Gallery by Heather Belcher
Charleston – When Greenbrier West’s Maddie Fields scored eight straight points in the the first 1:22 of the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s Class A quarterfinal game against Webster County, it was a scene too familiar for the Highlanders.
Fields after all capped West’s comeback with the game-winning 3 in the sectional championship between the two teams on Feb. 24.
But instead of allowing history to repeat itself the Highlanders rallied around all-stater Sydney Baird who led them to the promised land.
Baird scored 29 of her game-high 33 points in the second half, guiding Webster County to a 55-34 victory over the Cavaliers at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
With the win Webster advances to the Class A semis for the second straight year where it will face the winner of Cameron-Pendleton County.
Having beaten the Highlanders twice this season, West felt confident coming in and at the intermission had every reason to still feel so. The Cavaliers led 20-18 had taken 10 more shots and were winning the turnover battle 15-8.
But keyed by Baird, Webster turned the ball over just three times in the second half, pulling away over the final six minutes of the contest.
“We got a little yelled at at halftime for our turnovers,” Baird said. “Fifteen, we usually don’t have that many in a game. We just started getting smart with the ball and started relaxing and making good passes, making sure we were passing the ball and relaxed and played our game.”
West, familiar with Baird, did everything to limit her early, deploying a high 2-2-1 defense where two defenders met her at halfcourt immediately. It took away drives and forced the ball out of her hands. With all of the attention she drew, she shot 0 of 6 from the field in the opening quarter.
The Cavaliers took advantage of that lull, picking up the pace towards the end of the first quarter. A pair of runners from Fields gave West a 6-5 lead before Hannah Wayne tipped the scales the other way with her own jumper.
Preslee Treadway found the bottom of the net on a short jumper for West, setting off a flurry for the Cavs. Ava Barclay scored on a layup and was fouled but missed the free throw. An offensive rebound by Brilee Redden led to Treadway getting the same opportunity as Barclay and she capitalized, capping a 3-point play to put West up 13-7.
The Cavaliers took a 13-9 advantage into the second frame but offense was scarce for both teams as they combined for just three field goal in the quarter.
It followed an alarming trend for West which failed to score against Webster in the second quarter of the sectional matchup between the two teams. The second quarter Tuesday yielded a 2 of 16 showing from the floor for the Cavs and a missed opportunity to build a cushion.
“We had several opportunities and we just didn’t capitalize on them,” West head coach Mark Agee said. “The ball wasn’t falling for us like we’d like it to. I felt like we played pretty good defense and pressured the ball pretty good. We just didn’t capitalize on our spots this evening.”
Tied at 26 in the third quarter, Baird found her groove.
Building off the fourth quarter of Webster’s regional win where she scored 23 in the final frame, Baird scored the last seven points of the third quarter to give the Highlanders a 33-26 advantage.
Despite Fields’ mini spurt to open the final quarter, Baird proved inevitable, responding with a personal 8-0 run over the next three minutes to turn a three-point lead into an 11-point one.
Overall the Highlanders shot 8 of 14 from the field in the final frame, outscoring West 22-8.
“I think it was Sydney that (fired it up),” Webster coach Sydney Baird said. “I think the motivation of her players and leading her team on the floor, stepping up and making them realize, ‘Hey we’ve got to step up our game and get control of the game.'”
West, which broke through to the state tournament for the first time since 1987, graduates two players in Ava Barclay and Meagan Poticher but returns it top scorers in sophomores Maddie Fields and Preslee Treadway.
“We had an awesome season overall,” Agee said. “We’ve got two seniors and three sophomores starting. That means we’ve got a lot of room to grow. We’ve got a ninth grader that subs in a whole heck of a lot. I don’t think we have anything but good things to look forward to. It’s a great season from beginning to end. One of the best seasons we’ve had and we couldn’t have had a better team. I think God’s been good to all of us and we’ll keep pushing through and we’ll give him glory.”