Gallery by Heather Belcher
New Richmond – Wyoming County residents can feel safe knowing their annual vacation to Charleston is still on.
Placing four players in double figures, defending state champion Wyoming East cruised to an 84-50 win over Chapmanville in a Class AA Region 3 co-final Thursday in New Richmond, ensuring the Lady Warriors will be in Charleston next week to defend their title.
With struggles in the half court plaguing the Lady Warriors at times this season, East coach Angie Boninsegna has continuously preached growth. She saw her team grow up before her eyes, executing in the half court to the tune of 22 assists on 33 made field goals.
The 22 assists were indicative of how the Lady Warriors played, sharing the ball all evening with Abby Russell, Kayley Bane, Cadee Blackburn and Maddie Clark each scoring at least 12 points each.
Though the end result was positive there were some worries heading into the game. The Tigers had played well entering the contest with the result of last year’s regional co-final – an 82-17 East victory – still on their minds.
By the middle of the second quarter the concerns were quelled with Clark, who finished with eight assists, running the show.
The sophomore guard stole a pass on the first possession of the game, finding Blackburn for a 3 and Bane for a layup, staking East to a 5-2 lead.
The Tigers answered almost immediately with Haley Flemming driving the length of the court for a layup but a 16-3 run to end the quarter staked East to a 21-8 lead.
The run itself was powered by crisp half-court sets and defense that turned into offense.
“We not only made good decisions in the half court but our defense set the tempo,” Boninsegna said. “We were getting up and down the court. We had it at our tempo and we weren’t slowed down to where we couldn’t get out running. We said all along defense will win championships and we were fortunate we played really good defense at times tonight. We still got some things to work on but we’ve got to continue to improve. Growth! We saw some growth on the court with some freshmen.”
Subbing in for Blackburn, the all-stater Russell got to work immediately, picking off a pass and turning it into a three-point play. Two possessions later she jumped another passing lane for another layup and Bane followed suit, picking off a pass in a possession that ended in a split at the line for Russell.
“In the first quarter I knew that we had to come out with a lot of energy,” Russell said. “We knew they were a good team and if we didn’t really come to play they could beat us. We just all came out with a lot of energy and came ready to play.”
A free throw from senior Hannah Blankenship accounted for the final points of the 16-3 run.
That was just the tip of the iceberg with an ensuing avalanche on the way.
A two-pointer from Chapmanville’s Brooke Christian cut the deficit to 11, the last true glimmer of hope for the hosts
Bane, who scored a game-high 23 points, converted on back-to-back 3s and Blackburn followed with her own pair of shots inside the arc to make it a 31-14 game. Seven straight from Clark, and layup from Russell and another layup from Clark highlighted a quarter in which all four players excelled.
When the smoke cleared the Lady Warriors boasted a 43-14 lead on the strength of a 22-6 run with over two minutes still left in the half.
In all East played one of its best quarters of the season, shooting 71 percent from the field (10 of 14), assisting on 10 of its made field goals and scoring 24 points.
“We did a good job early keeping it close,” Chapmanville coach Kristina Gore said. “I typically do not like to comment on officiating but I think in that stretch things got very physical on their end. I don’t think the game was called the same way in that little stretch and it hurt us. There were a few calls we could’ve got that would’ve kept us closer maybe a little bit longer but it got away from us quicker than we wanted. But I don’t want to take anything away from Wyoming East and this program. They’re absolutely a tremendous first-class program with a lot of success here and I have a lot of respect for it. I just would’ve liked to have seen us have a little bit of a better shot early.”
After a layup from Gabby Cameron made it a 45-16 game at the 2:06 mark the visitors closed on a 7-0 run and opened the third quarter with a 3 to get the deficit back to 19 after it peaked earlier at 29.
Bane promptly put a stamp on the game.
The junior, who was held to two points in the sectional championship against Summers County, ripped a personal 11-0 run with Clark, Russell and Colleen Lookabill combining to assist on her four field goals during the stretch.
“I was struggling a little bit because I wasn’t hitting my shots but the second I hit that first 3 and that layup I knew I was going,” Bane said. “My teammates have my back, the cheering section was amazing and the adrenaline was just there. We were running the floor and it was just a huge game.”
Russell extended the run with a pair of layups, staking East to a 60-26 lead. The hosts never led by less than 30 the rest of the way, leading by as many as 39 points in the fourth.
“We got in foul trouble in the second quarter there,” Boninsegna said. “We were a little winded when they went on the run before the half. But again our defense set the tone. We hit some key shots on the perimeter and I think that kind of turned the tide for us. Kayley’s at her best when she’s moving the ball. She got some open shots and she did really well today.”
East improves to 14-3 and enters the state tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Lady Warriors will open their title defense on Wednesday when the play No. 7 Charleston Catholic on Wednesday at 7:15 P.M.
Email: Tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
C: 8 15 7 20 – 50
WE: 21 24 20 19 – 84
Chapmanville
Daizi Farley 14, Claire Dingess 8, Haley Flemming 13, Jaiden Mahon 9, Chloe Thompson 4, Brooke Christian 2
Wyoming East
Hannah Blankenship 1, Maddie Clark 12, Kayley Bane 23, Cadee Blackburn 16, Alivia Monroe 8, Charleigh Price 2, Abby Russell 16, Gabby Cameron 6
3-point goals – WE: 6 (Clark 2, Bane 2, Blackburn 2); C: 3 (Farley 2, Mahon 1)
