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PHS girls fall to St. Albans in OT nail-biter, 62-58

ST. ALBANS — St. Albans girls basketball coach Elias Gregory said he wanted to know if his undefeated Red Dragons were for real.

The first-year coach got his answer on Thursday as host St. Albans defeated Parkersburg 62-58 in overtime at Tex Williams Gymnasium in a Mountain State Athletic Conference game between two top-10 Class AAAA teams.

“Some of the wins we’ve had before, you could argue people were missing people, maybe they weren’t the same team they were last year, but this is a team that’s going to be playing in March,” Gregory said. “So, to me it’s a statement win.”

Associated Press No. 10 SA (5-0) forced No. 5 Parkersburg into a 21-7 turnover edge as the Red Dragons took a 34-16 lead into halftime. The Big Reds (6-2) stormed back, however, in the second half.

Parkersburg outscored St. Albans 23-6 in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime tied 51-51. The Big Reds had a chance to win in regulation after forcing a late turnover, but missed a layup in the final seconds.

Parkersburg starters Frances Guice, Lauren Flanagan and Kennedy Porter found themselves in foul trouble, necessitating the use of the Big Reds bench. Guice, who averages 16 points a game, fouled out in the fourth quarter.

“She probably just felt stuff behind her,” big Reds coach Chris Murray said of the Parkersburg reserve who missed the late layup. “I mean, now you’ve got Jaycee Elzy chasing you down from behind to send your stuff to the moon, you know, so I told her when she came out to just go shoot the layup. Best-case scenario, it goes in; worst case, it’s a loose ball and you go to overtime.”

Elzy led all scorers with 27 points for St. Albans. She also led all players with 12 rebounds. Guice paced Parkersburg with 16 points.

Gregory said Jaelyn Vance stood out for her defensive play on Flanagan, limiting a player who averages 16 points a game to three points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor.

St. Albans will follow the Parkersburg game with another on Saturday against Class AAA state semifinalist East Fairmont, then follow that with a game on Monday against archrival and defending Class AAA state champion Nitro. Both games will be at home.

The Big Reds get a week off before hosting Hurricane next Friday.

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