Parkersburg - 

Parkersburg South (4-1)   27  13  19  19  =  78

Princeton (2-3)                 12   11   9  14  =  46

South Scoring:   Stephens 19, Harbour 10, Floyd 9, Wolfe 9, Harvey 7, Curry 6, Blair 6, Molinari 4, Crislip 3, Meadows 3, Tackett 2.

Princeton Scoring:   Repass 16, Criss 10, Street 8, Bowlick 5, Crowe 3, Mitchem 2, Faulkner 2.

South Statistics:   Rebounds, 26 (Stephens 7, Blair 6);   Assists, 20 (Molinari 5);  Turnovers, 17;  Field Goal Shooting, 28-65 (43.1%).

Princeton Statistics:   Rebounds, 30;  Assists, 16;   Steals, 13;   Turnovers, 27;   Field Goal Shooting, 21-50 (42%).

JV:   Parkersburg South 62, Princeton 27

South Scoring:   E. Houser 12, Harbour 11, K. Stephens 8, S. Houser 7, Crislip 6, Meadows 6, Shreeves 5, S. Harvey 3, McDonald 2, McKiernan 2.

Patriots pound Princeton

By RON JOHNSTON

PARKERSBURG - Even with the paint congested, Parkersburg South still gave visiting Princeton the brushoff.

"They were packing it in on Jill, and weren't going to give us anything inside," said first-year PSHS head coach Scott Stephens, whose team never trailed in the contest. "So, somebody had to step up and make the three. And, after the first quarter, we started making a few of them - and I think that might have been the difference in the game."

South non-starters' Bethany Harbour and Rachel Wolfe - who scored 10 and nine points, respectively - combined to drain five of their team's nine treys.

Heidi Floyd also netted nine points for the Patriots, who improved their record to 4-1. Jill Stephens, who played just 20 minutes of the contest, added seven rebounds. In the second half, she was 0-1 from the field but nine-of-nine from the foul line.

Lauren Blair had six boards and five steals, and reserve Michelle Molinari dished out a team-high five assists.

After winning its first three games on the road, the southsiders were coming off a 69-67 setback to Nitro in the West Virginia Hoops Classic at the Charleston Civic Center on Dec. 19.

"It's great to be home, and this is a great win," Scott Stephens said. "That was a nice crowd here today, and we had a lot of support, which I think is wonderful for our kids. They were very excited and nervous about playing the home opener."

Princeton, which lost an 81-49 decision to South last season, dropped to 2-3 on the campaign. The Tigerettes, who turned the ball over 27 times, were paced by Lyndsey Repass' 16 points. Megan Criss added 10 markers.

"Parkersburg South has a strong inside and outside game," said Princeton coach Debbie Ball. "When we could actually get back on defense to set up, we keyed on stopping (Jill) Stephens. But their transition game is way ahead of ours, and just the way they run the floor set us back quite a bit. They're just a strong team."

Stephens, Floyd and Blair each had six points, and Brittany Harvey had five markers as South staked itself to a 27-12 first-quarter advantage. Three of the Patriots' first five baskets came on putbacks by Stephens, Blair and Harvey.

Keeping Princeton relatively close for most of the period was Repass, who hit two runners and a jumper.

But with under a minute left, PSHS took its first double-digit lead of the game with a 9-0 run, capped by Harbour's driving layup as time expired.

In the second quarter, Harbour scored five points, and Stephens had four as the Patriots cruised to a 40-23 halftime advantage.

"I think we were just a little bit quicker than Princeton," Scott Stephens said. "Our kids were really going after it."

Opening up the third quarter, Ashley Curry scored two consecutive buckets to give the southsiders a commanding 21-point lead (44-23). With 1:21 left in the stanza, that lead bulged to 30 points (57-27) on a Harvey basket.

In the fourth quarter, the Patriots won going away as Wolfe made two threes, and Allison Crislip, Brittany Meadows and Harbour each had one triple.

South is scheduled to host Winfield at the Oldham Athletic Center Friday. Earlier this month, the Patriots downed the Generals, 74-50, in the Winfield Tournament championship tilt on Dec. 13.