Charleston – If Angie Boninsegna had said the word “growth” one more time she would’ve started muttering it in her sleep. But she persisted all season, preaching that message, and for good reason.
Four of the starters from last’s year’s state championship team – Skylar Davidson, Abby Russell, Daisha Summers and Sarah Saunders – were absent when East’s season tipped off on Nov. 30. That’s five career all-state selections, a first and second-team all-state captain (Davidson and Summers) an enforcer (Saunders) and one of the state’s best on-ball defenders (Russell). For good measure Davidson and Summers both had experience playing in a pair of state championship games
Russell was able to make it back and make an impact for East after tearing an ACL on May 2 but there was uncertainty she’d be available.
That left Boninsegna with the task of meshing four new starters together – two juniors, a sophomore and a freshman.
“I don’t think people realized this group – Maddie (Clark) and Kayley (Bane) played a lot together – but other than that they didn’t play a lot together as far as our sub rotations last year,” Boninsegna said. “So we got better each game and we preached growth because they really hadn’t played a lot together. We only have one season under their belt playing together.”
There were nights where the Lady Warriors looked like they were ready to defend a state championship, such as when they opened with a double-digit win over Class AAA Shady Spring.
Then there were nights like Dec. 11 when they lost 62-28 to Parkersburg Catholic.
Boninsegna’s aware of what the expectations are and it’s why she tried to alleviate the pressure her young team faced throughout the season, repeatedly mentioning their youth. It wasn’t lost on her peers either.
“I think they deserve a lot of credit for making it back to the title game after the players they lost last year,” Parkersburg Catholic head coach Marty Vierheller said. “Angie has talked for months about ‘We’re young, we’re young, we’re young.’ She was trying to alleviate that pressure off her team and that’s good coaching because she’s right. They were not the same team as last year but she sure brought them along.”
As Vierheller noted Boninsegna and her coaching staff deserve credit for how they helped this young team grow.
After a 63-48 loss to eventual Class AAA champion Logan on Dec. 30, the Lady Warriors lost just once more before Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Parkersburg Catholic. During that stretch they avenged that loss to Logan and grew up along the way, figuring out how to handle adversity.
After surrendering the first four points to the Wildcats in the second Logan game, the Lady Warriors answered with a 12-0 run and never trailed again. They withstood every Logan run to pull out the win. They ate some humble pie two weeks later when Mingo Central avenged a 14-point loss but learned how to win close games.
Another example occurred on Feb. 11 when starters Kayley Bane and Colleen Lookabill battled foul trouble. Russell was faced with her toughest task just six games into her return as she was asked to play 30 minutes off the bench as East blew a 12-point halftime lead against PikeView, a Class AAA semifinalist. In a tie game heading into the fourth quarter, the Lady Warriors proved they could overcome adversity with a 51-44 win.
Their state quarterfinal win against Charleston Catholic was similar in that they battled foul trouble, leaving Hannah Blankenship and Abby Russell to adjust to a lineup largely comprised of freshmen for a half.
Blankenship and Russell were the epitome of growth for the Lady Warriors. The former played through a torn labrum all season and it impacted her ability to make shots early in the season. Therapy helped and she caught fire late, scoring in double figures in seven of her last 10 games of the season.
Russell’s growth came from a spot of personal adversity. After tearing her ACL she lost her father late last year. She didn’t allow herself to spiral though, leaning on her teammates, coaches and family and finishing her rehab to work her way back ahead of schedule.
“It meant a lot to me especially because my dad’s not here,” an emotional Russell said. “I went out there and gave it my all for him.”
“We were very fortunate to get her back because at the beginning of the season we didn’t know if we’d get her back,” Boninsegna added. “She’s such a leader for us and sometimes she gets frustrated with herself because she’s not back. In my opinion last year she was one of the best, if not the best defender that we had in double-A. She did a great job for us. I look forward to her coming back with us her senior year because she’s a strong individual.”
Now the next step on the Lady Warriors’ growth chart will be to stop runs from snowballing.
Unfortunately for East, due to lack of experience, calming the storm was a problem at times and ultimately doomed Boninsegna’s group in the state championship game. A 20-point lead against Shady in the opener shrunk inside 11 late; a 12-point advantage against PikeView evaporated entirely and a 21-point lead against Mingo Central faltered to 11.
Basketball’s a game of runs and they happen, but the propensity to allow situations to snowball plagued East.
That was none more so evident than when a 5-4 game turned into a 16-4 game in Saturday’s Class AA championship matchup.
That’s where not having a Skylar Davidson hurt the Lady Warriors this year.
In last year’s title game each time Catholic trimmed the deficit or hit a big shot, Davidson had answer after answer, refusing to come in second place and even stating as much after the game.
In an eerily similar fashion, Parkersburg Catholic’s standout leader Leslie Huffman echoed the same message.
“It’s special,” Huffman said. “Not many teams get down here, let alone have an undefeated season. That’s something we sort of tried to experience every year. It seems like we get there, we get there, we get there and then something falls short. And there’s not a doubt in my mind that of all the team’s I’ve been on that any one of them could’ve got it done. This was our year and I think we were finally sick and tired of second place.”
Both Huffman and Davidson had felt the sting of losing on Saturday with two career losses each in state championship games heading into their senior seasons – though Davidson wasn’t able to play her freshman year due to an injury.
This collection of East players didn’t know the hurt Huffman and Davidson experienced. But the scene before the buzzer didn’t resemble one of a group content with what they accomplished last season. All of those key cogs had tears streaming from their eyes as they watched Parkersburg Catholic celebrate just as they had 10 months ago.
It hurt and it meant something.
So what’s next for the Lady Warriors?
Growth.
There’s still a lot of room for it.
Boninsegna will try to deflect the pressure again, and rightfully so, but it will be difficult. Provided the Lady Warriors stay healthy and continue to grow, they’ll be a favorite heading into next season. They graduate just one senior and will be able to insert Russell – a first-team all-state selection in 2021 – back into the starting lineup after she served as the sixth man this season.
Now the challenge will be remaining together on a team oozing talent. Their predecessors that started the program’s run to state championship appearances back in 2016 understood how to do so. The 2018 runner-up team had two first-team all-staters (Gabby Lupardus and Emily Saunders) as well as a pair of second-teamers in Jazz Blankenship and Kara Sandy. Lupardus was the co-winner of the Mary Ostrowski State Player of the Year Award that season and all four of the aforementioned players went on to play college basketball.
The group played extremely well together and liked playing with each other. Due to a slew of circumstances largely related to health, that talented bunch graduated with just one championship.
This core group of Bane, Russell, Clark and Lookabill have a chance to do what no other group has – graduate with two state championships.
They already present matchup problems for opposing teams in the fact they’re all capable of scoring. All four scored at least 16 points in a single this past season which makes them difficult to guard. Freshman Cadee Blackburn, also a starter, scored 17 in her first career starts as well. But feeding one mouth night in and night out takes away that advantage. The quarterfinal and semifinal matchups against Charleston Catholic and St. Marys were proof of that.
Clark and Blankenship led East in scoring in the Charleston Catholic game while Blackburn and Bane combined to score 30 points against St. Marys. The explosion from the latter two came after they scored just eight against Charleston in the quarterfinals.
“What they were doing very well is dribbling and kicking back,” St. Marys coach Fred King said after the loss to East. “What we have been told is when you play against good teams you cannot come off your person. You have to play on the ball defense. We weren’t doing a good job at it. They were getting loose and when people would step in too far they’d kick and be wide open. Even if they didn’t make it, it made it difficult because now we’re out of rebounding position … Those girls, they were getting behind us.
“When they’re athletic and quick and know how to play, they know where the spots are on the floor and they know where they’re going. Trying to stop six players that are in double figures is pretty tough. It’s like a little guy with five fingers and seven holes. You’ve just got to pick the biggest holes I guess.”
With time left to win another title, the loss clearly meant something to them as evidenced by the emotions displayed. But becoming the first group to win multiple titles will require sacrifice, cohesiveness, health and a little luck.
At Wyoming East, the wall to the right of the entrance is littered with pictures of the athletes who have been named first-teamers. You have to squint to see them.
It’s much easier to see the enlarged state championship team photos to the left of those smaller ones. With those tears still rolling down their cheeks, Russell and Clark said all of the right things, grasping the concept of coming together as a team.
“We need to focus in the offseason and keep getting stronger and better and bonding as a team,” Russell said. “We’re better when we play together.”
“We’ve got to be able to work together and communicate,” Clark added. “I think the stronger the bond we have the better we’re going to play together. Our chemistry’s already insane and so we just got to work in the offseason and come back stronger.”
In a year they’ll know just how much they’ve grown.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
