Greenbrier West head coach Mark Agee was convinced at the start of the girls basketball season if his young players could fully adjust to the high school level of play, the Cavaliers had a strong chance to make a trip to the state tournament.
The proving ground starts Tuesday at Oak Hill High High School when Class A Region 3, Section 2 play begins.
Agee’s crew will play the 6 p.m. game against Meadow Bridge, while No. 1 seed Webster County will play No. 4 Richwood in the nightcap.
The sectional championship game will also be played in Oak Hill Thursday at 7 p.m.
“I am still excited about this group and I am excited for the remainder of the year with sectionals and regionals,” Agee said. “If everything goes good this week, I feel like we can be back in the regionals as long as we play ball.”
While the young freshmen for West have played solid – especially over the last half of the year – the Cavaliers have relied on their veterans for consistency.
Junior post player Meagan Poticher leads the team with 11 rebounds per game. Poticher also scores just over seven points per game and has 31 blocks on the season.
Fellow juniors Ava Barclay and Raelyn Palmer have also been solid contributors all season.
Scoring eight points per game, Barclay has been a menace for opposing teams with 77 deflections and 58 steals. Palmer is scoring six points per game and has 48 steals.
Senior Brooke Nutter is a blue-collar player that has 51 steals and is the only player for West that has played in all 22 varsity games.
Preslee Treadway leads the freshman crew and is the team’s leading scorer at 12.6 points per game. Treadway averages nine rebounds while fellow-freshman Abigail Thomas is described by her coach as the team’s best hustler.
Maddie Fields has also made a strong impact in her freshman season averaging seven points and five rebounds per game. Fields is West’s top threat from behind the arc.
“They have all stepped it up and have been playing really well together. They are understanding how to move the ball at the varsity level and when to throw passes and when not to,” Agee said.
The two regular season clashes between Greenbrier West and Meadow Bridge ended in double-digit losses for the Wildcats.
“You can never take Meadow Bridge lightly. (Head) coach (Steve) Taylor knows what he is doing and will make some adjustments,” Agee said. “His team really improved from the first time we played them to when we played them a couple of weeks ago.”
The ladies from Webster County got a taste of state tournament basketball last season. Now the Highlanders are thirsty for more.
Ranked No. 5 in the latest Associated Press Girls Poll, Webster County has compiled a 16-5 record over the regular season.
Two losses came to Class AA No. 3 St. Marys and one was to Class AAA Elkins to open the season.
The other setbacks came to the top-ranked Class A team, Gilmer County and Doddridge County back in the middle of December.
Sydney Baird leads the Highlanders and is one of the states most prolific scorers. Baird can also fill up a stat sheet each night.
The standout junior averages 25.4 points per game, along with 6.3 assists, 7.8 rebounds and six steals.
Senior Holly Perrine adds nine points per game, while senior Natalie Snyder gives head coach Sharon Baird six points and six boards per night.
The only meeting between Webster County and Greenbrier West came on Dec. 22 in Upper Glade.
“We had a couple of people out in that game,” Agee said. “We didn’t have Preslee at that time and Ava was also out. We had to change our game plan and our pressure didn’t work as good. I am not going to say we are going to beat Webster, but I think we have a good chance.”
