The 3rd-seeded Spring Valley Timberwolves fell behind in the second quarter and could never recover as they fell to the No. 2 seed Morgantown Mohigans, 48-35, on Thursday morning in the WVSSAC Class AAAA Girls Basketball State Tournament at the Charleston Civic Center.
In a fairly even first quarter, Morgantown (22-5) took a small 12-9 advantage, but that’s when disaster struck for the Timberwolves (21-5). Morgantown hit three 3-point field goals early in the frame to spark an 11-2. The Mohigans carried a 27-15 into the locker room at the half. Spring Valley slightly chipped into the lead in the third to make it a 38-28 game, but they never truly challenged to retake the lead.
After the game, Spring Valley head coach Bo Miller said that Morgantown took advantage of a defensive scheme change in the second quarter.
“That was probably my fault,” said Miller. “One of girls got into foul trouble, and I switched to a zone to help with the foul situation, and they hit three straight 3-pointers on us. That’s my fault. We should have stayed playing the way we did.”
Morgantown out rebounded Spring Valley, 40-24. Miller said that was a huge factor in the outcome.
“Rebounding killed us today,” stated Miller. “It led to a lot of second shots for them. We didn’t get out out in transition, so that hurt our offense. We just didn’t rebound, and that’s something we usually do.”
Haleigh Crum and Hallie Bailey led the Timberwolves with 12 points each. Dria Parker added 5 points. Allie Daniels followed with 4 points and 12 rebounds. Brooklyn Ellis finished with 2 points.
Lindsay Bechtel paced Morgantown with 19 points. Lily Jordan followed with 13 points.
Spring Valley (35) – Haleigh Crum 12, Hallie Bailey 12, Dria Parker 5, Allie Daniels 4, Brooklyn Ellis 2
Morgantown (48) – Lindsay Bechtel 19, Lily Jordan 13, Mia Henkins 8, Sofia Wassick 3, Revaya Sweeney 3, Kate Hawkins 2
