Gallery by Tina Laney
James Monroe and Wyoming East have weathered brutal schedules to open the 2023-24 girls basketball season.
Saturday the two teams crossed paths at the 2023 Winter Classic being contested at the Summersville Arena and Conference Center.
It was not a good formula for the ladies from Monroe County.
Playing their third game in as many days, the Class A No. 5-ranked Mavericks were no match for the No. 1 ranked team in Class AA.
Exploding for a 21-4 advantage in the second quarter, Wyoming East rolled to a 67-41 win.
“I like the way we are playing inside-out now. That has kind of been our vision from the beginning,” Wyoming East head coach Ryan Davidson said. “We knew transition was going to be fine. We thought we could make (James Monroe) play faster and most teams play faster. But, we really want to establish the inside game. Then if teams start pinching down, we can step into shots.”
The defending Class AA state champions took full control of the game in the second quarter.
Leading 13-10, Maddie Clark hit a 3-pointer which was followed by a stickback from Charleigh Price on the next trip down the floor.
Mya Dunlap got behind the defense to momentarily stop the run, but the Mavericks failed to score again for nearly three minutes.
During that span, Wyoming East converted three baskets to take a 24-12 lead that never went below 10 points the rest of the way.
“We pushed the pressure a little bit. The first quarter, we wanted to keep them in front of us,” Davidson said. “Then in the second quarter it was more about blitzing a little bit and playing more up the line in the passing lanes. I felt like that worked.”
Mary Beth Meadows broke the initial second quarter drought at the 3:51 mark, but once again the defense from the Warriors stifled James Monroe down the stretch.
Clark knocked down her second 3-ball of the quarter to kickstart a 10-0 run to close the half which the Mavericks could not overcome.
Baskets by Gabby Cameron and Cadee Blackburn added to a triple from Kyndal Lusk, closing out the run for a 34-14 advantage.
“When Maddie’s midrange game is working, she is really good,” Davidson said. “When you put that together with the fact that Cadee Blackburn is starting to learn how to run a team, those two together are really good. When they succeed together, the whole thing succeeds.”
Any hopes for a comeback from the Mavericks were quickly put to rest on a 10-0 East run for a 46-16 lead early in the third quarter.
“They asked us to pick up this game and no excuses, Wyoming East is great. We played two really good games coming in (against Nicholas County and Mingo Central). We just ran out of gas for sure,” James Monroe head coach Angie Mann said.
Although it was a tough day for her team, Mann talked about the value of playing two Class AA powers as well as the Class AAA Grizzlies.
“We had two, good close games and that was what we were looking for playing up (in classification) and I feel like that will help us in the long run. They are really good. I watched some footage of them playing Greenbrier West and I wondered why West looked so slow. That is what Wyoming East does to you. It is a great experience though.”
Clark led all scorers with 22 points and Blackburn had 14. Abi Baker added 11 and Lusk scored nine, all from behind the arc.
“We told Kyndal at the first of the season that she would get a lot of open shots because people will play Cadee and Maddie and try to take them away,” Davidson said. “Because of that, she will be standing there wide open. I told her I trust her when it’s there and I want her to take the shot. She is now starting to get with the speed of the game and she can really shoot it.”
Maggie Bororski led James Monroe with 20 points and Meadows scored nine.
WE: 13 21 17 16 – 67
JM: 10 4 10 17 – 41
Wyoming East
Maddie Clark 22, Cadee Blackburn 14, Alivia Monroe 1, Abi Baker 11, Kyndal Lusk 9, Gabby Cameron 4, Kenna Price 2, Charleigh Price 4. Totals: 26 8-11 67.
James Monroe
Mary Beth Meadows 9, Ava Dunlap 5, Maggie Boroski 20, Mya Dunlap 4, Abby Mathis 3. Totals: 16 8-14 41.
