Gilmer County’s Ava Dobbins (20) tries to grab the ball away from Parkersburg Catholic’s Peyton Murdock during Thursday’s game in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG – Gilmer County defense: Masterpiece theater in real time.

Thursday night inside Parkersburg Catholic High School, the Titans’ girls basketball team put on an impressive display shutting down the Crusaderettes in a 47-18 win.

Gilmer, which improved to 11-1, pitched a second-quarter shutout and allowed just two points in the first half.

“We played 32 minutes of pretty good defense tonight – it was a great effort,” Gilmer coach Amy Chapman said. “We’ve been playing defense like that all year. We work on defense every day. That end of the floor is so fun to watch because we are so unique with the size we have.

“The girls do a great job rotating, timing blocked shots and hedging so we can really get out in the backcourt and put pressure on the guards.”

Gilmer County’s Ava Dobbins goes up for two of her 15 points during Thursday’s game against Parkersburg Catholic. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Behind six points from Blair Dobbins, Gilmer scored the first 11 of the game. The Titans nearly pitched a shutout for two quarters, but PCHS finally managed a bucket when Annie Tokodi-Ruth penetrated the paint and found a wide-open Peyton Murdock for the easy lay-in seconds before the first-quarter buzzer sounded.

PCHS displayed their own version of tight defense while giving points the remainder of the first half. The Crusaderettes, however, had their issues finding the opening of what seemed to be a lid on top of the rim and went into halftime down 17-2.

Gilmer’s defense forced PCHS into 1-of-26 shooting by halftime. Blocks by the 6-foot-4 twins Ava and Blair Dobbins played a major role. The two combined for 11 for the game, including nine from Ava.

“I was proud of our effort, but you have to put the ball in the hole,” PCHS coach Bob Carr said after his team slipped to 11-5. “We allowed them to get some transition buckets, but it doesn’t matter if you are not putting the ball in the hole.”

Ava Dobbins flirted with a triple-double after finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Gilmer County’s Blair Dobbins (24) attempts to shoot over Parkersburg Catholic’s Meg Roedersheimer during Thursday’s game in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“We came prepared,” Ava said. “We had a whole practice where we just worked on their players and went through what we should expect with them. I think we showed up and played great defensively.”

The break at intermission allowed PChS to reset. A pair of 3-pointers from Tokodi-Ruth along with a bucket from Ellie Kinnison mixed in with several Gilmer turnovers allowed the Crusaderettes to pull within 17-10 in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter.

“Catholic has some nice pieces and (coach Carr) does a nice job with them, trying to get them some opportunities to score,” Chapman said. “But it was just a pretty good halftime defensively for us.”

Blair Dobbins then took matters into her own hands and scored eight points as the Titans outscored PCHS 15-4 to close out the period. Blair Dobbins finished with a game-high 21 points to go along with six rebounds.

The twin sisters, who have played varsity since their freshman year, are embracing the back leg of their final high school season. Currently, the Titans are seeded No. 1 in their pod of the Little Kanawha Conference and hoping for a LKC Night of Champions championship. The rigors of the postseason is not far behind.

Parkersburg Catholic’s Annie Tokodi-Ruth (3) guards Gilmer County’s Lena Frymier during Thursday’s game in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I grew up with their mom – we are all good friends and it’s been a blessing to be able to coach these two girls,” Chapman said. “I coach them hard because I know their potential. It’s all out of love. I know what their potential is and I want them to have success.

“I want them to have good memories.”

Gilmer tacked on a 6-0 spurt to open the fourth quarter to widen the gap to 38-14 at the five-minute mark. Before the final buzzer Tokodi-Ruth scored two more points to give herself a team-high 10 for the game.

“We have a few days to work with before our game Monday at Madonna – we just have to worry about what we do,” Carr said. “This team is a different dynamic, a different team that we thought we had in November. It’s our job as coaches to find a way to make it work. I hope we can get an identity by regionals.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

Parkersburg Catholic’s Caroline Wynn looks over the offense, right, while being guarded by Gilmer County’s Erin Stoddard. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Gilmer County’s Ava Dobbins (20) defends Parkersburg Catholic’s Bryley Starker (2) during Thursday’s game in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Gilmer County girls basketball coach Amy Chapman looks on to the court during Thursday's game against Parkersburg Catholic. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)