Parkersburg, WV -

Ripley                      11  11  11  24  =  57

Parkersburg South   18  22  18  20  =  78

South Scoring:  Danielle Floyd 20, Asia Greenleaf 11, Kristiana Hunt 10, Jessica Moore 9, Sammy Hicks 7, Hannah Maston 7, Mary Seagraves 7, Kelsi Halbert 4, Katelyn Porter 3.

Ripley Scoring:  Sheets 19, Eagle 17, Wilson 9, Hatcher 4, Crook 2, Hill 2, McComas 2, Smith 2.

South Statistics:  Rebounds, 43 (Hicks 7, Floyd, Seagraves 6);  Assists, 16 (Halbert, Seagraves 4);  Steals, 14 (Greenleaf 3);  Blocks, 2 (Greenleaf 2);  Turnovers, 14;  Field Goal Shooting, 27-49 (55%);  3-Point Field Goal Shooting, 6-17 (35%);  Free-Throw Shooting, 18-22 (82%).

Ripley Statistics:  Field Goal Shooting, 19-50 (38%);  3-Point Field Goal Shooting, 2-12 (17%);  Free-Throw Shooting, 17-24 (71%).

Patriots ambush Ripley, 78-57

By Steve Hemmelgarn, Parkersburg News & Sentinel

PARKERSBURG - Quick starts to both halves and a dominating defense throughout Friday night's Class AAA Region 3, Section 1 girls basketball championship game propelled host Parkersburg South to a 78-57 victory over Ripley at the Rod Oldham Athletic Center.

Danielle Floyd drilled five treys, three in the third quarter as the third-ranked Patriots went from 18 up (40-22) at the half to 25 ahead (58-33) after three periods, to not only score a game-high 20 points, but also surpass her sister Heidi in 3-point baskets for South.

The win improved the defending state champion Patriots to 19-3 on the season and lets them play host to a Region 3 matchup with 10th-ranked Beckley Woodrow Wilson at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

And No. 13 Ripley, despite the loss that dropped the Vikings' mark to 14-10, still have a shot at getting to the state Tuesday night if it can defeat No. 8 Princeton on the road.

South's win and Princeton downing Woodrow Wilson Friday night set up the regional pairings.

In the first half Friday at South, the Patriots jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first 3 1/2 minutes, then notched the initial six points of the second stanza to go up by 13 (24-11) at the 6:03 mark. South stretched its point advantage to at much at 18 (36-18) with 1:20 left in the first half on a trey by Floyd, whose two free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining maintained that bulge.

And an 8-0 run, fueled by a Floyd trey and then two free throws and a three-point play by Sammy Hicks, to open the second half hiked the margin to 26 (48-22) and Mary Seagraves' bust-out steal for a layup and three-point play to start the fourth quarter increased the gap to 28 (61-33) and Floyd's final trey pushed the spread to a game-high 29 (66-37) with 5:38 to go.

But Ripley, led by Alannah Sheets with 19 points and Victoria Eagle with 17, never gave up throughout despite the continually-mounting deficit in battling right to the end.

Asia Greenleaf added 11 points and Kristiana Hunt 10 for South, whose head coach, Scott Stephens, praised his team's ''total effort. Everybody who played contributed. Kristiana Hunt probably played as well as she's played all year long. It was a good team win.''

South has played Woodrow Wilson once already this season, scoring a 61-52 win over the Flying Eagles on Dec. 13 in the Patriots' Christmas tournament. ''But Beckley has improved as the year's gone along,'' Stephens said.

Ripley was done in a lot by South's fast start, admitted Ripley head coach Steve Hunt. ''We told them before the game, we can't let them come out and start feeling good, but that's exactly what happened,'' said Hunt. ''They're better than us. I like to think we're not bad, but we didn't give our best game, but they had something to do with that.''

Preps Round-Up

Charleston Gazette

PRINCETON 58, WOODROW 48: Amanda Smith had 14 points and Tesla Akers 13 as the Tigers (17-7) won the AAA Region 3 Section 2 title at Oak Hill. Woodrow Wilson (13-10) received 17 points from Erin Reynolds and 10 from Erica Staples, two of its three players who fouled out. Princeton plays Section 1 runner-up Ripley in the regionals Tuesday while Woodrow meets Section 1 champ Parkersburg South.