Parkersburg South’s Lindsey Logston (33) applies man-to-man coverage on Parkersburg point guard Lauren Flanagan (1) during Thursday’;s game at Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG – Bright lights. Big city. Not much seems to faze a Parkersburg South girls basketball lineup dominated by youth.

With three freshmen in the starting lineup and a fourth contributing off the bench, this particular group played their first road test in the South-Parkersburg city rivalry.

Behind 21 points from Lindsey Logston, 18 from Quinn Bolyard and another 14 by Emilee Owens, the 9-2 Patriots completed the regular season series sweep on Thursday night after holding off the Big Reds, 60-54, at Memorial Fieldhouse.

“This is crazy – I had confidence in us, though,” said Logston, a freshman who picked up two early fouls but managed to avoid further foul trouble as the game progressed. “The upperclassmen said the (Parkersburg) student section was going to be crazy and was something we would have to deal with.”

For the newcomers to basketball at the high school level, a good showing out of the gate was crucial. Mission accomplished as South built a 12-2 lead nearly four minutes into the first quarter.

Parkersburg’s Frances Guice (3) dribbles along the perimeter during the Big Reds’ game against Parkersburg South, Thursday at Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Parkersburg (9-3) led only once at 17-16 as the Patriots ended the first half run. The late spurt, which gave South a 27-19 lead at halftime, was spearheaded by Logston’s three points and assist on an Owens 3-pointer – one of six made by the Patriots on the night.

“It was very important to get off to a fast start,” South coach Ed Davis said. “I think it was important for our team because usually when we play over here Parkersburg jumps on us pretty good early.”

Playing on their home floor didn’t give PHS an advantage in the shooting department. Shots which usually fall, didn’t. The Big Red tandem of guards – Lauren Flanagan and Frances Guice – were held scoreless in the first half.

“For us, we have to make shots – we had some really good opportunities to make some shots, but we just didn’t make them,” PHS coach Chris Murray said. “Every time we put ourselves in a hole, we were able to come back and chip away.

“Sometimes it’s just not your night. We’ve got to go watch film and see what we can do to get better. This one game, there’s no state championship tonight. We treat it as another game on the schedule.”

Led by senior Emilee Owens (10), members of the Parkersburg South girls basketball team prepare for the start of the second half in Thursday’s game against Parkersburg at Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

The main production came in the post from Kennedy Porter and Eden DeBord. Porter scored seven of her team-high 11 points in the first half, while DeBord came through off the bench with eight points – scoring seven straight points for the Big Reds during a two-minute stretch in the second quarter.

On consecutive trips down the floor, the ball ended up in DeBord’s hands for points and put PHS in front for the final time at 17-16.

Bolyard, South’s freshman point guard, gave the Patriots their largest lead at 30-19 on a 3-pointer right out of the gate in the second half.

“To have a true point guard is invaluable,” coach Davis said. “Quinn makes everybody better on the court, too. And she is a tough defender.”

PHS closed to within five points on multiple occasions before narrowing the gap to within four at 53-49 with 1:30 showing on the clock when Faithlynn Butcher converted a South turnover for a bucket.

Parkersburg’s Lauren Flanagan (1) dribbles past Parkersburg South’s Macie Forshey (30) during Thursday’s game at Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

South maintained the water level over the next 40 seconds while making 3-of-4 free throws to offset Brooklyn Allen’s second 3-pointer of the fourth quarter for PHS.

Over the final possession, PHS misfired on several looks from 3-point range and South was perfect on four free throw attempts to secure the win.

Owens, one of two seniors on the South roster, enjoyed her first two wins over PHS for her high school career.

“I told the freshmen, based off on how we played at home, it’s going to be a lot louder here and a lot more exciting,” Owens said. “Personally, this feels great. Going into the locker room, I said ‘Don’t it feel nice to come in here excited?'”

Guice created her offense in the second half and finished with nine points. Teammate Lucie Cline also finished with nine points.

Parkersburg South girls basketball coach Ed Davis, left, tells Kenna Mace a job well done as the final seconds tick off the clock in the Patriots’ 60-54 win over Parkersburg at Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“Defensively, we left some shooters open,” Murray said. “I would guess we gave away 12 to 15 points just by leaving their shooters open. We just have to get better on how we communicate in that aspect and how we get our defensive discipline up.

“We are 9-3 – we are having a good year. Parkersburg South is having a good year. That’s a tough matchup if we are not hitting shots. And tonight, they hit very timely shots.”

As for the South freshman class, so far no stage has been too big for them. In fact, coach Davis doesn’t even regard them as freshmen now that the Patriots are 11 games into the regular season.

“I don’t even call them freshmen anymore – they are just basketball players,” Davis said. “They are just mature beyond their years with basketball and life, too. And that has allowed Emily to do a little more off the ball and look for her shot. She stretches the defense. Her experience also gives us another ballhandler.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

Girls basketball coaches Chris Murray from Parkersburg, left, and Parkersburg South’s Ed Davis share a light-hearted moment prior to the start of Thursday’s game at Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)