Gallery by Tina Laney
Summersville – When the ladies from Nicholas County and Oak Hill meet on the hardwood, defense is often the name of the game.
It was no different Saturday night inside the Summersville Arena and Conference Center on the final day of the 2023 Winter Classic.
Needing an extra session to decide the outcome, the Red Devils held off the hometown Grizzlies for a 44-41 win.
“We got the win, but our post play was bad tonight. We just couldn’t make a shot underneath. Our guards did play well for us though,” Oak Hill head coach Darrell Compton said. “Nicholas County did make it tough on us inside, but we have to be more physical. We were bigger than they were, but they were stronger. They went after it more than we did.”
The visitors took a one-point lead after the first quarter before the lid on the basket closed and Nicholas County started to pull away.
Olivia Stone knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Grizzlies in front before Adrienne Truman took over pushing the lead out to seven points with 3:37 to play in the first half.
Unfortunately for the Nicholas County faithful, they did not see another shot from the field go through the net until the 5:48 mark of the fourth quarter.
“Our big thing is to try and get the ball to our post players where we can play the inside-out game,” Nicholas County head coach Kameron Hornsby said. “The whistles just didn’t fall for us on the inside and we couldn’t get things going tonight offensively.”
After going over five minutes without a score, Taysia Gray sparked a 10-1 run for Oak Hill to close the first half.
Gray hit a pair of 3-pointers which were sandwiched around two buckets from Kasey Compton giving Oak Hill a 19-17 lead at halftime.
A good portion of the scoring struggles for the Grizzlies was the emphasis that Red Devils put on stopping Truman.
“The key for us was to take her out of the game. We know everything goes through her,” Compton said. “Even if she doesn’t score, it all goes through her.”
Hornsby admitted he wasn’t surprised that Oak Hill tried to limit Truman, but he was surprised by the lengths the Red Devils went to accomplish that goal.
“We kind of knew that going into the game. I didn’t think they would put two on her,” Hornsby said. “We took advantage of it early, but they kept switching and did a good job keeping us off balance as to how they were going to play her.”
Despite struggling mightily from the field in the second half, the Grizzlies kept Oak Hill within arms reach.
Trailing by six points heading to the fourth quarter, Nicholas County fought back to tie the game at 34-34 at the end of regulation.
“Defensively I thought we really played a heck of a game,” Hornsby said. “I thought my kids battled to the end and never gave up.”
Cara Smith gave Oak Hill the early lead with a stickback prior to Gray’s pull-up jumper after a steal. Smith then gave the visitors a solid 40-35 lead with a baseline strike with 1:43 left in the overtime period.
The Grizzlies did not go away, however and stormed back within one point on two free-throws from Madison Coffman and a layup from Truman as the clock ticked under one minute.
Needing a big play, Oak Hill received it from Gray who hit the biggest score of the night. Driving the line, Gray side-stepped a defender and scored with a scoop shot off glass. She then converted the old school 3-point play for a 43-39 lead.
“Our defense has always been good. It is just our offense that struggles and it has been like that since day one,” Compton said. “We are battling. The games aren’t pretty that we play, but we are battle tested and we are not giving up. The girls really believe that we have a good team, we just have to put it all together.”
OH: 9 10 8 7 10 – 44
NC: 8 9 4 13 7 – 41
Oak Hill
Taysia Gray 21, Cara Smith 11, Jordan Harris 1, Kasey Compton 4, Jada Wilburn 7. Totals: 16 8-15 44.
Nicholas County
Adrienne Truman 15, Olivia Stone 7, Madison Coffman 6, Ruthie Lott 2, Kaitlyn McKinney 1, Alexis O’Dell 10. Totals: 11 18-27 41.
