Gallery by Heather Belcher
Princeton – It’s been 22 months since Beckley senior Keanti Thompson last suited up for the Flying Eagles. Having last played in the program’s 2021 state quarterfinal loss to George Washington, she was understandably out of sync early.
But when the Flying Eagles needed her most she delivered.
In a game where neither team led by more than four until the final minute, Thompson nailed a 21-foot 3-pointer with 1:27 left, breaking a 43-43 tie with Princeton and ultimately delivering the Flying Eagles a 49-45 victory over their sectional foes on the road Tuesday night in Princeton.
The 3-pointer was just one of three winning plays the talented senior made in the final 90 seconds, nailing a pair of free throws that pushed Beckley’s lead back to three with 18 seconds left and tipping out an offensive rebound after a missed free throw with under eight seconds to go and her team up four.
“It’s a blessing,” Beckley head coach Brian Nabors said. “She’s never not been part of this family. We’ve always been in her corner and we’re just glad she’s focused now and hope that we can continue to be there for her. We’re hoping she can continue to get better and help our team be successful.”
Josie Cross was the only player to score in double figures for the visitors but eight players in total reached the scoring column with all their efforts necessary.
Despite turning Princeton over 22 times and taking 15 more shots than the host Tigers, the Flying Eagles never pulled away in part because of a poor shooting night. They hit just 16 of their 51 field goal attempts for a 31 percent clip which was also their separate shooting percentages from inside and outside the arc.
“We do what we practice,” Nabors said. “Shots aren’t falling and we’re not playing good basketball we have to do what we do. That zone kind of bothered us a little bit and we didn’t have really good ball movement. Once we started moving the basketball we got some decent looks and I thought our defense stepped up and that’s what won the game for us. That was a big shot by Keanti but Lataja Creasey also hit a big shot.”
Foul trouble along with Princeton’s size made life difficult for Beckley early.
Maddie Stull scored the first four points for Princeton, giving the hosts the early advantage. A pair of Autumn Bane free throws pushed the lead to 6-2 before Cross added another layup. Kylie Conner restored the four-point advantage and Maddie Belcher slashed it with a 3 that brought the Flying Eagles to within a point at 8-7.
Still the offensive struggles persisted for the visitors who misfired on 11 of their 15 field goal attempts in the opening quarter.
Their chances were aided by the 14 first-half turnovers committed by Princeton.
“That’s who we are,” Princeton head coach Matt Smith said. “We play defense as good as anybody. We knew on film they rebounded well. (Donya Burton) is a phenomenal athlete and she goes hard on the boards. Cross may be the best offensive rebounder I’ve seen and she does the little things people don’t realize and then you look at that state line and you’re like ‘Wow, that kid had a great game!’ We knew that.
“We battled and got in foul trouble and the girls didn’t quit. We have a couple kids with nagging injuries and that kind of limited us a little bit. But I was extremely proud of the effort and what we did defensively. You can point fingers here and there but turnovers are huge, especially for a team that doesn’t consistently put it in the bucket. You can’t turn the ball over.”
The visitors appeared ready to pull away late in the third when Abby Dillon nailed four consecutive free throws after a technical and shooting foul, turning a 35-34 deficit into a 38-35 advantage but a four-minute scoreless stretch saw Princeton take a 40-39 lead after an Asia Collins layup and a pair of Maddie Stull free throws.
Donya Burton snapped the skid with a layup but a pair of Reagan Southers free throws marked the final time the Tigers took the lead. A Creasey 3 put the Flying Eagles up 43-41 and Kylie Conner tied it, setting the stage for Thompson’s decisive shot.
“We did not see her on film so it was a bit of surprised,” Smith said of Thompson. “But hey, she hit the huge shot and that’s why (Nabors) said all summer ‘Coach, she’s a player, I just have to be able to get her to play,’ and listen she hit maybe the biggest shot of the game and hit it like she’d been playing the last two years. It did catch us off guard a little bit but I think our girls adjusted well to it. I can’t be upset with the energy and effort, it just didn’t go our way.”
Stull, Autumn Bane and Cross were the only three players to finish in double figures, with Stull and Cross leading their teams. Cross finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds while Stull poured in a game-high 20. Bane added 11.
With the win Beckley (7-5) moves to 3-0 in sectional play with wins over the other three teams. Princeton (7-6) drops to 1-2 in the section.
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B: 11 10 17 11 – 49
P: 8 15 14 8 – 45
Beckley
Abby Dillon 8, Josie Cross 12, Lataja Creasey 8, Keanti Thompson 7, Leilani Manns 1, Maddie Belcher 3, Donya Burton 8, Mya Wooton 2
Princeton
Kylie Conner 4, Maddie Stull 20, Autumn Bane 11 Reagan Southers 4, Carley Hurt 1, Kalyn Davis 1, Asia Collins 4
3-point goals – B: 5 (Dillon, Cross, Creasey, Thompson, Belcher); P: 1 (Stull 1)
