 (A. Fetty 5, Moore 4). Steals: 9 (Moore 5). Turnovers: 17.
NEXT GAMES: Magnolia plays at St. Marys at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Trinity Christian plays at Wheeling Central at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Class AA sectional final
Ravenswood 58, Braxton County 37
Ravenswood 13 11 16 18 - 58
Braxton County 8 5 6 18 - 37
RAVENSWOOD
Hailey Miller 5 4-5 14, Taylor Youell 3 0-0 8, Melonna Carmichael 4 6-9 14, Taylor Treadway 1 2-2 4, Hannah Murray 2 5-5 9, Kayla Scritchfield 3 0-2 6, Taylor Love 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 19 17-23 58. 3-point goals: Youell 2, Love 1
BRAXTON COUNTY
Hunter Sodaro 5 6-8 16, Taylor Bragg 4 0-0 9, Baylee Stewart 2 0-0 6, Anne Golinsky 2 0-0 4, Caitlin Rhodes 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 14 6-8 37. 3-point goals: Bragg 1, Stewart 2
Rebounds: Ravenswood 24 (Murray 7); Assists: Ravenswood 10 (Carmichael 4, Murray 4. Steals: Ravenswood (Treadway 4); Blocks: Ravenswood (Murray 6).
Trinity Christian (13-10) was led by Megan Myers' 12 points while Jackie Halapy chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 4:21 left in the game.
St. Marys jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a pair of free throws by Clark and a steal for a layin by Dani Moore with six minutes left in the opening quarter. Trinity answered with a triple from Myers, but found itself trailing by five, 8-3, after a pair of inside buckets by Walker and Clark.
Another triple, this one by Abbie Barnett, sliced the margin to two, 8-6. And, after the teams traded buckets, the Blue Devils took a 12-8 lead to the benches when Walker took a pass from Abby Fetty to score the final points of the period with eight ticks left on the clock.
Trinity opened the second quarter with a 4-0 run to knot the game at 12 on a steal for a layup by Myers, but St. Marys answered with a 10-2 run over the next five and one half minutes to forge a 22-14 lead on a Walker bucket with 2:02 remaining until the intermission. The Blue Devils would maintain that eight point advantage, 26-18, at the half.
That would be as close as the game would get as St. Marys' turned up the heat on defense and outscored their sectional rivals by a 12-1 margin to jump in front by a 38-19 scored with eight minutes of play remaining.
Trinity, which will play at Wheeling Central next Thursday, got its offense rolling a little bit in the fourth quarter, but it was a case of too little, too late as it was the Blue Devils taking home the sectional championship plaque.
Boys Basketball
Ritchie County 69,
Roane County 62
ELLENBORO -Free throws told the tale as Ritchie County defeated Roane County 69-62 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Ritchie County took a 51-47 lead into the fourth quarter and maintained the advantage by hitting 10-of-15 free throws in the final eight minutes compared to just 1-of-6 for the Raiders.
Andrew Davis led Ritchie County (17-5) with 21 points, while Justin Sage added 19 points. Also scoring in double figures for the Rebels was D.J. Burgess with 15 points.
Jacob Neal scored a game-high 24 points for Roane County (14-7), while Tyler Harper accounted for 16 points.
The two programs meet again at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Spencer for a Class AA sectional opener.
Ripley 65, Ravenswood 44
RAVENSWOOD -Ripley completed a season sweep of Jackson County rival Ravenswood here Friday night as the Vikings closed out the regular season with a 65-44 win over the visiting Red Devils.
Ripley (7-15) was led by Kade Harrison with 21 points while Drew Harpold added 18 and Casey Smith 12.
Ravenswood got a game-high 27 points from Jake Martin.
Magnolia 66,
Greater Beckley
Christian 58
NEW MARTINSVILLE -Magnolia enters the postseason having won nine in a row after posting a 66-58 victory against Greter Beckley Christian on Friday night.
Magnolia coach Dave Tallman used just five players as the Blue Eagles (18-4) won for the sixth time in eight days.
Against Greater Beckley Christian, Magnolia senior Mark Winters knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 34 points. Also scoring in double figures for the Blue Eagles were Zach Willhoite with 16 points and Preston Boswell with 12 points.
Three players scored in double figures for Greater Beckley Christian, including Javonne Staunton Bailey with a team-high 15 points.
