Regional week has arrived and with it, the penultimate week of the girls basketball season.
This week’s winners will advance to next week’s state tournament at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center while the losers will have to purchase tickets.
Two area teams in each classification will play for chance this week to walk through the back doors of the Coliseum.
Class A
River View at Greenbrier West, Thursday at 7 P.M.
The Cavaliers have consistently improved this season with a schedule that’s challenged them. They played one of last year’s semifinalists in Webster County twice and won both contests including the matchup last week in the sectional championship. They’ve stepped out of their comfort zone as well with games against Summers County and Wyoming East – two of the top three ranked teams in Class AA – as well as a home-and-home matchup with regional foe James Monroe.
This week they’ll host a River View team that’s also improved throughout the season. Still, the Cavaliers swept the season series with a 49-38 win over the Raiders in Charmco on Jan. 6 and a 49-47 victory on Feb. 3 in Bradshaw.
If anything the Cavaliers don’t seem to mind playing in close games or even making comebacks as they did in both Webster County games. It probably helps that they have five different players that can lead the team in scoring on any given night between Ava Barclay, Meagan Poticher, Maddie Fields, Preslee Treadway and Abigail Thomas which makes it harder for teams to hone in on one player. Fields seems to have the hot hand of late though with 19 points in each postseason game.
For River View this is a familiar position. The Lady Raiders have been to the last two state tournaments. West hasn’t been to the state tournament since 1987, when it lost to Doddridge County in the Class AA state championship game.
Webster County at James Monroe, Thursday at 7 P.M.
For the third straight year James Monroe will play Webster County in a regional clash. This time the Mavericks have an upper hand in the fact they’ll host the game this year as opposed to traveling to Upper Glade.
Led by all-stater and 2,000-point scorer Sydney Baird, the Highlanders have been a force in Class A over the last three years but this year they’ve taken a step back after losses to graduation. Baird has been her usual self but the supporting cast around her, particularly in the paint, has been a weakness.
James Monroe’s best player is all-state forward Adyson Hines who averages a double-double and bullies defenders in the paint. In addition James Monroe has a pair of key defensive players in Mary Beth Meadows and Maggie Boroski who can switch and harass Baird.
Though the teams haven’t played this season, the Mavs have faced comparable players. Greenbrier East boasts a pair of comparable players in Stewart sisters Cadence and Kennedy and the Mavericks beat East 62-52 on Feb. 7.
Much like River View, Webster is the veteran in this scenario with a pair of state tournament berths the last two years. The Lady Mavs have not been to the state tournament since 2003.
Class AA
Mingo Central at Summers County, Tuesday at 7 P.M.
For the third consecutive season Mingo Central and Summers County will meet with a state tournament berth on the line. The last two meetings were at Mingo with the Miners winning in 2021 and the Bobcats returning the favor last season.
Summers comes in with no fear. The Lady Bobcats won their section on the road at No. 1 Wyoming East last week and beat Mingo Central when it was No. 1 on Feb. 11. Needless to say, the Lady Bobcats are peaking at the right time and they’re playing with confidence. Their role players are pitching in and stepping up when necessary as evidenced by the 26 points combined from Abby Persinger and Avery Lilly in the sectional championship against East.
It also helps that Summers head coach Chad Meador is one of the best in the state and has maximized his talent while installing defenses and making adjustments. His team started that game against East on a 7-1 run and opened the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run. It’s a sign of a guy pushing the right buttons at key moments.
Mingo Central is no slouch though. Miners all-state point guard Addie Smith is one of the best in the state and a lethal shooter that runs the pick and roll well. The big question is whether or not Mingo’s 6-foot-3 post Jenna Sparks will be available. She missed the sectional after a medical procedure and likely won’t be at 100 percent if she is cleared to return for Tuesday’s game. She played in both games against Summers but her impact on defense can’t be understated as her length discourages layup attempts.
There’s a strong likelihood that whichever team wins this game will earn the No. 1 seed at the state tournament next week.
Wyoming East at Chapmanville, Tuesday at 7 P.M.
East has struggled with the same issues all season long and they came back to bite the Lady Warriors in their sectional championship against Summers County. They started slow, didn’t shoot the ball well, struggled at the free throw line and struggled in the half court.
Now the Lady Warriors will hit the road in hopes of extending their season. Playing with largely the same group that’s played in the last two Class AA state championship games, East has sputtered. It’s won 17 games but the expectations were high coming in and the improvement just hasn’t been there and it cost the Lady Warriors a regional game at home.
Now they’ll head to Chapmanville to play a team they’ve beaten in the regional round the last two years in blowout fashion. But if this year is any indication, those past results don’t matter. For starters Chapmanville is bolstered by George Washington transfer Alaira Evans and shoots the ball well. If the Tigers hit a couple of 3s early and Wyoming East again starts slow, the Lady Warriors will be in trouble from the jump.
Westside at Sissonville, Wednesday at 7 P.M.
Westside has improved as the season has progressed and has played in its share of tight contests. The sectional opener was won on a last second shot and the Renegades led at halftime of the sectional championship at PikeView.
If they want to return to Charleston for the first time since 2020 though they’ll need another strong performance on the road.
The two teams haven’t played this year but Sissonville’s schedule hasn’t been overly daunting. The signature win for the Indians came on Jan. 25 when they beat Chapmanville at home but they’ve been competitive with teams such as Ripley and East Fairmont. The two teams did share a common opponent in Nicholas County with Sissonville beating the Grizzlies by eight in the sectional opener and the Renegades dispatching them by 13 on Jan. 21.
Lewis County at PikeView, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Lewis County has had an interesting season.
It started with a 12-game win streak and was followed by a five-game skid. Since then its been all smiles again with a six-game wining streak heading into Wednesday’s regional matchup with PikeView.
Lewis has impressive wins over Philip Barbour, Ripley and Robert C. Byrd. Both teams have common opponents in Nicholas County and East Fairmont. Both beat Nicholas by over 20 points but also lost to East Fairmont. Lewis County’s loss was by five points while PikeView’s was by 19.
For PikeView consistency can be an issue. A younger group, the Lady Panthers have all had to fill new roles after the graduation of all-staters Hannah Perdue and Anyah Brown. They’ve had some players develop nicely as evidenced by their regional win against Westside. When leading scorer Riley Meadows was held to two points, freshman Jocelyn Hall was one of the players that stepped up with 13 points.
The Panthers will likely need to be firing on all cylinders and start strong if they’re to beat Lewis.
Class AAAA
South Charleston at Beckley, Wednesday at 7 P.M.
South Charleston comes into the Region 3 Co-Final with a pair of wins over Beckley this season. This first was in the season opener early in December while the second came at the end of the month. Two months later the Flying Eagles will get another shot when it matters most.
On top of the natural progression that comes throughout a season, Beckley has added senior guard Keanti Thompson to the mix. Thompson rejoined the team in January after having last played for the program in April of 2021. She’s an all-state talent that probably would have a pair all-state selections under her belt had she played in full the last two years.
Her addition to this year’s team has opened up looks for Lataja Creasey and Abby Dillon who can move more off ball and hunt open shots. It also makes the Flying Eagles more dangerous on the break with three players who have played point guard throughout their careers. Adding to the mix is a skilled post player in Josie Cross and a coast-to-coast threat in athletic freshman Donya Burton.
Together they form a formidable starting five and will get a chance at the last laugh Wednesday when they host the Black Eagles with a trip to Charleston on the line.
Princeton at George Washington, Wednesday at 7 P.M.
These two teams met once this season at GW on Jan. 10.
Aside from the third quarter, it was an even game. The Tigers fell 55-39, but were outscored 18-7 in the third quarter. The Patriots have three stellar players in Finley Lohan, Zaniah Zellous and Macie Mallory but the difference came down to Nasiya Smith, a player who Princeton head coach Matt Smith said hit three consecutive 3s to build distance for the Patriots.
For Princeton that’s a key to failure. The Tigers aren’t an efficient team on offense so they have to work that much harder on defense. They shot 24 percent from the field in that game against GW but that one quarter doomed them. Still there’s the concern that 33 percent of their offense came from free throws.
The Patriots have always loved to shoot the 3, thus they can build leads in a hurry. The issue with the Tigers and projecting is you never know what you’re going to get. They lost by 40 to Huntington earlier in the season and beat them later in the year. They lost by four to Beckley then lost by 44. Still this is a veteran group that has a chance to send the program to the state tournament for the first time in 10 years.