Gallery By Karen Akers
When you step foot on the hardwood at Wyoming East High School you know there is a storm brewing.
Monday night the clouds opened early.
Scoring 25 first quarter points, Class AA No. 1 Wyoming East buried AAA PikeView 75-36.
Prior to the matchup with the Panthers, the varsity Warriors hosted an exhibition game with the Little Warrior basketball players in the community.
Wyoming East head coach Angie Boninsegna credited that spirited and fun time as a key to the win.
“I think being with the little kids before the game gave us a lot of energy actually,” Boninsegna said. “They were energetic with the little kids and it kind of carried over to our game. Once we got the quick start, we maintained the pace and expanded it a little bit.”
Riley Meadows gave PikeView its only lead with an early stick back, but the Panthers never led again.
A PikeView turnover led to a bucket from Kayley Bane which tied the game before Colleen Lookabill changed the lead for the only time of the night.
After creating another turnover, Lookabill converted the deuce on the other end and was fouled.
Lookabill’s old school 3-point play and a strong drive by Maddie Clark for another score made it 7-2 just two minutes into the contest.
Leading 9-5, the Warriors put a stranglehold on PikeView with a 14-0 run over the next four minutes.
Bane started the burst with a pair of free throws and layup off an offensive rebound from Alivia Monroe who grabbed 16 boards in the game.
Maddie Clark scored off another turnover and Monroe pushed the lead to 12 points with a nice cut to the rim.
A scoop layup from Clark which was sandwiched between a tough turnaround jumper and a pull-up jumper from Bane capped the explosion and East never looked back.
Bane resembled an old school player Monday consistently knocking down the mid-range jumper and scoring 14 points.
“Kayley played smart and hit some nice jump shots. I feel like she played her best game this year,” Boninsegna said. “She is deadly from around the foul line area. That is her game.”
Clark finished with 16 points Monday and frustrated the Panthers with her ability to consistently get downhill.
Known for her defensive tenacity, the junior guard has stepped up her offensive production in the absence of all-state senior guard Abby Russell who is currently down with an injury.
“I just know now that I really have to step it up,” Clark said. “I want to help this team get to Charleston and I am going to do whatever I can do on both sides of the ball to make that happen.”
With Russell down, Boninsegna has looked to Clark in more of a leadership role as well.
“Maddie’s first step is unbelievably quick, especially when she goes to the basket. It is pretty to watch,” Boninsegna said. “She has also taken over a lot of the leadership. We are giving her more responsibility calling things on the floor and she is doing a really good job.”
A bucket from Haley Justice snapped the run, but when Clark scored again on a scoop layup, the lead was 25-7 after one quarter.
“We really just wanted to play at a faster pace. The last couple of games we have been laying back,” Clark said. “We play better fast, so we really wanted to push the ball up the floor and get straight into our offense. On defense we really wanted to be up on them.”
The Warriors did not match the scoring output of the first eight minutes in the second stanza, but when the halftime horn sounded the lead was 22 points.
“I don’t think we had a good start, a good finish or a good middle. At this point in our season, I am pretty disappointed with just the way we played all around,” PikeView head coach Tracy Raban lamented. “I was wanting to at least come down here and compete. I just didn’t think we had any energy, enthusiasm or heart.”
A little over a week removed from Russell going down, Boninsegna has been pleased with how her team has responded.
“We are getting better and seeing each other. We have to do this as a unit. We had three players in double digits tonight and we will need that,” Boninsegna said. “Laken Toler came in and played well. Abi Baker is giving us good defense and she scored some tonight. If she can give us offense on top of her defense, that is great.”
Wyoming East is back in action Friday when it hosts Class AAA No. 5 Nitro in the Battle for the Springhouse Tournament at The Greenbrier.
PikeView looks to bounce back when it hosts Westside Thursday.
PV: 7 10 6 13 – 36
WE: 25 14 15 21 – 75
PikeView
Brooke Craft 3, Cat Farmer 4, Jaelynn Shrewsbury 6, Haley Justice 5, Jocelyn Hall 2. Emma Damewood 4, Riley Meadows 12.
Wyoming East
Colleen Lookabill 3, Maddie Clark 16, Kayley Bane 14, Cadee Blackburn 16, Laken Toler 5, Abi Baker 6, Alivia Monroe 4, Charleigh Price 6, Kenna Price 5.
3-pointers – PV: 2 (Justice, Meadows); WE: 3 (Blackburn 2, Toler)
