Parkersburg Catholic downs Ritchie County
Crusaderettes remain perfect with regional victory over Rebels
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PARKERSBURG -- Upset-minded Ritchie County gave Parkersburg Catholic all it wanted during the first half of Thursday's Class AA, Region I co-final, but the Crusaderettes used a strong second half to secure a 61-37 victory and improve to 21-0.
Head coach David McCullough's Rebels (15-8) jumped out to a 7-1 lead and watched PCHS pivot Lainie Ross pick up her third foul with 3:10 left in the opening quarter. However, the visitors failed to score in the final 5:30 of the opening period and trailed 11-7 after one. It was 24-22 at intermission thanks to Sophie Nelson's 30-foot buzzer-beating trifecta.
"It was a pretty emotional game," admitted Ross, who finished with eight points, seven boards and four steals. "It was frustrating, but I cheered for my girls from the bench and they always work hard out there and I'm proud of them always.
"We were still good. We had a talk in the locker room, nothing bad or anything. Last game here, we just knew what we had to do and talked it out a little bit."
Ross opened the scoring in the third with a putback, but Olivia Cress followed with one of her own to keep the deficit at two. Jocelynn Thorn, who drained a quartet of treys, knocked one down from a Deborah Hardbarger assist, but Nelson answered right back with a 3 to make it 29-27 at the 5:39 mark. PCHS, though, proceeded to end the quarter on a 15-2 spurt to take control.
"We stuck together," admitted Leslie Huffman, who went for game-highs of 16 points and eight rebounds while adding five assists and four steals. "It was definitely nerve-wracking being down 7-1. That's something we haven't experienced before.
"It was a good experience for us, especially right before the state tournament. It was huge for us. They've come a long way since we played them back in January (a 63-30 PCHS win). They gave it their all. They are a good ball club and gave us a run for our money."
Hardbarger, who scored 14 points, started the big run in the third with a putback. Mary Tokodi-Ruth, who had eight counters, five rebounds and a trio of assists, followed with a 3. After two foul shots from Huffman, she made a steal and then a jump pass to Ross, who coasted in for a layup and a 38-27 lead, which forced a Rebel timeout with 2:57 to go. Thorn finished scoring her 12 points with another triple at the 1:29 mark after a Huffman offensive rebound. Rebekah Rupert's lay-in finally stopped a scoring drought of 4:36, but Huffman hit from deep to make the lead 15 entering the fourth.
Nelson joined Rupert, who had six rebounds and two steals, with 13 points. Jayci Gray, who had a three-point play to give the Rebels an early 4-1 lead before Nelson hit a 3, finished with seven counters. Soffi Bee had four steals and five dimes in the setback and played her final game alongside fellow seniors Karissa Weekley, Nelson, Lillie Law, Kiarra Weekley and Cress, who pulled down a team-high seven boards.
"I think, and I know, that hard work and fundamentals pay off, but it also helps to have players in whom you can trust, and we talked about it at halftime," said Crusaderette boss Marty Vierheller.
"Every once in a while a coach has to be quiet and listen. I asked Lainie directly. I can buy you some minutes in terms of the defensive match up or I can put you back on your original match up and she said coach 'I'm good with either one' and I knew that she meant it so I'm like let's do what we do.
"I trust her. I trust my seniors and I trust my team. They played with a lot of heart and a lot of passion and a lot of love for each other. Once again they answered. They took a shot in the mouth from Ritchie in the first half, for sure, but I'm really proud of the way that they just handled it. I love them. I drive them crazy, but I love them."
Parkersburg Catholic, which is seeking its 10th state championship in school history, has the No. 1 seed and will take on No. 8 seed Buffalo at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday in a state quarterfinal.
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com