Charleston – Summers County head coach Chad Meador was unsure that senior Sullivan Pivont would play in Friday’s Class AA semifinal against Charleston Catholic.
Pivont had torn a muscle in her side Thursday putting her status in question.
The senior gutted it out, much to the relief of the top-seeded Bobcats.
With Summers leading by a point, Pivont nailed a 3 that gave her team a four-point cushion with 3 minutes left in the fourth, allowing the Lady Bobcats to squeak out a 39-35 victory Friday afternoon in the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
With the win Summers advances to the Class AA title game for the first time since 2011 when it won the final of five straight state championships.
Pivont was held scoreless until the fourth quarter but both of her field goals made the difference. Her layup with 5:37 to go in the game gave Summers a 28-27 advantage before her trey gave the team breathing room.
“I knew I didn’t really have my legs up underneath me on those first couple of shots I took,” Pivont said. “I was like, ‘Sullivan, you’re got to elevate and just push through the pain.’ Once I hit that 3, it was like a spark It think. It just was a good feeling, like I knew we were good to go. We picked up momentum from that and it also took the pain away and gave me some adrenaline and excitement.”
Pivont was also key in operating the Summers offense when she wasn’t scoring. Summers made just 12 field goals but assisted on 11 of them. It helped having Gracie Harvey in the post as she was able to roll and capitalize on passes from Pivont and Liv Meador. Harvey finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, leading all players in both categories.
“We saw mismatches,” Meador said. “Gracie has great hands so I knew if I just threw that ball up, she’d catch it.”
“I knew the defender was on my right side,” Harvey said. “I knew if I dropped she’d be in front of me so I stuck my hand out as a target.”
After scoring just four points in the opening frame in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, the Lady Bobcats avoided that same fate when Abby Perisnger netted a pair of buckets in the first 62 seconds. A Molly Messer 3 and layup put Catholic in front before Meador proved true on a pair of free throws to take the lead at 6-5. It was the last time Summers held the advantage in the quarter, though it tied Catholic twice.
The Irish took a 12-10 lead into the second frame and threatened to pull away with an 8-0 run across the two quarters, going up 18-10.
But the Lady Bobcats had a resounding answer.
An Avery Lilly 3 with 4:02 left in the half sparked a 9-0 Summers run over the next two minutes with buckets from Harvey and Abby Persinger adding to the barrage.
“We didn’t panic,” Meador said. “I think (Lilly) made a shot and we came down and hit another shot. We cut it to three if memory serves me right and then that just kind of sparked us. We never gave up and just kept plugging away.”
“I think there was a long closeout and they hit a 3,” Catholic head coach Wes Hevener said. “That started it. I think once (Lilly) hit that 3, they came down, we got a good look and it didn’t fall and it seemed like it’s a shooter’s mentality, right? You see the ball go through the hole and then maybe you start heating up a little bit. I think maybe that’s what happened. You try to hold them defensively but once you see that first shot go through the net, you think then it starts to build some confidence within their shooters and they were able to go on that 9-0 run.”
While Persinger scored during the run, her defense on Charleston Catholic point guard Annie Cimino helped slow the Irish. Cimino was held scoreless for the first 26 minutes of the game and didn’t distribute a single assist after dishing six in Catholic’s quarterfinal win.
“With Abby she has a lot of length and she’s a great defender,” Summers County head coach Chad Meador said. “We thought if we could grab (Cimino) out front and force her to her left and a little more to her right we could make her pass it a little sooner along the perimeter. Abby got in a little bit of foul trouble so we had to back off a little bit. We actually had to come out and guard a little more than I wanted to in the first half. We like to sag back and let them make their move. We were down but didn’t panic so we came out and guarded a little bit more. Once we got the lead in the second half we bounced back a little bit.”
Catholic broke the 9-0 run with a Messer 3, taking a 21-19 advantage into the break.
But it was the start of a drought that spanned for 8:26 as Catholic’s next field goal didn’t come until the 1:12 mark of the third quarter, which was another Messer 3. By that point Summers’ lead was 26-24 after the trey with neither team able to find a consistent groove. It led to a 26-all tie after three quarters and the Lady Bobcats grabbed control of the game for good after Pivont’s 3.
Trailing 38-32 with 20 seconds left, Catholic made the game interesting with a Cimino 3 but a loose ball foul against Catholic after the ensuing inbounds play sent Lilly to the line where she salted the contest, splitting a pair of free throws.
“I’ve worked with Jim Clayton at Sports City for years,” Lilly said. “I can think of hundreds of foul shots I would shoot in my front yard. Every single day for summers and springs and offseasons. When you put that kind of work in, you know in the big moments that it’s there. I knew the work was there and all I needed to do was focus on the shot.”
Up next for Summers is matchup with the winner of Petersburg-Wyoming East. Summers hasn’t played Petersburg in years but has history with Wyoming East, its sectional opponent. The Lady Bobcats beat East 50-47 in the sectional championship at East last month, marking their first win against the Lady Warriors since 2016.
“Regardless of who wins that game we’re going to be here,” Meador said. “I think both teams have strengths. Both teams are well-coached. The Petersburg coach (Jon Webster), I’ve gotten to know him the last couple of years and have a great respect for him. (East head coach) Angie (Boninsegna) and I are good friends. We talk numerous times throughout the season. They’re a little bit different. I’m actually anxious to watch that game. Petersburg is so strong and physical. I think that’s a key to their success. Wyoming East – a two-headed monster. (Cadee) Blackburn and (Maddie) Clark are outstanding and play well together. They have chemistry on the floor. It’s going to be a tough game regardless.”
Summers County’s win over Charleston Catholic in the Class AA semis marks the 19th time this century that the Class AA state championship game will feature a Region 3 team. It’s the seventh straight tournament with a Region 3 rep and 16th in the last 17 tourneys. #wvgirlsbb pic.twitter.com/YIQ0CV8uM8
— Tyler Jackson (@TJack94) March 10, 2023
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
