Beckley Woodrow Wilson  16 13 14 09 = 52

Parkersburg South               21 15 12 11 = 59

 

South Scoring:  Jessica Moore 15, Kelsi Halbert 11, Mary Seagraves 11, Kristiana Hunt 10, Asia Greenleaf 8, Hannah Maston 4.

 

Beckley Scoring:  Allen 13, Chipps 13, Snyder 10, Heath 6, Trigg 4, Rhodes 4, Moore 2.

 

South Statistics:  Rebounds, 30 (Greenleaf, Moore 7, Seagraves 6);  Assists, 17 (Halbert 7, Seagraves 3); Steals, 15 (Hunt 6);  Blocks, 9 (Greenleaf 6);  Turnovers, 17;  Field Goal Shooting, 22-44 (50%);  3-Point Field Goal Shooting, 2-4 (50%);  Free-Throw Shooting, 13-23 (57%);  Total Fouls, 13.

 

Beckley Statistics:  Turnovers, 18;  Free-Throw Shooting, 10-14 (71%);  Total Fouls, 19.

 

Eagles edged in regional

By Kerry Patrick, Parkersburg News & Sentinel

PARKERSBURG — The Patriots from Parkersburg South couldn’t change the past, but they could rectify it.
And that’s exactly what they did — barely — Thursday night against Woodrow Wilson in a Class AAA, Region 3 girls basketball contest at Rod Oldham Athletic Center.
Kelsi Halbert’s 3-pointer with 1:28 remaining proved to be the game winner as third-ranked South advanced to next week’s state tournament in Charleston by fending off the Flying Eagles 59-52.
Last year on this same stage, Woodrow Wilson denied South a chance to defend its state championship by defeating the Patriots on their home floor.
“It was almost like deja vu there at the end of the game,” South coach Scott Stephens said.
South (19-3) led by as many as 11 points in the first half, then had to fight for its playoff life down the stretch as Woodrow Wilson tied the score at 52 with 2 minutes left.
The usually reliable Halbert missed both ends of a two-shot foul moments later, but the Flying Eagles could not take advantage after missing a pair of shots from the floor on the other end.
South grabbed the defensive rebound on the second miss, and on the ensuing possession, Halbert found herself wide open on the right wing just beyond the arc. There was no hesitation as the senior point guard sank the trey to put the Patriots in front 55-52.
“I had just missed two big foul shots, so I just wanted to get us back in the game because I had messed up before,” said Halbert, who dished out seven assists.
Stephens admitted Halbert’s heroics were not exactly the way the play was supposed to develop. He’ll take it anyway.
“I didn’t want her to take that shot; that was not the shot I was looking for,” he said. “I wanted the ball to go inside, but she pulled up and she was open. It wasn’t a bad shot and she buried it.”
Kristiana Hunt picked off two passes on Woodrow Wilson’s next two offensive series. Her second theft put her at the free-throw line where she made one of two charity tosses. Teammate Asia Greenleaf added another free throw with 11.9 seconds showing to extend the advantage to 57-52. The final nail occurred as Halbert found Hunt sprinting down the sidelines for an easy layup as time expired.
Woodrow Wilson wrapped up the campaign at 10-11 despite having three players score in double figures — Alexis Allen (13 points), Ashley Chipps (11) and Haley Snyder (10).
Chipps added 12 rebounds while Olivia Moore had five assists and Shaitice Trigg had four steals.
“We were 1-8 at one time this season,” Woodrow Wilson coach Bernie Bostick said. “(Tonight) we played one of the better teams in the state, and they felt like they had to play their best game to beat us,”
The Flying Eagles fell behind 16-5 at the outset before pulling to within 36-29 by halftime. They made just 1-of-7 shots from the floor to open the third quarter and trailed by as many as 11 points (44-33) with just over three minutes remaining in the period.
Snyder accounted for five points, including a 3-pointer, as Woodrow Wilson rallied with a 9-0 run. The Flying Eagles finally caught South at 51 on a Trigg putback at the 4:42 mark of the fourth quarter.
After an exchange of free throws, Halbert came up huge.
“It takes a tough player to hit a wide-open shot that late in the game,” Bostick said.
A total of four South players scored in double figures, including Jessica Moore with a game-high 15 points to go with nine rebounds. Mary Seagraves pitched in 11 points, while Hunt added 10 points.
“It was just so disappointing last year not to get to go to state,” Stephens said. “Going back to state, from the first day of practice this season, that’s what we talked about.”