Charmco – Disappointing losses on the hardwood are part of the game.
How a team responds to that setback is what separates a good team from championship team.
One night after a sound defeat by James Monroe in Lindside, the Greenbrier West girls bounced back powered by a 39-point performance from all-stater Preslee Treadway to take an 80-49 win over regional rival River View.
“After going down there last night and getting our rear ends whipped, I feel like they knew what they had to do tonight,” Greenbrier West head coach Mark Agee said. “It is a building process. We didn’t get started until late and these girls know what they have to do. I don’t see us doing anything but improving ourselves as the year goes along.”
The Raiders came to Greenbrier County with a very young team and a new approach to the game this season.
With so much youth and inexperience, head coach Gehrig Justice incorporated “The System” that helped lead Glenville State University to a national women’s basketball championship.
For one quarter the quick rotations and pressure defense did what was intended for the visitors who jumped out to a 14-8 lead midway through the period.
West responded with some defense of its own when steals from Treadway, Maddie Fields and Brilee Redden all turned into baskets for the Cavaliers.
The lead went to three points just before the end of the quarter on two scores from Treadway, but when Kaci Hatfield banked in 3-pointer to beat the buzzer, the game was tied 20-20 after eight minutes.
“The first quarter tonight is what I expect us to be,” Justice said. “The second quarter, youth took over. The one rotation that we had included two freshman. They were breaking away and Greenbrier West was anticipating the pass and getting the steals.”
The style of play caught Greenbrier West a bit off-guard in the opening quarter.
“The first quarter has always been our problem. We seem to have trouble getting started,” Agee said. “They clobbered us at first and they really came up on us hard. It took our girls a little bit to get used to that pressure. Once we settled down and figured out what we need to do, we were alright.”
Abigail Thomas broke the deadlock for West with a two-pointer which was followed by a steal from Fields that led to a score from Redden.
Treadway made it a six-point game with a stick-back before River View finally scored on a basket from Lilly Perkins.
Over the next three minutes, West turned defense into offense and Treadway became an unstoppable force inside the paint.
During that brief period of time, Treadway scored 11 points and sparked her team on a 15-0 run that turned a close game into a 19-point lead for West.
“She was our normal Preslee. She came out and did what she needed to do,” Agee said. “She has some good moves in the post when she gets the ball inside. We pressured the ball a lot better tonight too. We had less turnovers and we moved the ball better. We made a few changes and worked together a lot better tonight.”
When the halftime horn sounded, Treadway had scored 21 points in the quarter, giving her 30 in the first half.
“She did that to us last year and she does it to everybody. She is good,” Justice said. “I thought we could turn them over more than we did. The first quarter we did. The second quarter, youth and frustration kicked in. We were stuck on 22 forever. Then we just stopped playing hard against an older team that made plays and got some steals. Their maturity got our youth tonight.”
Fields also had a strong night for the Cavaliers with 16 points and Thomas added nine. Hatfield led the Raiders with 12 and Abigail Pruitt scored seven.
Greenbrier West (1-1) hosts Richwood Wednesday. River View (0-1) is back in action Tuesday when it hosts Hurley, Va.
RV: 20 6 13 10 – 49
GW: 20 30 17 13 – 80
River View
Lakyn Mincy 1, Chasity Kennedy 5, Lilly Perkins 6, Kaylee Blankenship 5, Kierra Stacey 2, Abigail Pruitt 7, Kaci Hatfield 12, Gracyn Kennedy 6.
Greenbrier West
Preslee Treadway 39, Abigail Thomas 9, Maddie Fields 16, Brilee Redden 2, Hannah Sweet 2, Lacy Walker 1, Sam Holliday 5, Keylee Clere 2, Macy Redden 2, Kenna Fields 2.
