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Parkersburg, WV
Fairmont Senior 17
12 10 16 = 55
Parkersburg South 18 20 19 18
= 75
South Scoring: Ali Morris 14, Taylor Phillips 14, Kim Stephens 12,
Asia Greenleaf 9, Jessica Leasure 6, Kara Longwell 6, Danielle Floyd 5,
Jessie Wells 4, Jessica Moore 3, Sarah Harvey 2.
Fairmont Senior Scoring: Wilson 19, Donato 12, Hall 9, Keener 7,
Paige 4, Hendrickson 3, Jasper 1.
South Statistics: Rebounds, 48 (Morris 13, Stephens 8, Greenleaf
6); Assists, 13 (Floyd, Harvey 3); Steals, 10 (Morris 5);
Blocks, 2 (Harvey 2); Turnovers, 17.
Fairmont Statistics: 3-Point Field Goals, 6 (Hall 3, Keener
2); Free-Throw Shooting, 9-25 (36%); Turnovers, 19.
JV: Parkersburg South 76, Fairmont Senior 21
South Scoring: Jessica Moore 14, Mary Seagraves 12, Amber Shreeves
11, Kara Longwell 9, Asia Greenleaf 8, Sami Hicks 6, Kelsey Halbert 5,
MacKenzie Bourgeois 3, Jessica Gilkeson 2, Katelyn Porter 2.
By STEVE
HEMMELGARN, Parkersburg News & Sentinel
PARKERSBURG — It’s been said the two most important junctures in a
basketball game are right before the first half ends and the third
quarter.
If that’s true, then Parkersburg South’s girls basketball team did
exactly what it had to do to down visiting Fairmont Senior 75-55 Friday
night as the Rod Oldham Athletic Center.
In the initial home game since capturing their first-ever girls
basketball state championship in March, the second-ranked Class AAA
Patriots, now 2-0, dominated play in the final five minutes of the first
half and the third quarter to turn a 23-22 Polar Bear lead into an
18-point South advantage, 57-39, going into the fourth quarter.
Ali Morris got the Patriots rolling midway through the second stanza
with a three-point play, then a steal for a layup. Then an 11-2 run to
finish the first half, fueled by three Taylor Phillips baskets and two
more, including a trey, by Kara Longwell, propelled South into a
nine-point lead, 38-29, at intermission.
And the defending state champions continued their surge to open the
second half, using a 19-10 point margin in the third period to roar in
front by 18.
In the last 1:18 of the third quarter, the Patriots went on an 8-0 tear
on back-to-back treys by Danielle Floyd and Morris and Jessie Wells’
rebound bucket with 15 seconds remaining in the canto.
But in the fourth quarter, Fairmont Senior (1-1) got the deficit down to
13 at 67-54 with 1:26 to play, but Jessie Leasure’s two straight baskets
stemmed the Polar Bear tide and put South back up by a comfortable 17 at
71-54 with just 48 seconds left in the game.
Morris and Phillips paced the Patriots’ point-production with 14 each,
followed by Kim Stephens with 12 and Asia Greenleaf with nine.
For Fairmont Senior, Michelle Wilson led with 19 points, while Mary
Donato added 12 and Emily Keener seven.
‘‘I think our depth was a big factor,’’ said South head coach Scott
Stephens.
‘‘We just put a lot of pressure on the basketball, and our defense gets
our offense started. We didn’t shoot the ball very well, but we still
scored 75 points, and had a pretty balanced attack doing it.’’
Stephens is minus four starters from last season’s state-title team,
‘‘and about 75 percent of our points,’’ said the coach, who is also
without the services of Kayla Ayers, who tore her ACL in mid-September
and isn’t expected back until February.
‘‘But we’ve got some really nice young kids,’’ said the coach. ‘‘There’s
a lot of talent there, and that just keeps us getting better, having the
young kids pushing the old kids.’’
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