MORGANTOWN — With the likes of girls’ basketball powerhouses Buckhannon-Upshur and Morgantown in its section, University struggled to makes its way to the state tournament over the last two years.
Prior to that in the previous regional alignment, Parkersburg South and Parkersburg shared Region I with the Hawks, so there was consistent hurdles the Hawks had to jump.
The last time UHS went to Charleston was a decade ago in 2009, but the drought will come to an end today when the Hawks face Martinsburg at 7 p.m. at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.
“Obviously, it’s a great feeling to finally get over that hurdle,” coach David Price said. “I thought our team came out with a determination to get this done and I’m really proud of the kids.”
UHS (20-5) went 5-1 against sectional opponents this year, including going 3-1 against the Mohigans and Buccaneers to lay claim as the top seed in the section. It also helped the Hawks avoid making a trip to Wheeling Park, which is on its way to the state tournament for the third-straight year by winning the other half of Region I.
The season didn’t start out the way the Hawks envisioned, though. Losers of their first two games and three of the first six, they sat at 3-3, but Price then began to realize this team could be special around the start of January.
“You could tell that the kids started to carry a confidence and understand that they were playing good basketball together,” he said. “They started progressing from that point to the end of the season. You’re glad to see that happen — when kids jell and kids start helping and finding each other on the floor like they do.”
UHS won games in a variety of ways, scoring in the 40s and winning with defensive stops, or scoring in the 80s and making shots.
Junior forward Ashten Boggs caught the attention of Martinsburg head coach Kyle Triggs. Boggs is averaging 16.2 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
“That Ashten Boggs is a really good player,” he said. “She can hurt you with her ability to get to the rim, she never stops running. They create matchup nightmares for you at times. For us, we like our matchups and we feel like we’ve competed against teams of their caliber. We just have to play our game.”
Martinsburg (18-6) can fill up the bucket, scoring over 70 points five times, including dropping 90 in wins over Washington and North Hagerstown (Md.).
“We’ve gotta play some good defense,” Price said, chuckling. “We also want to push them down the court. They’re a quality program, no doubt about it, and when you get down here, you can get beat by anybody. We’re talking about the top eight teams in the state. You’ve gotta be focused on what you’re trying to do and follow your gameplan.”
The Bulldogs are led by a trio of senior guards Deaira Hairston, Kylie Roberts and Amelia Jenkins — each averaging over nine points per game — but Hairston controls the flow as their point guard and four-year starter.
“She has to be able to relay and communicate what I want offensively,” Triggs said. “She plays with a ton of energy and emotion, and she is a very valuable member of our success.”
It’s been an emotional season for the Bulldogs, especially after a charter bus accident in early February in Beckley. Initial reports said 12 students and adults were injured, but all were released from the hospital the following day.
Since then, MHS has gone 5-1 on its way to the Region II championship.
“We appreciate everything that the state did for us, with Governor (Jim) Justice and others who have probably never seen us play reached out,” Triggs said. “For our kids, we just wanted to get back to a sense of normalcy. Now that it’s kind of behind them, they’re moving forward, and we’ve been able to get back to our normal routine and gotten better with each game.”
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