Parkersburg High School rebounds with win over Ripley
Trending
PARKERSBURG - Over the weekend, the Big Reds girls basketball team lost a close one to Wyoming East, 61-58.
On Monday, Parkersburg rebounded and handily defeated the Ripley Vikings 72-40. As is typical for Trinity Balog, she had an incredible, well-rounded performance.
Early on in the game, things went back and forth. However, Parkersburg quickly began to run up the score.
It all started with quality defense that generated turnovers. Kennedy Porter contributed an early block for the Big Reds. Audriana Medina was able to steal the ball and run it down court for the layup.
The Vikings found themselves down 17-6 near the end of the first. Balog began to heat up, making plays up and down the court. Sophie Nichols ended the drought for Ripley with a layup late in the first.
Despite the imposing defense of Parkersburg, the Vikings started to string more passes together. A well-placed bounce pass by Erin Ryan found Abby Eastman for two.
The score was 32-16 midway through the second quarter. Parkersburg remained in control by consistently generating takeaways and playing smothering defense.
The Big Reds managed to make some nice plays near the end of the half to put a stamp on it. Sophie Lott had a steal that she turned into a layup. Porter got a big offensive rebound and executed the putback.
The Big Reds were up 42-18 at half. Ripley was getting shots up, less than Parkersburg because of the turnovers, but few found the net.
After halftime, both teams began to score more often, clearly beginning to warm up. Jensen Verner of the Big Reds got the rebound on a missed three by Lott and put it back up for two. Lott hit a three moments later.
Parkersburg's Frances Guice made some nice defensive moves late in the third, blocking an inbound pass and then intercepting another pass, which eventually led to a made three by Lauren Flanagan.
Balog, who took time off in the third, came back to score the first points of the fourth quarter, as well as plenty of others. Nichols hit a trifecta late in the fourth for the Vikings. The Big Reds went on to win the game 72-40.
The top scorers for the Big Reds included Balog with 30 and Lott, who had 19. Ripley's Nichols managed 16, and Eastman contributed 11.
Parkersburg head coach Chris Murray compared the game to the one against Wyoming East, "Saturday, I thought we came out and played with some good energy and we eventually let off, so I think we have that ability to play with that kind of energy and tempo. I was really happy with how we came out of the gate ready to play. I thought we executed what we wanted to well. I just thought we brought good pressure the whole game."
While Murray is always impressed with Balog, he was sure to emphasize how excellent she is day in and day out, "It's been three years of watching Trinity do that, you know, so no shock to us. She's been doing it for me since I got here. She's a competitor, man. She wants to win. She's just got that in her."
The Big Reds' defense, which slipped up a bit in the game against Wyoming East, was a focus against the Vikings, "We're just trying to be more passionate on that side of the floor. I thought this weekend we may have compromised some of our values on that. We had a good talk Saturday."
Murray looks forward to what this youthful group has in store, "It's a young group, but it's an exciting group. I think they have the ability to be tremendous. It's gonna progress game-by-game, so I'm really excited for them."