Gallery by Heather Belcher
Princeton – Each game this season has provided an opportunity for a different Princeton Tiger to shine.
Thursday it was Sadie Boggess’ turn.
With Princeton trailing 48-47, the senior guard canned a left-wing 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to help lift the Tigers past sectional foe Beckley in a 52-48 victory Thursday night in Princeton.
Boggess with another 3. Princeton up 50-48 with 37 seconds left #wvgirlsbb pic.twitter.com/bv4rK4sYlK
— Tyler Jackson (@TJack94) January 28, 2022
Trailing 48-44, Princeton’s Kalyn Davis drew a foul and went to the free throw line, missing the first of two shots. Afterwards a technical foul was called on Beckley assistant Gene Nabors, leading to two additional free throws, both of which Boggess canned to make it a 48-47 game.
“Somebody said ‘Ball don’t lie’ after they missed the free throw,” Beckley head coach Brian Nabors said. “When did they start calling technicals on that? And then they say he yelled at him. Everybody yelled. Our fans yelled, but it is what it is. That was the game right there. No excuses though. We came to play. Our girls played hard, they laid on the line and they didn’t loaf and gave 100 percent effort. We just didn’t do enough to overcome some of the adversity that took place during the game.”
The technical was the start of an 8-0 Princeton run to close out the game with seven of those eight coming courtesy of Boggess, four of them from the foul line.
It was indicative of the night Boggess had, scoring a game-high 23 points. Each time the hosts needed a boost she was there to provide it and it started early. The Flying Eagles raced out to an 8-1 lead behind a stingy defense that held the Tigers to an 0-of-7 shooting performance from the field to that point.
A jumper from Boggess broke the ice, spurring a 6-0 Princeton run to end the quarter, one that was capped with by a Kylie Conner 3 at the buzzer.
That ignited a barrage from downtown as Boggess’ first 3 of the evening at the start of the second quarter gave the hosts their first lead at 10-8.
“That’s senior leadership,” Princeton coach Matt Smith said of Boggess. “She’s struggled going back to before the layoff before Christmas. The thing I love about Sadie is she doesn’t give up, she believes in herself and believes in her teammates. We got her in position where she got some good looks and once the confidence came the lid came off the basket and she played a phenomenal game and we needed it.
“That 3 at the end, I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy for a kid to make shot in my life. It was great because we were struggling and she got us going and everybody feeds off of it.”
The Flying Eagles took the lead on buckets from Adriana Law and Olivia Ziolkowski but Boggess’ second 3 in as many attempts resulted in the third lead change of the quarter.
“Their 3s and Boggess is a heck of a shooter,” Nabors said. We gave her too many open looks and she knocked it down so we had a defensive breakdown. We just didn’t get there to make it difficult for her to get the shot off. The plan was to when she catches it jam her and make her put it on the floor. She didn’t take us to the basket much tonight, she got us from the outside.”
Boggess canned one more 3 in the quarter, helping the Tigers to a 25-22 advantage at the intermission.
The third quarter featured more of the same from the two teams with Ziolkowski’s seven points in the frame helping the visitors take a 36-34 lead. A three-point play courtesy of Lauren Parish swung the pendulum back the other way but a trey from Ziolkowski reestablished order momentarily.
“We’re getting better and we go as Olivia goes,” Nabors said. “She looks like she’s feeling better and she’s playing with some passion and becoming a leader for us.”
Boggess again had an answer, helping the Tigers take a 41-39 lead with another 3 but a 9-3 run from Beckley established a 48-44 advantage before the technical helped make it a one-point game. While the call loomed large late, the Tigers capitalized, closing the gap and leaning on unselfish play to set up Boggess’ winning 3.
“(Kalyn) Davis passes up a wide-open look because she’d been sitting and had been struggling a little bit,” Smith said. “She had the foresight to see the defense was moving. Sadie was two passes away. Kalyn could see that. She gave up her chance for the kid that had been making shots and for the better look. That’s who we are. That’s the thing about these girls. She could’ve easily taken the shot and said ‘I’m the hero’ but she knew the better play was to get the ball around to the backside where Sadie had been hitting shots all night.”
The visitors had a chance to tie with under 10 seconds left but a midrange jumper was off the mark. A pair of Boggess free throws secured the win. While the technical foul loomed large over the final minutes of the game, the Princeton defense carried out its part, holding the Flying Eagles scoreless over the game’s final three minutes.
“That’s who we have to be, ” Smith said. “We’re not going to shoot 50 percent, we’re not going to make all the open shots we take but we can work our tails off on the defensive end. After we got those free throws we got the game back within one and the kids knew we give it all on that end, we’re going to make the shot. We’re going to get it. Somehow, some way all five of them went with the game plan.”
Boggess led all scorers with 23 points while Parish chipped in 16 in the win. Ziolkowski led Beckley with 18 in the loss.
Beckley falls to 2-9, extending its losing streak to seven games. The Flying Eagles will attempt to snap the skid on Saturday when the travel to Parkersburg South. Princeton moves to 9-2 and will travel to PikeView on Monday.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
B: 8 14 14 12 – 48
P: 7 18 9 18 – 52
Beckley
Olivia Ziolkowski 18, Joie Cross 4, Abby Dillon 10, Mya Wooton 2, Bella Staples 2, Adriana Law 12
Princeton
Kylie Conner 7, Maddie Stull 5, Lauren Parish 16, Kalyn Davis 1, Sadie Boggess 23
3-point goals – B: 3 ; P: 6 (Conner 1, Boggess 5).
