Gallery by Heather Belcher
The cornerstone of Beckley basketball has always been defense. Big-time wins and miraculous comebacks have all been keyed by the Flying Eagles’ relentless pressure.
Wednesday night the Lady Flying Eagles put on a defensive performance for the ages in the Class AAAA Region 3, Section 2 showdown with longtime rival Princeton.
Holding the visitors to just 18 points over three quarters, Beckley doubled up the Tigers for a 60-30 win.
“I saw the defense tonight that fits the tradition of Beckley basketball, especially when we went full-court. I thought we locked down and was very intense,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Brian Nabors said. “I was really proud of the fact tonight that they were able to stay focused and play together. They encouraged each other and made sacrifices defensively to try and make good plays.”
Princeton led just once in the game at 8-6 after an old school three-point play by Lauren Parish. However, for the next 10 minutes of the first half, Beckley yielded just two free throws to lead 22-10 at the break.
After the Tigers failed to take advantage of two Beckley turnovers to start the second half, the Flying Eagles exploded on a 16-2 run that staggered the visitors and they never recovered.
Freshman Abby Dillon drilled a 3-ball before her freshman running mate Josie Cross converted a turnover into a quick score.
A steal by Adriana Law ended with an easy basket for Olivia Ziolkowski. Lataja Creasey followed with a layup off another forced turnover for a 31-10 lead less than 90 seconds into the third quarter.
“I saw that look in their eyes. That was one thing I was really proud of tonight. I haven’t seen that look all year,” Nabors said. “The look I saw in the third quarter, was like they were determined to play some good basketball.”
Two free throws from Sadie Boggess stopped the run momentarily, but Beckley was far from done.
Cross scored on an assist from Dillon. Law turned a turnover into a layup just before Dillon drilled her second triple of the quarter for a 38-12 lead.
When Dillon nailed her fourth 3-pointer of the third period, Beckley led 51-18 and was never challenged.
“She caught fire. We wanted to continue to get her the ball and get her good looks,” Nabors said about his freshman standout. “We didn’t want her to force things. Every shot she took was a good look. She works hard and puts the time in. She wants to be a great basketball player. Hopefully she can continue to play good basketball for us.”
Dillon finished with a game-high 20 points, followed by Cross with 10.
“(Josie) is understanding her role and she is doing the little things that we need her to do. Olivia gets a lot of attention. They rough her up inside and when she catches it, teams double her now,” Nabors explained. “We just tell Josie and Somalia (Nelson), when she comes in, to be ready to receive the ball. When the shot goes up, we need them in position to get the offensive rebound. We need put-backs. Credit to them for keeping the energy up for our team.”
Boggess led Princeton with 15 points, but Beckley surrendered just seven field goals overall in the contest. The final score was not the outcome that Princeton head coach Matt Smith imagined.
“I am really surprised. Early on both teams had good intensity and (Beckley) really carried that on a little bit. No. 20 (Dillon) was the difference,” Smith said. “That kid is going to be special. It seemed like she made every shot. We couldn’t get a shot to fall and we couldn’t guard 20.”
The win advances Beckley to the sectional championship game Friday against Greenbrier East in Fairlea at 7 p.m.
The winner of Friday’s game will host its regional co-final game next Wednesday, while the loser will play its regional co-final matchup at either Capital or George Washington.
“They believed in their team defense tonight. All five girls on the floor really worked together,” Nabors said. “We can’t be satisfied. This game was survive and advance. Now we want to keep winning. We want to play another home game. We have to put this behind us, learn from it and continue to get better.
The only regular season meeting between the two schools was a 55-50 win by the Flying Eagles, also played in Fairlea.
“Greenbrier East will be ready, especially since we won the first game. They still feel like they are the better team, so we we will have to play our best basketball,” Nabors said.
P: 8 2 8 12 – 30
WW: 10 12 29 9 – 60
Princeton
Kylie Conner 1, Maddie Stull 2, Autumn Bane 2, Reagan Southers 5, Lauren Parish 5, Sadie Boggess 15. Totals: 7 15-26 30.
Woodrow Wilson
Lataja Creasey 6, Jolene Hazelwood 3, Olivia Ziolkowski 7, Josie Cross 10, Abby Dillon 20, Somalia Nelson 2, Sarah Hopkins 5, Maddy Belcher 2, Adriana Law 5. Totals: 24 3-5 60.
3-pointers – P: 1 (Southers); WW: 9 (Dillon 6, Hazelwood, Hopkins, Law).
