The week before Christmas was a challenging one for Summer County.
The Lady Bobcats, riding a 4-0 start, lost three straight before the break and needed a correction.
Forward Maggie Stover helped stopped the bleeding.
Stover averaged 16 points per game in wins over Bluefield and Pocahontas County to help Summers County to a 2-0 record the week of Dec. 27.
For her efforts Stover has been named the Week 4 Lootpress Girls Basketball Player of the Week by the Lootpress sportswriters. The award is sponsored by Bodyworks and The Law Offices of Brandon Steele.
Stover also won the fan poll which served as the tiebreaker, giving her the edge over Greenbrier East’s Cadence Stewart.
In a tough sectional matchup against Bluefield, Stover scored 10 points and followed with a season-high 22 against Pocahontas County two days later.
The back-to-back standout performances were a welcome sight for Summers coach Chad Meador who was happy to see the senior excel.
“I’m proud of Maggie because she’s a four-man,” Meador said. “A four-man in our program, you really don’t get the limelight and you really don’t get the love that sometimes your point guard or your scoring threat gets. She’s progressed into a great defender and she’s progressed into a scorer. I’m most proud of her in her leadership role.”
Prior to this season, Stover was asked to be a rebounder and defender and filled that role nicely. This season she filled both of those roles but has also stepped into the limelight as a leader. She’s been prepared when the team has called her number, giving the Lady Bobcats another scoring threat.
“Before she’s been a player that we’ve asked to do the dirty work,” Meador said. “Now she’s doing the dirty work, she’s scoring and she’s doing it all. After four years she’s embraced that role, much like others in the past. (2019 graduate) Erica Merrill was the same way. It takes a little while to want to be that kind of player and she deserves the recognition. I’m happy for her.”
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94