Parkersburg, WV -

Williamstown 7 6 12 4 = 29

Parkersburg South 17 9 8 13 = 47

WHS Scoring: Ebra 4, Cox 8, McGrew 9, Seufer 6, Fulton 1, Somerville 1.

South Scoring: Harbour 2, Molinari 12, Curry 5, Crislip 8, Wolfe 2, J. Stephens 18.

Junior Varsity

Parkersburg South 69, Williamstown 27

South Scoring: Griffith 9, Meadows 6, Shreeves 1, E. Houser 7, Harvey 7, S. Houser 6, Strong 6, Leasure 13, K. Stephens 13.

WHS Scoring: Nohe 5, Merrifield 7, Fenton 2, Lowe 9, Bell 2.

By STEVE HEMMELGARN, Parkersburg News & Sentinel

PARKERSBURG - In the final regular-season girls basketball tuneup before the sectionals next week, Williamstown and host Parkersburg South played a chess game of strategy at the Rod Oldham Athletic Center here Friday night, with each coach possibly trying out some of the tactics they might use in the tournament.

But when all was said and done, the battle between the two No. 8-ranked teams, the Class AAA Patriots and the Class A Yellowjackets, South had secured a 47-29 victory.

Jill Stephens, South's 6-3 senior center, tallied a game-high 18 points, including 14 in the second half when the Patriots (14-8) salted away the triumph over the game 'Jackets.

Williamstown, now 12-10, was hampered by the absence of its center, 6-2 Alisha Starcher, who was sick and didn't play.

A 10-0 run in the first quarter, fueled by Michelle Molinari who added 12 points for South, propelled the Patriots on top 13-3 and they led 17-76 after one period of play. The lead reached 14 (23-9) midway through the second stanza on a rebound bucket by Stephens at the 4:43 mark and was 13 (26-13) at the half.

In the third quarter after the Patriot advantage grew to 16 (31-15), Williamstown rallied behind Larissa McGrew (9 points) with a pair of treys and Katie Cox (8 points) with two baskets to spark a 10-0 run to narrow the gap to just six (31-25) with 1:15 left in the period.

But South went to Stephens at every opportunity in the fourth quarter ''and of course, without Alisha in there, we really had no way to stop Jill,'' said Williamstown head coach Fred Sauro. ''I love the girl, she's a great player, but I'll be happy not having to go up against her anymore.''

So with Stephens dominating inside late, the lead grew to the final 19-point spread. ''They're a good team, but that wasn't a 20-point ball game,'' said Sauro, who said Starcher had never missed a game before, but had the flu.

''So we tried to control the tempo maybe a little more than usual with Alisha,'' said Sauro. ''We really tried to hit the boards, and it was a six-point game late in the third quarter. But when they spread it out and got the ball inside to Jill, they was absolutely nothing we could do.''

The 'Jackets play St. Marys at Parkersburg Catholic Wednesday night with the winner to face the No.1-rated Crusaderettes next Friday night at Ritchie County in the sectional finals.

South, which faces PHS at Memorial Fieldhouse Thursday night in the two-team winner-take-all sectional tile tilt, won its eighth game in the last nine starts.

''I hope we're peaking at the right time,'' said South head coach Scott Stephens. ''We're playing great defense, and I think that really shone this evening.''