Doddridge County’s Kamryn Satterfield, right, and Williamstown’s Quinn Bunch (3) track down a loose ball during Monday’s game in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

WILLIAMSTOWN – This week is like mid-terms for the Williamstown girls basketball team.

Three quality opponents over the course of six days just past the halfway mark of the regular season.

Monday night, the Yellowjackets used defense as their staple to limit Doddridge County’s attack in a 65-36 win at Williamstown High School.

Tonight, it’s a short trip along Highway 2 for a second meeting with St. Marys. On Saturday, regional consequences are at stake when Williamstown goes on the road to Wheeling Central.

“We have a tough week – it is a gauntlet,” Williamstown coach Danny Bunch said after his club improved to 10-2. “We just have to take it one day at a time. Now we can concentrate on St. Marys. After when that’s done, we concentrate on Wheeling Central.

Williamstown’s Quinn Bunch (3) tries to pry a rebound away from Doddridge County’s Isabella Holtz during Monday’s game in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“This is what makes it fun. These kind of schedules are going to make you better.”

Against DCHS, Williamstown basically made the Bulldogs’ leading scorer this year – Aleigh Cheeseman – a non-factor – and held her scoreless while building a 35-23 halftime lead.

The DCHS junior took over the majority of the ballhandling duties in the second half and finished the game with seven points. Bulldog turnovers, including seven in the first quarter, also played a large role in the Yellowjacket success.

“We had a lot of not feeling good, but Williamstown definitely played a factor in us not playing well at all,” DCHS coach Lisa Cheeseman said as her Bulldogs slipped to 6-4. “Offense was a really big struggle today. That was due to a lot of the girls not having as much energy and Williamstown does that to you.

“It was a combination of the two things. Their defense is relentless. We just didn’t have it tonight.”

Williamstown’s Anna Cosner (5) splits two defenders, including Doddridge County’s Jaycee Lipscomb, left, during Monday’s game in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Thanks in large part to Quinn Bunch’s 11 points on three 3-pointers, Williamstown used those miscues to their advantage and ended the first period on a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 22-9.

“We sort of were keying on Aleigh and (Payton) Trent – our girls really did their assignment,” Bunch said. “I felt like they executed the gameplan defensively.”

Late in the second quarter, back-to-back dimes from Makaela Bandy and Anna Cosner led to easy buckets from Maggie Frye and Chloe Mulligan which gave Williamstown its largest lead of the half at 17 (34-17).

It was that type of unselfish play and not settling for just a good shot, rather for an even better shot, which Williamstown utilized throughout.

“We’ve been keying in on shot selection,” Bunch said. “I’m not huge on making one pass and chucking the three. Something we have been doing is really grinding – make the defense work and try to get the best shot we can get.”

Doddridge County’s Brooke DeHaven (21) looks to drive past Williamstown’s Arissa Burt during Monday’s game in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

DCHS fired the opening salvo in the second half when Cheeseman’s first two points cut the deficit to 35-25. The Bulldogs then went seven minutes without another field goal, and in between the Yellowjackets increased the gap to as many as 22 points at 47-25.

During that span four different Yellowjackets scored, including threes from Bunch and Montgomery. Bunch was the silent killer – finishing the night with six threes and a game-high 20 points.

“Quinn continues to amaze me – not as a coach, but as a dad,” Bunch said. “She has earned everything she has gotten. You can tell she works at it.”

Montgomery contributed four threes to Williamstown’s team total of 10 and finished with 12 points. Cosner, showing she is not just an excellent defender, added 11 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line.

“I would think that Quinn’s shooting rubs off on Gracie a little bit,” Bunch said. “Gracie has been up and down, She had some injuries there early in the year and we are just sort of getting her back in shape. So tonight was huge for her, too.”

Doddridge County’s Kamryn Satterfield, left, welcomes a teammate onto the court during pregame introductions prior to Monday’s game with Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Payton Trent solidified the scoring for DCHS in the first half, scoring all 11of her points by intermission. Isabella Holtz came off the bench and added seven points on the night.

Playing its eighth straight game away from home, coach Cheeseman and her girls welcome a return to their high school gymnasium in West Union for a second meeting with Ritchie County on Thursday.

“We have a lot of growing left to do,” Cheeseman said. “I’m anxious to see what we can do in the second half of the season. I think getting us back home for a little bit will be a good thing for us. There is a lot of season left to play and a lot of things for us to learn.

“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board, get into practice and up our intensity.”

Williamstown’s Chloe Mulligan (32) drives to the hoop during Monday’s game against Doddridge County in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)