Tucker rallies past Doddridge in state semi
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CHARLESTON--Tucker County used a 21-3 run between the second and third quarters of Friday's Class A state semifinal game against Doddridge to rally for a 51-43 victory at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
Tucker (21-2), which is finally in the state finals after falling in the semis back-to-back years, will play Cameron at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the championship game.
Kadie Colebank's double-double, which included 19 points and a whopping 21 rebounds, helped the Mountain Lions erase a 12-point second-quarter deficit against the Bulldogs (21-6).
Tucker scored the final eight points of the second quarter and the first three points of the third quarter to get within one, 23-22. Tenley Paugh answered with a much-needed 3-pointer for the Bulldogs, but Tucker rattled off 10 straight points to take a 32-26 lead with 1:39 left in the third. The Mountain Lions led the rest of the way and made nine free-throws in the fourth quarter to help ice the game.
"Hats off to Doddridge," said Tucker County head coach Dave Helmick. "They jumped out on us and got a good lead. We just kind of chipped away at it. I felt like the girls settled in defensively and got some stops and gained more confidence as the game went on."
Doddridge was led by Abby McDonough's 19 points. The Bulldogs led 14-9 after the first period, but shot just 19.6% (9 for 46) over the final three quarters.
"Things were going great in the first half," said Doddridge head coach Lisa Cheeseman, whose team took a 23-11 lead at the 3:10 mark in the second quarter on McDonough's three-point play. "A lot of things were going well and we were getting to the basket. The second half, shots just did not go in for us. It was a rough go."
As poorly as Doddridge shot late in the game, Tucker County's shooting was equally rough early on.
The Mountain Lions were 1 for 10 from the floor in the first quarter and started 2 for 17. Cheeseman felt the game shifted when Bulldog seniors Carrie Lloyd and Emily Gola each picked up their third foul prior to halftime.
"Early foul trouble for Gola and Carrie was not a great situation for us," Cheeseman said.
"We had to be smart and use them how we could to keep them in the game. When Colebank is in there she's a huge force and Carrie does a really good job on her, but when she's out of the game it affects us."
Lloyd didn't score in the game but grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Gola tallied three assists to lead the Bulldogs.
"It was hard to get momentum," Cheeseman said. "I feel like we had lanes to the basket and we got there and I feel like we were getting fouled on a lot of possessions and I feel like they didn't get called. That's how it goes sometimes. How many foul shots did they get? Thirty-four, and we shot 19. Of course, we fouled there at the end, too, but it makes a huge difference."
Macy Helmick scored 12 points for Tucker, with 10 of those coming from the charity stripe, and notched a game-high four assists. Avery Colebank chipped in 10 points.
The Mountain Lions out-rebounded the Bulldogs 48-41, but turned it over 19 times compared to 11 for Doddridge. Tucker finished 12 for 44 (27.3%) from the floor while DCHS was 15 for 62 (24.2%). From the foul line, the Mountain Lions were 24 for 34 while the 'Dogs were 10 for 19.
Doddridge loses seniors McDonough, Gola and Lloyd to graduation.
"I'm so proud of these girls," Cheeseman said. "They've been a dream to work with. I've watched them grow up. They did a heck of a job. It did not end, obviously, like we wanted it to. Couldn't be more proud of them anyway."
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.