The underdog in Region 3 has now become the top dog in the state.
After hiding in the shadows of Mingo Central and Wyoming East, the top two ranked teams in Class AA throughout the regular season, Summers County bashed both in the back of the head, announcing itself to the rest of the state and in the process earning the No. 1 seed in the Class AA state tournament.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but it’s not an unfamiliar position for Summers.
Head coach Chad Meador was an assistant on the five state championship teams from 2007-11 and his team has run the gauntlet in February alone.
“We’ve been in a lot of scenarios,” Meador said. “We’ve been down and we’ve been up. We’ve had to make foul shots at the end and we’ve had to get into our late game packages before we start fouling. But we’ve been in a lot of those scenarios and we’ve won. Being in those scenarios and winning, you understand what it takes to understand the significance of those late-game scenarios. You understand the significance of not quitting when you’re down three with three minutes to go. Playing in those games – I hope we can sustain it for a few more days. It’s hard playing at that level continuously. I hope we haven’t run out of gas yet.”
First up for Summers on its road to a Saturday title game is a matchup with No. 8 Frankfort.
The two teams are familiar with one another as they met way back on Dec. 9 at Trinity. Summers won that game 71-66, withstanding a second-half run from the Falcons. Watching them progress throughout the season, Meador has high praise for the team he’ll see Wednesday at 5:30 in the Charleston Coliseum.
“First and foremost, they’re the best eight seed you’ll ever see,” Meador said. “They are led by two very important pieces of their puzzle in Tinsley Grove and Arin Lease. Grove will probably be the most athletic girl in the tournament. When you see her you’ll understand what I mean. She can slash to the basket, she can shoot along the perimeter, she’s a pretty good defender and she can do it all. Then the Lease girl, she’s a 5-foot-10 post player who uses her body well.
“She can post you up on the block and she has a great midrange jumper. You can’t just play behind her and push her out because she’ll turn and face the basket and make those shots. They’re well-coached and play a tough schedule. They won on the road at Trinity and give you multiple looks defensively. They might go full-court then go 3-2 or a 1-3-1. They make you have to execute offensively and make adjustments in real time. That’s something not many teams have done against us. We’ve had teams play multiple defenses against us but not for 32 minutes.”
Despite Frankfort’s ability to change up defensive looks, Meador likes how prepared his team is. A veteran squad with cohesiveness, he’s hammered the finer points in preparation for instances like this.
“You always have that in the back of your mind that a team might play a junk defense,” Meador said. “We’ve practiced offense against junk defenses like a triangle and two, a box and one or similar scenarios. We’ve seen a little bit of everything and I think that truly is an asset to us being in Charleston. I’m more pleased we were there last year.”
Meador’s group never got to experience Charleston until last year. His seniors were freshmen the year the tournament was canceled due to Covid and their sophomore season was ended in the regional round at Mingo Central. When they did get to Charleston they struggled offensively, shooting just 25 percent from the field and committing 22 turnovers, 10 in the first quarter.
This year Meador hopes there won’t be that adjustment period.
“Being there last year plays pivotal,” Meador said. “Last year we laid an egg. We let the states get the best of us and got a little nervous and didn’t perform until it was too late. I’m hoping we’re ready to play when we walk out on the floor Wednesday evening.”
