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Faith Pickens leads Williamstown past Catholic in sectional final

By Aaron Lee 6 min read

WILLIAMSTOWN - After beating Ritchie County in the sectional semifinal by a score of 46-43 in overtime on Tuesday, Parkersburg Catholic headed to Williamstown to take on the Yellowjackets for the sectional title. Williamstown, well-rested coming off of the bye, cruised to a 62-29 victory against the Crusaderettes, with Faith Pickens recording a double-double.

Pickens scored early and often for Williamstown, with three straight baskets to open the game, allowing the Yellowjackets to get out to a 6-2 lead. She opened the second quarter with a triple, and recorded another during the period.

In the first half alone, Pickens had 15 points and 10 rebounds. She went on to score 23 and pull down 16 boards, three higher than the Crusaderettes' team total. Arissa Burt was the team's second leading scorer with 12.

Pickens said of the Yellowjackets' performance, "I think we did really good as a team. We got the ball to everyone. We shot really good from the three and inside. I think we do really good at looking in, looking to each other. We played amazing defense against Catholic for this game, which is a step in the right direction for us."

She said of her ability to snag boards, "Honestly, rebounds just come with aggression. You gotta want it. My team counts on me to get rebounds, so I know that is my place and my role that I need to try and get all of those and help get the ball down the court."

Pickens was sure to acknowledge that she could not do it on her own, "Thanks to my team for always getting me the ball. We work really well, and I love this team."

Yellowjackets head coach Fred Sauro gave his thoughts after the game, "I thought we performed very well. Catholic did a good job of preventing us from driving, but we got to the foul line too. I thought it was a well-balanced game. Marty (Vierheller) does a very good job. He had his team ready and they did exactly what we needed to, spread it out and slow it down, change defenses on us, he did an excellent job. Tonight we had an answer, that's all."

Sauro said of Pickens' big night, "Faith Pickens is maybe the best post player in class AA right now. If she isn't the best, she's one of the best. One of the best in the state, and she's made herself that way. You have to realize, the kid was cut twice in elementary school. She's a great success story, one of the hardest workers we've ever had. She will shoot the 3, she can post up, she can rebound and she can drive, which is not something you see her do very often, but she can really take it to the hole. It's awesome. I'm so happy for her."

"The most important thing is that we have the loser of that game right in this gymnasium, which is a big strength I think. If you wanna do it right, you wanna do it in your gym. Both of them (Wheeling Central and St. Marys) are tougher than nails. Our section and region is like a mini state tournament... If you get out of here, you might be able to do something, but getting out of here is the most important thing. I think these girls believe they can do it. They're a tough crew, that's for sure," commented Sauro on having home-field advantage and their potential opponents.

He concluded, "I think their mindset is great. They came in with their heads up, enthusiastic, ready to play, excited. Not nervous, not to where they were scared or afraid of the moment. They're seizing the moment, and not letting the moment seize them."

The Crusaderettes held their own early in the game, going on a 6-0 run in the first to make the score 10-8 Williamstown, forcing a Yellowjacket timeout. The burst of scoring was powered by a steal and two baskets by Mary Tokodi-Ruth.

Williamstown's defense and size did not allow Catholic to hang around for very long. The Yellowjackets' lead ballooned to 33-16 by halftime. Jocelynn Thorn led the Crusaderettes in scoring with eight points. Seneca Lang had seven and Tokodi-Ruth six.

Catholic head coach Marty Vierheller said of their opponents, "Williamstown is an outstanding team. They're contenders, and they played like it tonight. I was very pleased with our girls' response to their opening run. I thought that we came right back and answered. There was a lot of firepower out there tonight from Williamstown. A lot of size and a lot of firepower. They were firing on all cylinders, their inside game was rolling, their outside game was rolling. It's really tough to take all of it away, it really is. At the same time, it's difficult when they have difference-makers defensively. It makes it very challenging for us to get anything going offensively too. My biggest thing is, hats off to Williamstown. They did a great job. Well-prepared as always. We lost to the better team tonight."

Both teams will play in the regional co-finals. With St. Marys falling to Wheeling Central Catholic 50-46, Parkersburg Catholic will travel to WCC and Williamstown will play host to St. Marys. Both games are set to start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Vierheller looked forward to the team's upcoming matchup with the Maroon Knights, "We've scouted Wheeling Central. We've seen them in-person, we've studied them just knowing that down the road they were a potential regional opponent. Similar in the sense that they pose a number of similar challenges. They've got the guard play, they have the size, and they are playing at home, so very similar in that regard. I know our girls, I know our seniors and how hungry they are to get back to Charleston. We're blessed to have one more opportunity. You can look at it as a challenge, which it is, and you can look at it as an opportunity, which it is. I tend to look at both. When we come in to work first thing in the morning, we're gonna take advantage and prepare as best as we possibly can for the opportunity that God has given us."

Contact Aaron Lee at alee@newsandsentinel.com

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