South’s comeback bid falls short
Winans had team-high 21 points in 62-51 loss
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PARKERSBURG --A comeback attempt from the Parkersburg South girls fell short, as they dropped a 62-51 contest to Huntington on Tuesday night from the Rod Oldham Athletic Center. The victorious Highlanders forced the issue on the inside, and it led to them being able to draw fouls and get to the free throw line.
After Skyler Bosley hit a 3-ball to start the second quarter, Huntington had work to do down 16-9. A 12-5 run ensued where the Patriots found themselves in foul trouble, and HHS took a brief lead before South stormed back with made free throws by Makenna Winans and an and-1 basket from Erin Williams to close out the half up 23-21.
Coming out of the locker room, PSHS struggled despite makes from Rylee Harner and Winans. Harner's basket at 2:59 came in the middle of another surge from the visitors, and that bucket was the second and final made field goal of the frame for the Patriots. The big quarter for Huntington was supplied by Kaitlyn Swann. She had 14 of her game-high 25 points in that eight minutes of play. Then, South had one last push to get back into the game.
Fast-forwarding to five minutes remaining in the contest, pressure from the Patriot zone forced turnovers and points on the other end. Down 13, Williams drew contact on the inside and knocked down one shot from the charity stripe. Moments later, Harner got in on the fun by nailed two free throws of her own. That was the start of a 16-5 run, and it culminated in made shots from Winans, Hannah Wingrove and Williams, respectively. The final big moment of the sequence came with 3:33 to go, when a pressured Williams dished to Winans in the paint for an and-1 layup to make the Huntington lead shrink down to 47-44. However, Winans couldn't convert, and Huntington regained a more comfortable advantage in the game's closing minutes.
A common theme for the Patriots is their ability to be in contention in games they ended up losing, and this one was no different. These two teams met on Dec. 5 in South's season opener, and the Highlanders won that night on a buzzer-beater to snag a 48-47 win.
Head coach Rick Dobson talked about the two meetings and the differences he saw when comparing the two.
"We've been playing hard, but the stuff we've been working on, we just didn't do very well. The difference I saw in this game was our presence," he said. "I take the blame for that. I didn't prepare them enough. Like I told them, it's all practice until we get to sectionals. We're going to keep working on our rebounding and shooting, and we'll go from there."
The 4-12 Patriots have an opportunity to get back in the win column, as the Waterford Wildcats come to town on Monday night. As for the winning Highlanders (11-6), head coach Lonnie Lucas praised his team's ability to shut the door when they were faced with that 4th-quarter run from the Patriots.
"They had a nice comeback. We were successful when we started making our foul shots, and in the first quarter, we looked like we would never make one," he said. "When you shoot 3s like they do, you're going to make a comeback. We beat them at the buzzer at our place, and this game was kind of like that. They made a run, but we're just glad to win another one on the road. We haven't won very many of them."
Contact Josh Hughes at jhughes@newsandsentinel.com