Parkersburg Catholic squares off with Ravenswood
Class AA quarterfinal sees familiar LKC matchup
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PARKERSBURG -- Parkersburg Catholic head coach Marty Vierheller may be well aware of the old adage speaking to the difficulty of beating any team three times in the same season.
But you won't catch him feeling any of that pressure weigh down on his group.
When pressed for a definitive answer, Coach V shrugs his shoulders erases all worry with a confident statement appropriate for a leader whose team enters the Class AA state tournament on a 43-game winning streak and owners of the No. 1 seed.
"I just don't see our girls being concerned with the third time around," he said.
"I think they are looking at Ravenswood as a competent opponent that we know well. It is not going to bother them. We know a lot about them as they do us. But our girls have a very focused mindset."
That's right. It is so focused, that Vierheller calls it as tight as a laser. Plus, that unwavering mental sharpness reflects double on the play of his two big time players Leslie Huffman and Aaliyah Brunny.
"Right now, they are not forcing anything. If you go back to our sectional final and take a look at the box score and see that Leslie and Aaliyah's scoring was limited and we still played extremely well as a team, I think that among the most important things for us right now," he said. "They (Leslie and Aaliyah) don't feel like they have to go in and do everything, because they don't. They have tremendous faith in their teammates."
That may not exactly be what Devilettes' head coach Cara Williams wants to hear, but she didn't expect anything different. She says that it is imperative her squad stays within themselves and does everything they can by playing as relaxed and unstressed as possible.
"We have to be patient offensively and limit Brunny and Huffman as much as possible. If we can slow them down, we feel like we can be right there," she said. "But that is a tall task for our defense and they (Catholic) do have a good supporting case of players, as well. So, we can't forget about anyone.
"We have to be aggressive defensively," she said of her young team featuring just one senior in Annie Hunt. "We have to do what we need to do."
Williams enters the matchup believing that may be easier said than done for the Crusaderettes, and that her group owns a slight advantage, even if there is a catch. "No one is really picking us to win so that is a good place to be, but they have been here before and they are veterans," she said.
Her Devilettes likely will be champing at the bit to run with the Crusaderettes, after a 14-11 regional final win over Buffalo. However, they can't get too carried away. Parkersburg Catholic won both previous meetings this season by scores of 56-29 and 63-39.
Not to mention, Vierheller stressing his group is ready to get going makes things all the more dangerous.
"Motivation is not a factor," he said. "What I like right now is we are playing our best basketball of the year. I really believe that the girls are clicking. They are believing in one and other and they are on a mission. When you have those things going for you. Those are a lot of plusses on your side. That being said, we don't want to overcomplicate or overthink things or want this too much. Let's just take care of business without focusing on the end result."
Game time is 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Tickets are limited, but they will be available at the box office.
Contact Joe Albright at jalbright@newsandsentinel.com.