Parkersburg, WV

Parkersburg South    19 15 11 15 = 62

Parkersburg              17 12 08 16 = 53

South Scoring:  Mary Seagraves 19, Kelsi Halbert 11, Jessica Moore 10, Asia Greenleaf 8, Kristiana Hunt 6, Hannah Maston 5, Sammy Hicks 3.

PHS Scoring:  Wilson 24, Mahoney 8, Jacobs 5, Pinkston 4, Blake 3, Hefner 3, Ward 3, Ruddleson 1.

South Statistics:  Rebounds, 41 (Moore 13, Greenleaf 12);  Assists, 12 (Moore 5);  Steals, 15 (Greenleaf 5, Seagraves 5);  Blocks, 7 (Hunt 3, Greenleaf 2);  Field Goal Shooting, 19-56 (34%);  Free-Throw Shooting, 20-28 (71%);  Total Fouls, 15.

PHS Statistics:  Turnovers, 21;  Free-Throw Shooting, 7-14 (50%);  Total Fouls, 20.

South girls hold off PHS for sweep

By Steve Hemmelgarn, Parkersburg News & Sentinel

PARKERSBURG - Third-ranked Parkersburg South fended off host Parkersburg High throughout practically the entire game Wednesday night at Memorial Fieldhouse en route to a hard-fought 62-53 girls basketball victory over the Big Reds in a renewal of the Class AAA cross-city rivalry.

Mary Seagraves' 19 paced the Patriot point-production, followed by Kelsi Halbert with 11 and Jessica Moore with 10.

For PHS, now 7-13, Tori Wilson netted a game-high 24 points, including seven treys, but no one else scored in double figures for the Big Reds, who play at Nitro today in a 6 p.m. varsity-only game.

South, now 16-3 after completing its regular season Wednesday, built an 11-4 lead by 4:55 of the first quarter. But the Big Reds rallied on treys by Wilson, Stacy Blake and Tiffany Mahoney to gain a 17-all tie with 35 seconds left in the opening period before two Seagraves free throws with 19.7 seconds left gave the Patriots a two-point (19-17) advantage after the initial eight minutes of action.

In the second stanza though, South mounted another big lead - this time 36-24 with 3:20 until halftime - only to see PHS battle back yet again. The Patriots scored the quarter's first six points and 17 of 24 to move on top by a dozen.

Asia Greenleaf, Seagraves and Halbert had four points each in the South surge. But after that, the Patriots failed to put up any points the rest of half as the Big Reds ran off the final five points to slice the deficit to just seven, 36-29, at intermission.

The third period saw PHS further cut into the South lead, getting a trey from Wilson and a basket from Christine Jacobs in succession to reduce the margin to only four, 40-36, at the 3:42 mark. But in the last 1:23 of the quarter, the Patriots had a trey by Hannah Maston, a short baseline banker by Moore and two free throws by Greenleaf to just an Imani Ward free throw for the Big Reds to take a 10-point lead, 47-37, into the fourth quarter.

In the first 2:08 of the fourth, Seagraves stole the ball and fed Halbert for a layup on the break, converted two free throws and added a hoop to personally propel South in front by 14 at 53-39. But Wilson gunned in four treys in the final 4:35 of the game for PHS' last 12 points to keep the Big Reds within nine or 10 points. But the Patriots responded to the first three Wilson treys with a score of their own from Seagraves, Kristiana Hunt and Moore before Wilson's fourth trey with 4.6 seconds left made it a nine-point final.

''Even though we led most of the way, we never got away from them,'' said South head coach Scott Stephens. ''They put a lot of pressure on us with their defense, and we made too many silly turnovers. Our post players weren't very effective tonight. Normally, we're a little better inside than we were. Luckily, we had some kids who made some outside shots for us tonight. They looked like they were more physical and they wanted to win more than we did. I think we came in a little bit lackadaisical, so I hope this is a good wake-up call for us.''

''We played very well offensively,'' said PHS head coach Kenny DeMoss. ''But I think the difference in the game tonight was in the third quarter when we cut it to four and had 'em on the ropes, but didn't really take control of the game. They went on a 7-1 run to finish the quarter and took a 10-point lead into the fourth.

''We played with a lot of emotion tonight, but a lot of composure too. If we can continue to do that and put the ball in the bucket, we'll be OK,'' added DeMoss, looking forward to a possible matchup with South again in the sectional semifinals next Wednesday.