Parkersburg South senior Tae Richards cuts down the net after the Patriots advanced to next week’s Class AAAA state tournament after Wednesday’s 59-39 win over Hurricane at Rod Oldham Athletic Center. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG — There’s one thing to talk the talk. For Parkersburg South, the girls basketball program walked the walk.

Before the start of the preseason, coach Ed Davis gathered with his two seniors Emilee Owens and Tae Richards to discuss goals. The one message which resonated during their talk was making the state tournament.

Wednesday in a Class AAAA South Region semifinal at Rod Oldham Athletic Center, South advanced to next week’s West Virginia High School Girls State Basketball Tournament by defeating Hurricane 59-39.

South (17-5), which defeated Hurricane twice in as many meetings this season, enters the state field as the No. 5 seed and will meet No. 4 Martinsburg in a quarterfinal matchup set for 9 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.

The Patriots are state-bound for the first time since 2018.

Parkersburg South’s Emilee Owens, right, attempts a shot over Hurricane’s Brooklyn Jones (23) during Wednesday’s Class AAAA South Region semifinal at Rod Oldham Athletic Center. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“This is all about our kids,” Davis said. “From the moment we met in the summer to the great leadership from our seniors — all these girls have been the ones who have been responsible as a team for making this possible.

“It was a tough season last year. Along with the support from the administration, we put our heads together. I owe them all the respect in the world.”

The outcome against Hurricane boiled down to a first half in which freshman Lindsey Logston recorded 12 steals and numerous breakaways. She finished with a first-half double-double after scoring 15 points as South built a 32-16 lead by halftime.

“My assistant coach (Garry Harvey) had a good thing about Lindsey — she has a lot of the same skill sets as Spring Valley senior Sophi Hutchison,” Davis said. “We just decided to let Lindsey play with the freedom Hutchison does. We told Lindsey that (Tuesday), but she’s the one that did that. She reads things so well.”

The turnover bug cost Hurricane in the first half — committing 16 miscues as opposed to just two in the second half.

Parkersburg South’s Lindsey Logston (33) anticipates a pass for Hurricane’s Colby O’Malley (13) during Wednesday’s Class AAAA South Region semifinal. Logston finished with 27 points and 12 steals as the Patriots advanced to next week’s state tournament by defeating Hurricane, 59-39. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I think most of it was just the on-ball pressure of our press,” said Logston, who finished with a game-high 27 points.”The steals were just the result of that.

“I like our chances at state a lot. I think we are going to do well.”

South led wire-to-wire against Hurricane (8-15). Behind an assist and a two-point bucket from point guard Quinn Bolyard, the Patriots bolted out to an 8-0 lead.

Hurricane answered right back behind a three-point play from Brooklyn Jones and another free throw by the Redskin post player to slice the gap to 8-6.

Bolyard continued to find the hot hand from her teammates with another repair of assists as South closed the period on an 11-2 run.

Parkersburg South’s Quinn Bolyard puts defensive pressure on Hurricane’s Delainey Burger during Wednesday’s Class AAAA South Region semifinal at Rod Oldham Athletic Center. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Despite falling behind 23-10 in the first two minutes of the second quarter, Hurricane put together a mini-run thanks to a pair of buckets from Isabella Hemmings.

South did not allow a field goal for the final five minutes of the first half and capped off a late flurry with Tae Richards’ first points of the night – a 3-pointer with five seconds showing.

“Our gameplan was to get some early steals and some early buckets – shake them up a little bit,” said South senior Emilee Owens, who finished with 12 points. “We were playing at home and didn’t want to let another team get comfortable.

“When we went into the locker room and they told us we turned them over like 14 times on 12 steals, I made a joke and said, ‘Yeah, Lindsey probably has 12 of those steals. I laughed”

In the first meeting between the two teams on the same floor in mid-January, Hurricane doubled-up on South in the second quarter and went into the locker room with a very good feeling.

The second time around, South made sure not to let lightning strike twice.

“Everybody saw what we were doing in the first half was not working,” Hurricane coach Emily Sergent. “So we needed to make some adjustments as far as how we were sending them in our press break.

“I knew South was fast and they pressed. That’s been a struggle for us all season, so that is what our focus has been – getting the ball down the court and not panicking.”

To start the second half, Logston picked up right where she left off – hitting a shot off a Kenna Mace assist followed by two free throws as part of a six-point barrage to extend the Patriot lead to 38-16.

In front 42-26 in the final minutes of the third quarter, South created a comfort zone, using a 9-0 run to produce its largest lead. Capping the series was Owens’ wicked bounce pass from half-court which split three defenders and hit a sprinting Bolyard in stride near the hoop to extend the lead to 51-26.

Owens is the lone South member with any state experience — that as the starting keeper for the Patriots’ soccer team. Now she can share her memories for the basketball court in Charleston.

“Like I tell the younger girls, I always say take it all in,” Owens said. “I tell them we are there to work hard and get stuff done. We can still have fun, enjoy it and soak it all in, but ultimately we are there to win.”

For Hurricane, Jones finished with a team-high 16 points and Hemmings added 11 points.

The Redskins do not graduate a soul from its current roster, which bodes well for coach Sergent now that she has more than just a few weeks to prepare for next season.

“It was like a week or two before the season when I took over – we had like three flex days and we were together,” Sergeant said. “So just coming in and building together, this was what the season was all about. It was about building trust.

“I am thankful for the youth of my team because we have so much to look forward to. In the offseason, we want to build up our core strength, our confidence, skills and fundamentals. I’m excited to get back into the gym and get them started working for next season.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com