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This week in MOV athletics

In loving memory of sports broadcaster Keith Jackson … Woah Nelly!

A Blasting of Ice and Snow (sorry, I am reading George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice series right now) swept through the Mid-Ohio Valley last weekend and put a freeze on a really good sports weekend.

Fortunately, most of the games on the menu are being rescheduled for a later date.

Another positive sees plenty of great matchups on the slate again this week.

Fans of Parkersburg High School girls’ basketball team won’t have to wait long to see their team in action against Class AA No. 1 and undefeated Wyoming East after the Big Reds and Warriors fell victim to the wacky winter weather with a start time of 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Luckily, the make-up date happens to be at 3:45 p.m. today inside PHS Memorial Fieldhouse.

I caught up with PHS sophomore forward/center Aleea Crites last Tuesday at practice and she was glad to be among Big Red fans.

“It it nice to be back home,” said Crites. “It gets really boring out on the road.

“They could easily be ranked in the Top 5 of Class AAA.”

Her head coach took it one step further when asked about Angie Boninsegna’s team.

“Arguably, they are the best team in the state regardless of class size,” said Cozzens.

PHS (7-2) hopes for a better outcome than when they faced a No. 1 team earlier this season, a 65-38 loss to Class AAA’s Buckhannon-Upshur. Bucaneers’ guard Hannah McClung really caused problems for the young Big Reds and was able to break the Press Burg pressure once PHS got in foul trouble late in the victory.

Wyoming East has a similar point guard in senior Gabby Lupardus. Lupardus likes to play fast, but can stay in control while doing so.

The Big Reds do have one thing on their side to try and stop transition in their length.

“I see this as just another quiz to get ready,” added Cozzens. “We have to stay true to what we are. We excel when we get out and pressure teams … Our struggle with that has been to be consistent enough at it through four quarters without fouling. When we have to back off we seem to get timid. Work on us more to continue to fix things and not committing the fouls 70 feet from the basket.”

Cozzens was thankful to have a trip to Capital last Thursday to knock the rust off. Something his team did well I would say after a 79-25 triumph over the Cougars.

I could talk about this matchup for the rest of the column (I had this one marked down since Kenny DeMoss told me about it last summer), but I won’t because we have some other great events.

An old friend pays a visit Tuesday evening to the Rod Oldham Athletic Center when Morgantown faces Parkersburg South girls. Jackson County-native Jason White’s Mohigans invade the ROAC for a 7:30 p.m. start against the Patriots.

The Mohigans are off to an 8-2 start with a very young team. White has some great post players, so MaKenna Winans and Allie Taylor surley have their hands full in the contest.

Ed Davis’ team comes in off a 70-38 victory over University last Thursday. Meanwhile, Morgantown suffered a low-scoring loss to Buckhannon-Upshur, 43-34, on Saturday.

The same time the Patriots and Mohigans face off, another rivalry renews in Williamstown.

Fred Sauro’s Yellowjacket and Howie Meeks’ St. Marys girls’ basketball teams do battle for the second time this season. Sauro’s squad took the first matchup 70-61 back on Dec. 16 in Pleasants County.

Bethany Wager pumped in 28 points for the visiting team, while freshman Kylie Wright and junior Addie Furr poured in 18 a piece for the home team.

Williamstown girls make the list a second time when they travel for a matchup with Parkersburg Catholic on Friday. It will be the second matchup in three weeks for the two teams. The Crusaderettes took the first matchup 83-66, but Sauro’s team did some things to frustrate PCHS as well. Expect this matchup to be closer this time around.

Sauro’s team likely won’t have another 19 turnovers in the first half either.

Over on the boys hardwood, PHS, Catholic and South all have big meetings this week.

Jeff Mennillo’s Big Reds have a Mountain State Athletic Conference matchup with South Charleston at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday inside Memorial Fieldhouse.

Parkersburg High finally is getting some important pieces back from injury for the stretch run. They are going to need them as the MSAC is no cake walk. Not to mention, Mennillo’s team plays three games this week with a visit from Hurricane and trip to Ripley also on the slate.

South, meanwhile makes the trip to Warren Local High School as their only contest this week. Warren always plays Parkersburg teams tough and their first matchup against a city team proved it.

The Warriors took PHS to the limit in a 65-59 loss back on Dec. 28.

Finally, Rob Strcula’s Crusaders visit reigning state champion Notre Dame Tuesday eyeing a split of the season series after a 74-47 home loss to the Irish back on Dec. 21.

On the mat, Wirt County and Ravenswood travel to Huntington for the WSAZ Invite, while South grapplers’ are in action at the OVAC wrestling championships Friday and Saturday. PHS also is on the road at the Grizzly Invite in Wadsworth, Ohio.

Enjoy!

Contact Joe Albright at jalbright@newsandsentinel.com.

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