Gallery by Heather BelcherĀ
Charleston – Cadee Blackburn and Kaylee Bane wanted a do-over after Wednesday’s quarterfinal showing.
A combined 2 of 9 from the field in that win over Charleston Catholic, they made amends Friday morning.
The pair combined for 30 points as Wyoming East dispatched of St. Marys 54-34 in the Class AA semifinals at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
With the win the Lady Warriors return to the Class AA state championship where they’ll defend their title on Saturday at 12:30.
Combining for just eight points in the quarterfinal win over the Irish, Bane and Blackburn found their rhythms in the opening half.
Blackburn tied the game at 2-2 with a floater, giving East the lead for good when she followed it with a 3-pointer at the 4:54 mark.
“It was a definitely a wakeup call,” Bane said of the poor quarterfinal performance, “This morning we got up a 6 o’clock just to be awake.”
“It was humbling (Wednesday), not coming out and playing well,” Blackburn added.
Zoe Davis followed Blackburn’s 3-pointer with a layup but the Blue Devils never were never within a possession afterwards. A 6-0 run – featuring buckets from Bane, Maddie Clark and Colleen Lookabill – to end the opening quarter staked East to a 12-4 advantage.
The second quarter belong entirely to Bane.
The junior scored seven of her game-high 19 points in the frame while also finding her way on the defensive side of the ball. After sitting the final 11 minutes of the half in the quarterfinal win due to foul trouble, she adjusted and stole five passes in the opening half Friday.
“(Wednesday) every little touch was a foul on me,” Bane said. “I knew I had to stay on that court today so I watched my fouls and moved my feet.”
Bane’s effort on that end of the floor served as a cog in the machine that’s become the East defense. Dating back to last year’s title run, Friday marked the fifth straight game in which the Lady Warriors forced at least 20 turnovers. The effort carried them again as they forced 16 in the first half Friday morning and 21 overall.
“A couple of those turnovers – about three or four of them were unforced errors,” St. Marys coach Fred King said. “We hit the ball out of bounds … Their pressure was relentless. We tried things but it just didn’t happen. The pressure early – that’s it. Sixteen turnovers in the first half? That sounds about right.”
“We wanted to go to the championship game and we knew good defense was going to get us there and it did.” Clark said.
Offensively the Lady Warriors functioned as well as they did on defense.
Of their 10 field goals in the first half, eight were assisted on as they executed effectively in the half court and found the outlets in transition.
“I think when we move the ball we do well,” Boninsegna said. “A couple times we made beautiful passes, we just missed a shot. Anytime you can move the ball especially against a zone, hopefully you put them a little off balance. And then we hit some shots that kind of turned the tide. Cadee hit the first five to get us off to a good start. As long as we share the Ball and do a good job of it most games we’ve got five people out there that can score and that helps too.”
After Bane’s final points in the second quarter, Maddie Clark followed with a 3 before the Blue Devils struck back with four straight to slash the deficit to 11.
An East turnover with five seconds left gave St. Marys another shot to chip even more before Blackburn stole the inbounds pass and nailed a floater before the buzzer, giving East a 26-13 lead at the break.
With St. Marys hanging around halfway through the third in a 32-22 game, Blackburn, Bane and Clark combined to deliver the knockout blow. A 10-0 run over a 91 second span allowed the Lady Warriors to coast the rest of the way.
It was an exciting half for the defending state champions that saw Bane score a state tournament career-high 19 points with Blackburn, a freshman, taking her first charge in four years. It prompted and emotional response.
“I haven’t took a charge in four years because the last time I did I broke my wrist,” Blackburn said. “My mom told me when I did she was going to come unglued and she definitely did. I was pointing at her.”
Bane led all scorers with 19 points while Blackburn added 11. Clark finished with 10.
Josey Moore and Callie Powell led St. Marys with 13 each.
East will await the winner of the other semifinal game between Petersburg and Parkersburg Catholic. The Lady Warriors defeated the latter 61-50 in the state championship game last year but fell to the Crusaderettes 62-28 on Dec. 11 at Logan.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94